Lincoln Park 2-Bedroom Cottage Reduces from $1.275 million to $600K in 3 Years: 1345 W. Webster
This 2-bedroom vintage cottage at 1345 W. Webster in Lincoln Park has been on the market since October 2008.
In that time it has been reduced more than 50% going from a list price of $1.275 million to now just $600,000.
It is the adjacent parcel to 1339 W. Webster and is basically being sold for the land value. There are no pictures of the interior of the house with the listing.
See our prior chatter on 1339 W. Webster here.
The listing says it is Zoned R4.
The cottage was built in 1896 and the listing says it’s on a 75×49 lot. If you combine it with 1339 W. Webster the listing says you’d have 75×125 (???).
The room sizes in the listing are approximate. But it appears that one bedroom is on the main level and the second is upstairs.
It also has a full, unfinished basement.
There also appears to be one-car parking and the house has central air (if you’re interested in living in it- instead of tearing it down.)
Will this house find a buyer who is actually willing to keep the house?
And at what price?
Robert John Anderson at Baird & Warner also has this listing (as he does 1339 W. Webster). See the listing here (no interior pics.)
1345 W. Webster: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, 1 car parking
- Sold in January 1998 for $420,000
- Originally listed in October 2008 for $1.275 million
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed at $600,000
- Taxes of $10,585
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 10×12 (second floor- size is approximate)
- Bedroom #2: 10×10 (main floor)
- Living room: 20×15
- Dining room: 15×15
- Kitchen: 13×13
This owner is such a tool.
Bob – but the owner can’t just give it away!
Perfect in-law, nanny, or butler’s/maid’s or guest’s quarters for the big house next door. I have a coach house at my property (where my hired help lives) and I cannot tell you how awesome it is to be able to have “live-in” help but not actually have them live in your house. The same probably is true for in-laws, nannies, and guests. It seriously would make life much much better……
FYI:
Case Shiller was out this morning. More of the same. Still depressed numbers.
“U.S. home prices declined in October from a month earlier with particular weakness seen in the Midwest and Atlanta, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home-price indexes.
In Chicago, home prices fell 1.8 percent from September; year-over-year, Chicago home prices were down 4.8 percent.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-house-prices-fall-sharply-in-october-20111227,0,3463997.story
I am sticking to my call of a bottom of the Chicagoland case-shiller index of single family homes of 94-95 in march or april of 2015. Non-seasonally adjusted.
Great CS numbers? Spread the X-mas cheer!
RE: CS numbers……
You guys continue to fail to understand human psychology. As a physician, I am seeing more and more cases of “frugal fatigue” – people are really getting tired of saving money and living below the level that they were accustomed. This is reflected in the current holiday season where spending (not just on gifts – but also on food, restaurants, travel) was up sharply. There is a change in the mood and attitude of people and you will see this soon translate into the housing sector over the next couple of years. People ARE getting tired of waiting to buy or living with their parents, etc. They WILL find a way to move to a “better” place and they WILL do it. Just wait and watch…..
The CS numbers are pretty interesting. Are we heading towards a quadruple dip here? Only another 5.4% drop to hit a new low. Over the last few years it seems like at this time of year prices head down by more than what is expected by the CS seasonal factors.
I bet this owner wishes he had put it on the market one year sooner.
“I have a coach house at my property (where my hired help lives) and I cannot tell you how awesome it is to be able to have “live-in” help but not actually have them live in your house.”
You are such a tool.
Would I NOT be a tool if I just sat here and lied and told you guys what you want to hear?!! WTF?!!! Welcome to life, Jon – reality does not equal happiness, asshole.
“Would I NOT be a tool if I just sat here and lied and told you guys what you want to hear?!!”
Not in the least. Were you to tell us (me at least) what we wanted to hear from you, you would be SILENT.
“Are we heading towards a quadruple dip here?”
Based on the current trend and your 2 erroneous bottom calls at the prior dips, I’d say it’s a lock your 3rd bottom call at the last dip was wrong, too (as I noted at the time.)
The Oct CS SA is at a new low for Chicago, same with the mid and high tier SA indices. That’s for Aug, Sep and Oct data, folks.
The 2011 edition of bottom callers are toast, just like the 2008, 2009 & 2010 versions (some the very same people, LOL.)
See you at the new NSA low in the coming months. Yawn…
What many renters fail to realize is that you DO have to pay a premium to buy (vs rent) – but that premium is worth it (especially now). It is the same thing as buying a car vs taking public transportation. It will almost ALWAYS be more expensive to own a car, but the benefits are tremendous…..
“It is the same thing as buying a car vs taking public transportation.”
I’d also suggest buying the car vs. the lease. At least someday you will own the car and then can decide how long that you can hold on to that FREE car. There will be costs to fuel and maintain that wholly owned car just as there are always going to be property taxes and upkeep costs on an owned home. The sooner you buy that long term home the sooner you will be done paying the mortgage! That will give an individual freedom and some sense of security as they age. I say it again 15 year mortgage folks. In these leaner times downsize to the point that you can afford a 15 year note. You will thank me in 2027!
Oh and by the way I just do not see a buyer for a 3.6 million dollar 75×125 foot piece of dirt in this hood. Just not going to happen in todays market. Get the in-law idea and wish I had one for my family. Spent the weekend at their place in Dallas. While it was great and a wonderful home it would have been even better to have a separate home so that I could have received my holiday present from the wife without “trying to be quiet!”
“it would have been even better to have a separate home so that I could have received my holiday present from the wife without “trying to be quiet!””
Only once a year! you should become Jewish, at least they get 8 nights of gifts. 😀
“Perfect in-law, nanny, or butler’s/maid’s or guest’s quarters for the big house next door. I have a coach house at my property (where my hired help lives) and I cannot tell you how awesome it is to be able to have “live-in” help but not actually have them live in your house. The same probably is true for in-laws, nannies, and guests. It seriously would make life much much better……”
This isn’t the real Clio, is it? I assumed it was the Clio that is a parody of Clio.
“you should become Jewish”
Icarus – now that was funny! The good news is that I have a great wife and don’t need to switch. Just wish we had more privacy at the p’s house in TX. Made me realize that when we do move to the suburbs that an in-law or space that is highly separated from the main living area would be worth a large premium.
RE: “There also appears to be one-car parking and the house has central air (if you’re interested in living in it- instead of tearing it down.)”
Why would you want to tear down this beautiful, seemingly well-maintained historic cottage? To put up another cinder block monstrosity? We all saw what happened to the value of those. I think it’s adorable. But yes, also over priced.
@jp3chicago — thanks, it was an open shot and i couldn’t help myself. i cannot find a link, but i read in one of my DIY mags an interesting article about When to Add On to a house. The point being that sometimes you cannot convert an attic or basement, or its already in use, but you also need an inlaw arrangement with more privacy.
The point being that if you cannot find a house that has an idea inlaw arrangement, consider a house that you can expand by adding an extra room to the front, back or side.
“Made me realize that when we do move to the suburbs that an in-law or space that is highly separated from the main living area would be worth a large premium.”
this could be a great marketing angle. targeting couples where wife wants the house but husband needs a little extra motivation to pull the trigger (or vice versa). “this floorplan is specially designed so your loud lovin will not be heard by overnight guests”
of course if any of your horndog friends get wind of it they will all be trying to stay the night and see if they can wake you. might be awkward with kids
Texas, standard luxury home layout. 3-4 kids beds rooms that share a separate family room area. Master bedroom in completely other half of home. Always massive walk in closet and master bath.
No need for guests to feel TOO comfortable.. they are guests…glad they came, gladder they are leaving. Preferably they stay in hotel to begin with.
Actually, clio, the 5:00 news on Channel 2 just said that holiday shoppers did NOT spend as much as originally hoped-for at Thanksgiving.
Regarding “guest house” arrangements: Is it legal to build an apartment above an existing garage? I always thought it would be cool to have an extra space that way, you know, like Richie Cunningham’s parents had for the Fonz.
Clio– You are using the most unreliable metric available to form your opinions on the real estate market: your personal intuition on the nature of humans. Slap together a few personal anecdotes…a trend! Throw a few “everybody’s” or “people like/want/need’s” into an argument…conjecture becomes fact! I dare you to argue with what “everybody” knows!
I actually think some of your arguments have nuggets of truth in them. You are often very right about what people want and about how people make their decisions. But desires and bad decision making will sometimes meet cold hard reality. If economic uncertainty is great enough, if lending standards tighten, if incomes diminish, if unemployment climbs, if VERY BAD THINGS happen, people won’t be able to act on their desires and bad decisions. Or at least fewer will be able to.
That lack of choice is making itself known through a steady trickle of statistical changes in the marketplace. Lower volumes, lower prices, fewer sales, etc. All the hand waving and folksy wisdom in the world can’t slow that statistical tide.
The numbers are against you.
“Regarding “guest house” arrangements: Is it legal to build an apartment above an existing garage?”
Chitowngal – In some areas it might be ok but I checked it out in Park Ridge as that is where we may move someday and they have taken strong stance against them. Existing ones are grandfathered in but there are specific heights and roofline details that prevent oversized garages from being built. One guy got very cleer and actually submerged his parking underground and made a ramp down into a subterenean space to park and made the normal ground floor an office or small apartment. Once they realized his idea that loophole was also immediately closed as well.
We had a friend that made a great space above a 3.5 car garage in Kenilworth. It was a pretty cool small apartment actually but I think that it was also grandfathered in as a previous maids quarters or something like that.