Short Sale Alert: 2-Bedroom Under the 2003 Price at 323 W. Schiller in Old Town
This 2-bedroom unit at 323 W. Schiller in Old Town has been on the market since June 2009.
It’s a short sale and has now been reduced $60,000.
It is listed $83,500 under the 2005 purchase price and also listed under the 2003 purchase price.
The unit has hardwood floors throughout, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, and a balcony off the master bedroom.
Is this a deal at this price for Old Town?
Sharon O’Hara at @Properties has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #2E: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1450 square feet, covered parking for two cars included
- Sold in January 1996 for $174,000
- Sold in November 1998 for $231,500
- Sold in February 2000 for $271,000
- Sold in June 2001 for $298,000
- Sold in July 2003 for $324,500
- Sold in October 2005 for $392,500
- Originally listed in June 2009 for $369,000
- Reduced twice
- “Short sale”
- Currently listed for $309,000
- Assessments of $100 a month
- Taxes of $3260
- Central Air
- Full-sized washer/dryer
- Bedroom #1: 20×17
- Bedroom #2: 11×10
Old town location, 2 car parking, low assessments and taxes, 20 x 17 bedroom, 1450 sq ft. Not bad for the price IMO.
Looks like a good deal if you can get it (sometimes hard to get short sales). Love the location, parking is key. It’s cookie cutter, middle floor, and kind of blah, but $213/SF seems pretty good for this area. Then again, I love Old Town.
it bland, its blah, its dull, and the whole short sale process.
but to reiterate what WTF and Jon said, 300k TWO covered parking spots, you can barley call $100 an assesment and taxes are low. good sized bedrooms. Location, Location, Location.
pimptastic deal, if train noise isnt bad, with the money you save you can hire a super interior desgner to help with the blah layout.
Groove – good point about the train. Looks like there is a one-house buffer and this is the unit on the “train side” of the building. I would think that noise WOULD be an issue. Also, looks like the garage is not connected to the building, which is odd (just based on the aerial pic). Kind of rethinking this place…
If I were in the market I would be seriously on this.
“Also, looks like the garage is not connected to the building,”
when listings say “covered parking” i read cheesy carport thing. but 2 car cheesy carport thing in old town is still is a precious thing to have.
I’m not too familiar with Old Town, but this looks like its smack between the projects and the tracks.
That is a good price for Old Town. Even for a generic McCondo. Of course the short-sighted bank will probably torpedo the short sale and force it into foreclosure instead, eventually unloading it for $280,000.
Tom, you’re correct. The east side of Sedgwick, between North Ave and Division is projects. This unit is a stone’s throw from there.
You’d probably also have the pleasant smell of manure wafting into your house in the summer, thanks to the proximity of the Noble Horse theatre and it’s outdoor “grazing” patch for those poor horses.
…and also 2 doors down from grazing horses: google streetview link.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=323+W.+Schiller+chicago+il&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=323+W+Schiller+St,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60610&ll=41.907595,-87.638304&spn=0,359.987533&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=41.907601,-87.638056&panoid=avPzrBvCF5UZxZHzgZuZjQ&cbp=12,179.29,,0,17.5
Tracks, projects, horses: urban trifecta.
There’s always a catch!
“this looks like its smack between the projects and the tracks.”
And across from the stables!
I’m really curious about the parking–almost enough to drive over there this weekend. There are garages for 4 cars on the property; and the description of the “2 car parking”–one spot, big enough for two cars–makes it sound like it’s tandem. But I don’t see how it’s on-site–My first guess would be cobbler square.
I’d be pretty concerned with the crime in this area. South of North Ave, near the tracks, near the stables etc. Stay Away (Clearly a lot of others have, hence the price reductions.).
it’s been a while (5+ yrs ago) but when i lived at cobbler square the parking was rentals. the spots were big but you cannot tandem – maybe a motorcycle and car. so i think it’s something else.
Cons:
Too close to train and horses
Not the nicest block of Old Town
Wrong school district (too West for Ogden too South for Lincoln)
Crazy traffic in the morning and in the afternoon (private school next door:kids pick up/drop off)
Pros:
Close to Wells and all the nice things in OT, GC, LP
Next door to Cathrine Cook (if you can afford it and can get in)
I think overall it’s priced accordingly. I bet they are moving because kids were not accepted to Catherine Cook or they cannot afford it (15-18 K per year).
There’s a reason this place is such a “deal”
You got the PJ’s (or low income housing) AND a shit smelling horse grazing area 1 block to the west, you got the train screaming by you one block east!
If its a legit 1450 sqft Its still a deal though and some lucky first time homebuyer will scoop this up.
bleh… it’s a deal because it doesn’t offer much imho. Architect should have their license revoked.
wow after reading all the above i wonder if its a deal or just market price.
the projects over there have gotten 100 times better than it used to be. still bad but better. anyone live that close to cabrini area chime in?
I never knew about that private school (shows how much I hang out in Old Town!); but $18k a year, per kid, is a bit much for my tastes
The 1996 price inflated by 3.5%/yr is about $279k. Given that the immediate area is *much* nicer than it was in ’96, I’d call it a definite deal at $279k, and fairly priced at $~300k.
“$18k a year, per kid, is a bit much for my tastes”
It’s actually only $15,200 (k-4) or $15,990 (5-8), but I doubt that makes you feel much better.
anon (tfo)
PLUS : $2,500 Building Fund Assessment, one time per family.
It’s one time but still…
homedelete,
And if you have that $$$ it’s doesn’t mean auto acceptance. I know a kid who couldn’t get into Catherine Cook pre-K this year!
I live a few blocks from here. Those few blocks make a huge difference. I wouldn’t live in this place for free. The train is very loud right there. And if you walked barefoot you would need stiches from all the broken auto glass on the ground. BUT, it might make sense as an investment. Buy, then rent the unit and the two spots. You could easily get $1,500-1,700 for the unit and $200-250 for each spot.
“Buy, then rent the unit and the two spots. You could easily get $1,500-1,700 for the unit and $200-250 for each spot”
good point J, wonder if bob, HD, or anon will do a rental analysis on this place (hint, hint)
“but $18k a year, per kid, is a bit much for my taste”
dude that 15k a year is nothing to the 25k a year for Lab, Latin, and Parker.
I think $1,500 for the unit is reasonable and it would rent. The parking spot numbers might be a bit optimistic. I am seeing massive price cuts on rental parking in East Lakeview. Likely due to people parting with their cars if they don’t absolutely need them in this economy.
Parking spots that were going for $175/month I’m now seeing for $125/month. My suspicion is this will happen all over the city where people pay for parking except for downtown.
i’m interested in J’s comment about how big a difference those few blocks make. i also wonder 5-10 years down the road what this block might look like, seems hard to believe the horses will stay there forever and the projects have been scaled back a lot. i’d be surprised if this rented under 1700 but i’m no expert
This place is in a nasty part of Old Town. Such a difference between this place and say North Park and Wieland running along Wells.
I seriously doubt you could $200 – $250 consistently for parking at this place.
Its sad, but I’d rather rent an old crap shack for $1500 in Old Town on a nicer street than live on this street on this block.
Huge difference. Not exaggerating. I’ve lived in the city long enough that I’m not “afraid” to walk around over there . . . But it’s not a nice area. Go two blocks over to Wells and I think you are on one of the safest stretches in the city. You can’t walk 30 seconds on Wells between Schiller and North without seeing a cop. Setting that aside, the train is very loud by this place. I’m frankly amazed that people can live that close to the train. I know people do it . . . But in this market I don’t see anybody taking on a mortgage to do it.
I live nearby too (east of Clark). I think I went west of Wells once (CC open house:)) and it’s totally different world. I was amazed how even 1-2 blocks could make such a difference.
“dude that 15k a year is nothing to the 25k a year for Lab, Latin, and Parker.”
And it’s very hard to get into those schools. For Lab – impossible unless you work for UofC – they wouldn’t even take an application.
” if you walked barefoot you would need stiches from all the broken auto glass on the ground”
1. Is it still that bad? Last couple times I’ve been around there, there were not nearly the number of piles of auto glass as a 10-15 years ago.
2. I sure hope that there isn’t any sharp autoglass around–should all be tempered.
Hey at least this block has those handy dandy blue flashing police camera boxes…
1. Yes, lots of broken glass.
2. Not an auto glass expert, but I’m not walking on it to find out.
I didn’t realize that Parker was 25k a year. My cousins went there; how the heck did their parents get the money to afford that? They didn’t have jobs that made much? weird, I”m going to look into that.
“I didn’t realize that Parker was 25k a year. My cousins went there;”
Only 22,300 1-5. And, like all tuition, it’s gone up ridiculously in the past 20 years. Tuition at my U-Grad is almost exactly 3x higher now than the early 90s (when it was 3x higher than the late 70s); I’d bet Parker has gone up even a little more than that.
“I didn’t realize that Parker was 25k a year”
hey you can always send the kids to catholic school. 2k year, and another 2k a year for therapy. (you know being touched and all by priest)
http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1693
“catholic school. 2k year, and another 2k a year for therapy.”
5k k-8, 8k 9-12. More if you aren’t a parish member.
At least at the Cath School closest to me.
good read DanL. i have forwarded the link to many i know 🙂
“5k k-8, 8k 9-12”
oh wow that is a bit higher than i thought 🙁 i think next week i am going to have to revisit my emergency private school fund. i may need a better plan of attack. here’s to hope little one will test well!
I’ll see you in Long Grove!
“oh wow that is a bit higher than i thought 🙁 i think next week i am going to have to revisit my emergency private school fund. i may need a better plan of attack. here’s to hope little one will test well!”
“dude that 15k a year is nothing to the 25k a year for Lab, Latin, and Parker.”
Near here is the British School, which I know parents really seem to like, but I’ve heard someone mention that the British School’s tuition is similar to Parker’s. I have no first hand knowledge, but wow.
*oh, and by “near here” I meant, “near this particular property”
MrsB,
We were talking about Catherine Cook (it’s next door to this property). British is pretty close too and tuition is $21,300-24,900/year plus $3,150 one time fee (http://www.britishschool.org/Chicago/Admissions/TuitionFees). I know number of parents who are very happy with British too.
I honestly cannot imagine paying $21K for my 5 year old to attend school. I know it’s a reality nowadays, but from this public school gal, it’s still a hard pill to swallow.
*for – not from
(See! Maybe if I had gone to private school, I would’ve caught that mistake earlier?! :P)
Sorry to break it to ya:
Yah the Brit-school is probably awesome for your progeny. But so is other non-CPS public school(s).
I’m not gonna lie: if I won the lotto my kids would go there too. But realistically its not in the cards and I’m okay with that 😀
And yeah I am very into a cocktail waitress (or more) who did goto catholic school who turned out completely okay social and hawt.
I hear ya Bob.
(What are you doing on CC at 2am? Fun night :P)
“What are you doing on CC at 2am? Fun night :P”
he is on CC at 2am cause the catholic cocktail waitress is making him do the futile “lets wait three months” so we can cliq intellectually. Bob i remember those days, tip; if you dont push/mention it, it will likely happen in 1-1.5 months unless you accidently trip into “friend zone” or the dreaded “like a brother” zone.
I dont know about brit or cook, i look at it as if i am paying top dollar for an education i am going with tthe tried and true test over the years latin or parker. or go live in long grove with HD
Thing is its hard to get into Latin even if you have the money…
My own semi-personal experience. One of my neighbors started teaching Sunday School for 2 years before her kid could go to Latin to “make sure” her kids could get in.
I myself can’t see floating (2) kids at Latin prices for 12+ years…
Do you prefer the northwest suburbs, the southwest suburbs, or, the north shore?
“I myself can’t see floating (2) kids at Latin prices for 12+ years…”
“I myself can’t see floating (2) kids at Latin prices for 12+ years…”
i dont think anyone would like to pay those prices one kid its still steep three kids or more INSANE. thats why HD above comment is even more appropriate.
i would think its easier to get into a latin or parker than a whitney young or payton. it may be cheaper at parker to, cause alderman bribes are not that cheap anymore.
Live closeby, and in this area of Old Town covered or deeded parking is just not secure enough. I would only purchase where there was a garage. Maybe that will change someday, but not for a while.
I live on Orleans just north of this place. Cars being broken into is an issue occassionally – and only if you leave valuable possessions in plain sight. Outside of that, in my three years on Orleans I have never felt unsafe. You can ask the women that walk their dogs at night up and down the street if they feel safe as well. There is certainly a concern living near the PJs and west of North Park/Weiland. It has a slightly different feel and the train and horse stables do not help the cause. That said, this is a function of pricing… and likely, the purchaser will build that into their valuation. As far as this nonsense about the architecture – it’s a new construction center entrance six (or eight) flat. That’s how they look. Shut up about it. This place rents for $1800 including one parking spot all day long. The other parking spot rents for $225. I’ve tried acquiring indoor parking in Old Town for the past year and a half for less, it doesn’t happen – there’s always someone willing to pony up and spend more.
Personal experience.
2 years ago, my friends car was broken into. On North Park.
Was my friend stupid and her car fully of stuff in plain site? Yes.
Is there enough foot traffic that would be interested around the division wells north ave larabee area that breaks into cars. Yes.
I can see parking renting for 200 for a garage spot in this area.
according to redfin this is under contract now. i’m interested in seeing the closing price (or if it even closes).
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/323-W-Schiller-St-60610/unit-2E/home/12557969
Sold…$317,000
Thanks for the update z509.