Portage Park Fixer Cottage Reduced $24,000: 4947 W. Pensacola
In September, we chattered about this 3 bedroom brick cottage at 4947 W. Pensacola in Portage Park.
See our prior chatter and pictures here.
Since September, it has been reduced $24,000.
The listing makes no secret that it is a fixer and in need of TLC.
It is an estate sale.
It has a wood burning fireplace and built-ins along with other vintage features such as beamed ceilings and the original glass door knobs.
But can anyone see beyond the fixer part to appreciate the good bones?
Theressa Boyce at Dream Town still has the listing. See more pictures here.
You can also check out the house in person this weekend at the Open House: Saturday, Nov 20, 11 am to 1 pm.
4947 W. Pensacola: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage, 1094 square feet
- Sold prior to the 1990s
- Was listed in September 2010 as an estate sale for $199,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $175,000
- Taxes of $652 (senior exemption)
- No central air- window units
- Bedroom #1: 13×11
- Bedroom #2: 10×9
- Bedroom #3: 9×8
in the 36th ward you can get a fixer-upper for 70k-100k that need less work than this.
This needs a lot of work. Most likely will go for between $125 and $135K.
Homedelete –
Do you like it? It’s close to the Montrose el stop. It’s been on the market for awhile now. If you like it, make a very low-ball offer.
When you folks say fixer-upper, do you mean that it needs immediate repairs, or are you referring to cosmetic work that could be done over time? The wall/ceiling in the kitchen looks problematic, but otherwise I don’t see anything in these photos that needs immediate attention; it looks like I could buy this and move in.
I think it would make a lot of sense for the owner to cancel the listing and then refinish the floors, repaint the walls, and relist it. A few thousand dollars would make a big difference in getting this sold.
when i say fixer-upper i am thinking, major cosmetic and maybe one or two immediate things.
when i say gut rehab i am thinking cant move in and need to do extensive work to make livable.
for other is may have different ideas about it
I agree with Groove. I equate Fixer-upper with Move-in ready. As in you could live there without significant discomfort, i.e. plumbing works, hot shower, heat, etc.
In the previous discussion I recall someone mentioned possible roof or structural damage, so I would not consider that move in ready.
hell no this house looks like it was owned by some crazy hoarder cat lady… I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of structural problems are here with the abuse this house has taken.
25k should be the highest offer and i’m not joking!
Is it me or does it look like theres smoke damage everywhere? Or maybe the previous owner was just a heavy smoker.
Things I can see which need work aside from the cosmetic are renovation of the kitchen and 2 baths which will be expensive. I really like the old fashioned sink in the kitchen. It would be nice if you could keep it. I also see water damage on the bathroom ceiling. I am assuming that if the cosmetic was neglected by the former owners that the structural was neglected too. I am assuming a new roof and rewiring is needed. New furnace/boiler/hot water heater. Maybe pumbing work too.
Say you could acquire the house for 100K. I wonder if all the work could be done for another 100K? I think the end result would be worth 200K. The house is a little on the small side. Only 1100 sft. I wonder if there’s space to build an extension later if you wanted to.
The problem I’ve run into with properties which need a lot of work is that you cannot get a mortgage if there are violations or if the house is not immediately habitable. And it is practically impossible to get a construction loan. Maybe this has not sold yet because they need a cash buyer with more cash to spare for the repairs?
it hasn’t sold yet because its basically a teardown and they are trying to sell a lot in PP for 175k cash only…
“The problem I’ve run into with properties which need a lot of work is that you cannot get a mortgage if there are violations or if the house is not immediately habitable. And it is practically impossible to get a construction loan. Maybe this has not sold yet because they need a cash buyer with more cash to spare for the repairs?”
You could get an FHA 203k loan.
This is a $100k ish house. It needs substantial work to get into decent shape. It needs more than cosmetic; it probably needs new electrical; new plumbing; the floors may be sagging and need reinforcement. Thats’ just to start. I looked at a similar type crapshack with my BIL general contractor and he told me to pass on these types of properties and leave it to the professionals.
Here’s an example of a crapshack in the area a little south turned into a nice home:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4640-W-Waveland-Ave-60641/home/13457711
Sold for $112k in April; fixed up and sold for $310k in August.
“Milkster on November 19th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Homedelete –
Do you like it? It’s close to the Montrose el stop. It’s been on the market for awhile now. If you like it, make a very low-ball offer.”
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4619-W-Warwick-Ave-60641/home/13459180
$85,000 in February
$310,000 in September
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4245-N-Ridgeway-Ave-60618/home/13483935
$152,000 in March
$399,000 in November
one thing i wish westloopelo was around still, i wonder the extent of lead paint throughout the place and maybe asbestos in the attic insulation if there is any insulation.
i dont know the costs involved for lead removal but the asbestos is not the pricey if you get a honest guy.
there are two kinds of 203k loans, the full and the streamlined
The streamlined is a commonly made loan, you can borrow up to $35,000 on top of the purchase price to make cosmetic repairs. THe catch is that you have to use 203k approved contractors and they jack up their prices.
The full 203k loan is supposedly very difficult to get and there are few brokers who do them and then being your own GC without any experience can be a nightmare.
“You could get an FHA 203k loan.”
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4144-N-Ridgeway-Ave-60618/home/13483919
$170,000 August 2009
$382,500 September 2010
Homedelete –
Those comps are great. I especially love the bungalow on Waveland. So if you bought for 100K and reno’d for another 100K, you’d be 100K ahead of the game in the end?
I would totally go for something like that.
“asbestos in the attic insulation if there is any insulation.”
HAHAHAHAHA. HA! Funny guy–place that looks like this with attic insulation?
“i dont know the costs involved for lead removal”
If one assumes that there is lead paint on every painted surface, and you want to remove it all instead of encapsulating it, it would be quite expensive, as you’d basically be gutting the place.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4130-N-Saint-Louis-Ave-60618/home/13482338
$170,000 in July
Listed at $400,000 and under contract
“Funny guy–place that looks like this with attic insulation?”
you would be amased at wht people think of doing, when i bought my house the bathroom and basement were a nightmare and the kitchen stove was a danger (i restored it though) and i swear it was leaking gas.
but the previous owner bought some pink panther and a staple gun and went to work between the attic joists (a bad job at that). and even replaces the attic roof vents. but never thought to replace a pipe in the basement sink instead put a bucket under it and dump it out once a week.
peoples thought process sometimes gives many head scratchers
With these older homes which have been painted with layers and layers and layers of paint over the past 100 years, it’s pretty hard to strip it all away. Assume ANY homes built before the 1970s have lead paint. You just need to make sure your surfaces are all well painted and clean and not chipping. As long as they are not chipping or flaking, you don’t have to get paranoid about the lead paint.
It is however more of a concern for parents with small children because babies crawl around on the floor and tend to chew on things like baseboards. I had a co-worker from Brooklyn whose 1 year old was hospitalized for lead poisoning.
So please just make sure everything is clean, well-painted and not chipped.
Yeah but you gotta have a good GC and be prepared for any unexpected contingencies. My GC said the first think you look to do is reinforce the sagging floors, then even them out. Then you have to gut the place to remove the plaster, especially if there is any mold, redo the plumbling, electrical, install HVAC while’ you’re at it; put insulation; seal up and level the basement; then work on the roof; then fix any issues with the outside (The house I looked at had exterior lead paint that needed remediation – not cheap); then you start working on the interior like the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, fixtures. etc. It can get pretty pricey. Futhermore a lot of these houses have weird issues; like no tub or shower on the second floor; no master suite; no alley or garage….there’s always something weird.
These flips are selling like hotcakes because there aren’t very many of them and there is nothing comparable at the price points.
If you HAVE to buy today and you want to pay in the $300,000 and you want a gut rehab quality – there are only a handful of properties per month that are listed and they sell FAST.
Toss in the two/three flats that are selling int he mid-200’s on the NW and that’s defined 50% of the market. Short sales and distressed sales are another 40% meaning regular sellers are only about 10% of the market in my opinion
“#Milkster on November 19th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Homedelete –
Those comps are great. I especially love the bungalow on Waveland. So if you bought for 100K and reno’d for another 100K, you’d be 100K ahead of the game in the end?
I would totally go for something like that.”
“Yeah but you gotta have a good GC and be prepared for any unexpected contingencies.”
But you have a BIL GC. Why not get one of these places and fix it up? If I had a GC I really trusted and didn’t feel I had to monitor, I might do that.
The best way to get rid of lead paint in an older home is to demo the plaster, insulate the walls (b/c there is no insulation); redo HVAC, electrial plumbing, etc. It’s a project.
“redo HVAC”
no need for that its radiant heat and no c/a, and i would rather have radiant heat than forced air. i hate loosing floor space but its just healthier and if done right (zoned) its cheaper overall.
“no need for that its radiant heat and no c/a, and i would rather have radiant heat than forced air. i hate loosing floor space but its just healthier and if done right (zoned) its cheaper overall.”
Agreed. But adding the CAC is key, esp for resale.
“Agreed. But adding the CAC is key, esp for resale.”
very true, cause getting C/A after a full remodel is damn expensive compared to doing it then.
HD, very good comps bro, but i think those rehabs were professionals buying and reselling not the average guy using a GC. think a 20% mark up in rehab costs for a person using a GC even a trusted one.
plus as i mentioned here before the pro’s use overages of stuff from previous builds for the next job which cuts costs down even more.
if you know a pro and know the jobs he is doing over time, look at the pics of the listings you will see common themes and you might even see the same second bath in each place. so you can see how a pro’s costs are way lower than if milky, you or I would buy for ourselves.
I’d pay them for the dining room chandelier.
My BIL’s advice was to not buy some crapshack and gut rehab it myself. We looked at another house that required more cosmetic work; but even that he wanted to rip out the plaster, remove the carpeting, remove the drop ceilings; redo the 1970’s kitchen; add a shower upstairs, etc. It was too much money for a 203k streamline and I have little interest in the 203k full loan.
The market is so f’d right now anyways I’m hanging out for the double dip and I’ll look again in the spring, with serious consideration next spring, the spring of 2012. Time is on the buyer’s side here, not the sellers
“DZ on November 19th, 2010 at 10:22 am
“Yeah but you gotta have a good GC and be prepared for any unexpected contingencies.”
But you have a BIL GC. Why not get one of these places and fix it up? If I had a GC I really trusted and didn’t feel I had to monitor, I might do that.”
I agree Grove, that’s why I explored buying a crapshack and rehabbing and then after getting a taste, rejected the idea. I could do cosmetic repairs over time, but gut rehabs are out of the question.
“I could do cosmetic repairs over time, but gut rehabs are out of the question”
i did a gut reahab with a cousin when i was in HS (around six corners). he bought it for his home and did the work himself. He said, and i saw, that he would NEVER go through that again. it took forever.
the positive he sold and moved during the bubble he made out like a bandit price wise, but the handpower and time he “stole” from himself might have not been worth it.
“HD, very good comps bro, but i think those rehabs were professionals buying and reselling not the average guy using a GC. think a 20% mark up in rehab costs for a person using a GC even a trusted one. ”
Definitely, but everyone of HD’s comps has that developer making 25-35% on the *total* price, so it would still be less expensive to do buy and contract the work, esp if you can quasi-GC it yourself.
“We looked at another house that required more cosmetic work; but even that he wanted to rip out the plaster, remove the carpeting, remove the drop ceilings; redo the 1970’s kitchen; add a shower upstairs, etc.”
Carpet removal/floor-sanding and drop ceiling removal/plaster-repair are cosmetic things, unless the hardwood was removed/extensively damaged or the drop ceiling is there to hide plumbing.
“i did a gut reahab with a cousin when i was in HS (around six corners). he bought it for his home and did the work himself. He said, and i saw, that he would NEVER go through that again. it took forever.
the positive he sold and moved during the bubble he made out like a bandit price wise, but the handpower and time he “stole” from himself might have not been worth it.”
Only works if you can make your “job”. Doing a gut part-time just doesn’t work out well.
I did it twice. The first time turned out horrible, but the second one has worked out nicely. Sometimes you just have to hire someone to get somethings done.
“Only works if you can make your “job”. Doing a gut part-time just doesn’t work out well.”
just a full bath would take pro 4 days (shorter if tile didnt need to set) it took me over a month doing it part-time myself.
and will say this, now with young kid i will gladly write check just to keep my time.
203k’s are a pain in the ass. Most banks want nothing to do with them. The bank has to approve all your contractors, limited draws of funds, long time to close (no one gets paid anytime soon) etc.
Definitely not a loan for a first time home buyer or someone with limited cash either even though it is marketed as such.
Rehabs are selling though. A lot of my purchase transactions this year have been rehabs. The trick is to find one done by a rehabber that actually values their work versus a paint and flip guy.
“just a full bath would take pro 4 days (shorter if tile didnt need to set) it took me over a month doing it part-time myself.”
Right–and if you made it your job, you could get 2 full baths done in a week pretty easily. Just a question of whether your time is worth more than the amount you’d pay someone else.
“http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4245-N-Ridgeway-Ave-60618/home/13483935
$152,000 in March
$399,000 in November”
We actually looked at this place, it was originally listed for 475k approximately? We didn’t spend more than 15 minutes in it – my husband walked upstairs and it was incredibly obvious that the floors were totally slanted. You could feel yourself walking at a slope in one of the bedrooms. Made me wonder how many other things that were going on there that wasn’t up to par.
In addition, half the finished basement only had ceilings that were 6′ high. That wasn’t a structural issue, but it wasn’t functional either.
The house directly behind it is also for sale right now and in similar condition, but they are only asking about 157000 for it…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4948-W-Cullom-Ave-60641/home/13476546
“Just a question of whether your time is worth more than the amount you’d pay someone else”
i can easily answer that question with my actions. “my checkbook and pen are ready to go!”
if its not a two halfday weekend job, then i recruit helpers, if it will be still longer than that with help, i will gladly pay tuesday for a burger today
I toured this place when it was first on the market. Chris, a few thousand will not even begin to address the issues. The smoke someone commented on is dirt and mold. Sonies, comeon with the cracks about the prev occupant – it is an estate situation and it disgusts me that the heirs allowed their parents to live in a place like this and are now trying to squeeze every nickle out of it.
It needs to be torn down but I don’t think the immediate houses surrounding it really scream great location to invest in.
I know the owners and that is not a fair comment roscoe villager. The woman (and previously her husband) who lived here refused to leave until she physically could not stay any longer. It wasn’t the children’s choice to make, she wanted to stay so she stayed. You can’t force someone into assisted living or a nursing home unless they physically must be there.
She didn’t live there at all for some time before she passed and most of the damage and grime occurred during that time. They were essentially using it to store her belongings for at least a year.
Anon 2 – If that is the story and I suspect it is, my apologies – and I understand that sometimes the choice whether to stay or not isn’t always the children’s. When I toured the property I was given the indication that the house had been occupied in that condition very recently. The estate seemed disorganized and I was left with the impression that money was the main issue.
In taking issue with the bashing of the prev occupants upthread and in the previous thread I bashed the children which was wrong. In this and previous threads some very callous words have been expressed toward this family and it is wrong.
OK, so suppose Uncle Pennybags’ nephew (Happy 75th, Monopoly!) buys the place and fixes it up; good “investment” in terms of school district, commercial activity, general quality of life, etc.?
Or should he just buy, tear down and “hold?”
Would the zoning allow for replacement of sfh with a health club named “Diet Pensacola?”
Hey, it’s Saturday – lighten up, people! 🙂
relisted @ $149,900