Old Town Without Parking Reduces $349K and Finds a Buyer: 240 W. Willow
We chattered about 240 W. Willow, a 1873-renovated Victorian single family home in Old Town in October 2008 and March 2009.
It was a complete rehab and seemed to have everything- except a parking space.
See our prior chatter and pictures from October 2008 here.
The property recently came back on the market and was reduced by $349,000.
It is now under contract.
Dana Gerstenschlager at @Properties now has the listing. See the listing here (sorry- no interior pictures).
The property was also a 3-bedroom in the prior listing and is now a 2-bedroom (with a 12×12 library.)
240 W. Willow: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, no square footage listed
- Originally listed in October 2009 for $1.199 million
- Went off and then back on the market
- Reduced in May 2009 to $850,000
- Under contract
- Taxes are $8,192
- Central Air
- No parking
Looks like the paid $525k back in 2005. Anybody think they spent over 300k in upgrades/remod? I dont. Looks like this seller came out ahead.
This was a total gut rehab. Before the sale in 2005, the house was literally falling apart. Still, 850k for essentially what is a two-bedroom house?
This thing has been sitting, fully rehabbed, for quite a while. I am pretty sure this was listed well before October 2008 for a lot more than the original listing price stated here.
They spent at least 300k. The place was nearly collapsing. It is practically a new house. It’s really cute. Small but cute. No parking, but a nice sized back yard for this part of the city. Over time, the buyer comes out ahead on this one.
Add snarky, uninformed comment from Bob here: _______.
I can’t believe someone paid this much for so little house!
“Over time, the buyer comes out ahead on this one. ”
My Magic 8 Ball from Wal-Mart says uncertain. Maybe your plastic magic eight ball is of better quality? Also any pick 3 numbers for me today?
800k and no parking. IDIOT BUYER.
Anyone know what they mean by “new owner can freeze tax’s!”?
In this designated landmark area, if you do certain restoration work, there is some ability to apply for a tax freeze (although thereare no guarantee’s). As an aside, I agree with J’s assessment of the condition of the house (it was barely a shell). Whether the buyer got a good deal or not is hard to say.
I live down the street, and this is a very unique area that is difficult to replicate anywhere else in the city. Restoration jobs like this are also a huge pain in the landmark district and can take a lot of time and patience and while I have not seen the interior of the house, the exterior has been redone very well.
I also live in the area and feel that this is a fair price for this house. I think it is hard for some who are unfamiliar with the Old Town Triangle to appreciate what you get here. It’s not just the house. You are buying immediate proximity to Wells Street shops, restaurants, grocery, gym, bank, drugstore (half block); Lincoln Park Farmer’s Market, zoo, acres of green space (1 block); Lake Michigan/North Ave Beach (2-3 blocks) and public transportation (el or bus and plenty of cabs on Wells). Plus the neighbors are friendly and the streets have a charm that is not replicated anywhere else in the city. Obviously I’m biased, but we pay a premium to live here, and that’s why. Oh, and I forgot to mention some of the best schools in Chicago — Lincoln Elementary (free and open to anyone); LaSalle Language Academy (magnet); Latin, Parker, Catherine Cook, etc, etc….
Also — on the no parking thing — again, it’s hard to understand if you don’t live here, but because of the excellent public transportation you don’t need a car OR if you have a car you don’t need to use it much. I street park and generally park within half block of my house (if not right in front). Additionally, WELCOME TO THE NEW MILLENNIUM, PEOPLE! You should be walking, biking or using public transportation instead of cruising around the city in your car. It’s just unnecessary and short-sighted — plus you’ll live longer!
“WELCOME TO THE NEW MILLENNIUM, PEOPLE!”
In this “NEW MILLENIUM” that you speak of is it okay to not expect a parking space if you’re dropping almost a million on a property?
If so, I have a bridge to sell you.
I use Zipcar locally and rentals when I leave town. I do very well without a car and like not having to worry about one. I also enjoy riding a bike around when it’s nice. It slows the world down a bit for me.
That being said, if I drop 850K on a place it is going to have parking.
@old towner – Get out of here hippy, you couldn’t even dream of affording a place like this.
Anyone that drops 850k on a place anywhere is an idiot if they don’t get a parking spot too.
“Anyone that drops 850k on a place anywhere is an idiot if they don’t get a parking spot too.”
Really? ANYwhere?
There are some places in Old Town Triangle that you simply aren’t going to get the curb cut to have a parking spot just as there are plenty of older buildings in the Gold Coast where you are going to rent parking.
I am not sure it’s fair to label someone who pays $850 for a house like this an “idiot” simply because the house does not have parking. A parking spot is simply one feature of a piece of property that contributes to its value. Every individual is going to measure that value differently.
On a more objective note, there is zero chance at this point of finding a house like this in the old town triangle area with parking for less than $1M.
Thank you, jdk. You are the voice of reason.
In the spirit that prevails on this website, to the “idiot” that posted the comment below:
“Get out of here hippy, you couldn’t even dream of affording a place like this.”
Although your comment is completely irrelevant to this conversation (what does it matter what I can afford?), as an aside you might like to know that my home recently appraised at more than 1.6 million dollars — in THIS economy — and I don’t have parking. And couldn’t care less. I value my home, my beautiful neighborhood and the wonderful people who populate it — and I’m not moving anytime soon because I’m very content here. But yes, if I were selling my home and looking to downsize and stay in this neighborhood (as many people do after their children have moved on), I would probably have considered this property. Some people will always want a big yard and/or a big garage. If so, then Old Town is not the place for you. Period.
I second old towner’s thoughts. I live in the neighborhood with my family and have no parking spot, so we rent a spot two blocks away in a covered facility but use the car about once a week. We walk, bike, bus or brown-line it to the Loop for work as well as to almost all other destinations. What people who don’t live in the area don’t understand is that when you live close to the office, park, museums, beach, bike path, movie theaters, gyms, preschools, elementary schools, restaurants, banks, drugstores, coffee shops, and everything else, there’s NO need to have convenient parking. Obviously since the area has retained its value well over the years, it’s not a problem finding another “idiot” who buys into this way of thinking when it’s time to sell.
I agree with your sentiment Old Towner, but wouldn’t go so far as to say that if you want a big yard or a big garage that “old town is not for you.” It’s just that in old town (or at least in and around the triangle area of old town), you have to prioritize.
For me, a parking space was a must. My wife relies heavily on her car both for work and our 3 kids. Could we survive without a car? Of course, but we did not want to. Therefore, when we were looking to move 2.5 years ago (we were already in old town, but the 3rd child made our old place a bit tight), at our price range, we had to rule out a single family home and focus on townhomes and condos.
It wasn’t easy, but we ultimately found what we wanted and are extremely happy.
We have neighbors down the street who did just the opposite. They sold their condo in the Triangle with a garage space a bought a house down the street that has a yard, but no garage or parking. To each their own!
Oh yeah, my house appraised at one billion internet dollars!
Agreed, JDK. What I was referring to were those who value a big yard and a 2-3 car garage as most important on their “must-haves” when house-hunting. The prices in this neighborhood are high — and of course yards and garages are something we don’t see a lot of — although I know that the house on Eugenie (the two houses linked by a walkway) recently sold for nearly 4 million and they have a garage AND a huge yard. Of course, most of us aren’t in that price range. We’re grateful to be in the house that we are in (and it has appreciated very well in just over 4 years), but I think that many on this board would be surprised at our appraisal if just driving by — much less looking at pictures on the internet without any context. Houses in this neighborhood are, for the most part, unpretentious — which is something we love. I also have young kids, but we do bike and walk almost everywhere (the youngest is 6). Winter is harder, but we still bundle up and walk most days.
But back to the Willow house — if the buyer is reading this sorry thread of “chat” I hope they know that not everyone thinks they are an “idiot.”
Sonies — sounds like you need to ease up on the envy and find something more positive in your life to think about.
“sounds like you need to ease up on the envy and find something more positive in your life to think about.”
What is it with people? Why is a negative motivation ascribed to everything?
If Sonies is envious, you must be insecure old towner–not that I believe either, but goose and gander, pot and kettle, no?
btw–I completely agree you about OT, ot. price, amenities, etc.
I value a big yard and a 2+ car garage and would like to live in the city. What I’ve found is that while the 2 or 3 car garage is doable in the city in a non-prime but nice hood for under 600k, good luck with the big yard.
Really, good luck with the big yard in anything under 1MM pricepoint in any neighborhood you don’t have to worry about getting shot in.
Please, anon. Anyone who chooses to write something like “Get out of here hippy, you couldn’t even dream of affording a place like this” on a website that is supposedly about real estate has got some issues. And they don’t sound like positive ones.
Gotta run out and buy some new bell-bottoms!
I could give two craps about a yard and a two car garage, but when you throw down nearly a million bucks on a place and have ZERO spots for guests or yourself to park that totally blows, and I wouldn’t tolerate it!
FYI, I do not own a car currently (sold it 5 years ago) but I do own a parking space, which I’m renting out at the moment for some extra money. I guess i’ve been “with the new millenium” or something and I didn’t even notice :S
I agree completely with your thoughts re: unpretentious houses. It’s nice to know that ten years from now the street is going to look roughly the same and you don’t haveto worry about a McMansion going up next door.
Hat’s off to you for going without a car. Our youngest is 2 and I would not want to be pushing a stroller much in the dead of January!
“Please, anon. Anyone who chooses to write something like “Get out of here hippy, you couldn’t even dream of affording a place like this” on a website that is supposedly about real estate has got some issues. And they don’t sound like positive ones.”
And your response* bespeaks no issues? Please, ot.
*”an aside you might like to know that my home recently appraised at more than 1.6 million dollars”
It was a response to a snide remark. Enough said.