The 3-Bedroom Vintage English Single Family Home Under $450K: 6136 N. Lenox in Edgebrook
This 3-bedroom single family home at 6136 N. Lenox in Edgebrook recently came on the market.
It is a short sale and is listed $127,000 under the 2007 purchase price.
Built in 1937, the listing says it is the English architectural style.
The living room has a fireplace and a beamed ceiling.
All 3 bedrooms are on the second floor and there is a first floor den/office and a lower level recreation room.
The kitchen has white cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
The house is on an oversized 35×124 Chicago lot, has central air and a 2-car garage.
Is this a good starter home for the price?
John Oertel at Dream Town has the listing. See more pictures and a floor plan here.
6136 N. Lenox: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car garage
- Sold in July 1989 for $155,000
- Sold in November 1992 for $195,000
- Sold in May 2005 for $510,000
- Sold in March 2007 for $557,000
- Originally listed in February 2011 for $430,000
- Currently listed as a “short sale” for $430,000
- Taxes of $7740
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 18×9 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 12×11 (second floor)
- Bedroomn #3: 12×9 (second floor)
- Lower level rec room
I love the interactive floorplan on the realtor’s website. (Eric Rojas eat your heart out). This looks like a nice home…looks like metra over the El for public transportation options.
My significant other and I discussed this house but as you can see from the floor plan, there is no bathroom on the main floor. There is a full bath up and a full bath in the basement; except that hanging out in the basement doesn’t look too inviting. I don’t know about paying $450,000 for a home without a bathroom on the main floor. Kinda goofy. No house is perfect, I understand, but that’s something I couldn’t over look. like a few months ago we strolled by an open house in the neighborhood and the home, for $400k, had a full bath downstairs (After walking throu
“I don’t know about paying $450,000 for a home without a bathroom on the main floor. ”
Maybe if the upstairs had two (master and kids/guests) and there were a 3d in the basement, but with only 2 total, yeah.
gh an unfinished basement to get there); and a full bathroom off the kitchen! There was a dingy grimey half bathroom upstairs.
Who wants to walk from the bedroom, downstairs through the living room, to shower in the old pantry off the kitchen? Especially in a house that was $400k? Are we still in the bubble? The house eventually sold for $360,000, apparently some people don’t mind showering off the kitchen but hell, I’m not walking around my house and up the stairs in a towel at 6 am in January to shower. What a joke.
“looks like metra over the El for public transportation option”
metra is a trek and a trek down a four lane street (peterson/calwdwell).
as for this home, i say why deal with the short sale and wait 18 months for the foreclosure?
even for me the NW side support i have a hard time with the price for this over 400k.
you get a top notch grammar school but its also walking across another 4 lane street (devon).
anyone remember the park right off the expressway that had a gigantic metal robot with slides for arms?
ps
DZ note the proximity to the highway!
Who knows, probably longer. The owners could qualify for a loan modification and drag out potential foreclosure for years. The shadow inventory is huge. I’ve got a case with someone over in Gladstone, haven’t paid a mortgage payment since early 2009, got a loan mod, defaulted on that, then the foreclosure was on hold, it just fired back up, court in April. By the time it actually returns to the bank’s possession and goes on the market it will be between November 2011 and February 2012.
“as for this home, i say why deal with the short sale and wait 18 months for the foreclosure?”
“ps
DZ note the proximity to the highway!”
This qualifies as far (as the crow flies, not driving distance), among those you post.
“DZ note the proximity to the highway!”
I always do. I understand wanting to be close to the blue line (not an issue for this place), the highway less so (realize blue line and kennedy are the same in irving park). I know traffic is probably better on my access street (Calif) than most and I don’t drive during the week, but is driving an extra quarter mile that time consuming?
The forest preserve directly to the south is the beginning of a wonderful asset of the dilapidated cook county forest preserve system. The north branch trail is a paved multi-use path that is 12 miles to the Skokie Lagoons and 14 miles and ends at the Botanical Gardens. And since you’re that far up north, you can detour onto side roads and cruise around the north shore and over to Ravinia. Much less crowded than the lake path and the further north you get the more forested the trail becomes.
Very cute house. HD, your bathroom complaint is valid.
Sometimes the drive up Keeler from Grace to the northbound on ramp can take 15 minutes.
Every minute is precious when you’re sitting in traffic. you know what 90 is like. That stretch between cumberland and montrose is 6 mins when there is no traffic and explodes to 30 mins or more during bad rush hours, or on friday afternoons, or in the mornings. Hell sometimes sitting at that tollbooth can take 25 minutes on the inbound side, even at 7 pm at night. it all adds up.
“DZ on March 25th, 2011 at 10:34 am
“DZ note the proximity to the highway!”
I always do. I understand wanting to be close to the blue line (not an issue for this place), the highway less so (realize blue line and kennedy are the same in irving park). I know traffic is probably better on my access street (Calif) than most and I don’t drive during the week, but is driving an extra quarter mile that time consuming?”
I am mistaken, the bike trail starts at Caldwell and Lehigh a few blocks to the west. There is an unofficial and unpaved trail directly to the south in the forest preserve used primarily by teenagers smoking dope, creepy dudes drinking 40’s, a handful of mountain bikers and the occasional neighborhood resident going for a stroll. That trail exits in the parking lot of the indian head forest, and ten you have to cross Central and take teh FPD sidewalk through Old Edgebrook to reach the start of the trail.
“I don’t know about paying $450,000 for a home without a bathroom on the main floor.”
“Maybe if the upstairs had two (master and kids/guests) and there were a 3d in the basement, but with only 2 total, yeah.”
That’s what 2042 Bradley was like (no first floor bath, toilet in basement, main bedroom floor bath, although did have a midget (can I say that?) shower in the attic) at over $600K. It is Bell though…
I understand how the 2005 price happened. Cant fathom the 2007 price….Should have been in the 400’s…maybe
HD, cannot you low ball it and offer say 380 for the place? I think the bathroom situation is not all that bad considering how cute this place it. Also it has real wood burning fireplace, right?
“That’s what 2042 Bradley was like (no first floor bath, toilet in basement, main bedroom floor bath, although did have a midget (can I say that?) shower in the attic) at over $600K. It is Bell though…”
Well over–$670k. But teardowns are still going for $450-500, in worse locations in the area, so there’s that.
What’s a buildable lot/teardown sell for now in Edgebrook? There’s the Old Edgebrook lot that sold for $400k.
“I understand how the 2005 price happened. Cant fathom the 2007 price….Should have been in the 400’s…maybe”
Mar-07 would have been a contract signed before anything hit.
“HD, cannot you low ball it and offer say 380 for the place? I think the bathroom situation is not all that bad considering how cute this place it. Also it has real wood burning fireplace, right?”
You can low ball short sales all you want–the seller doesn’t usually care–but that doesn’t mean the lender will accept the offer. You’re usually better off waiting for the property to come back on the market as an REO unless you absolutely love a house and are willing to wait months for the lender’s response to an offer.
I think HD is no big hurry so he can potentially wait. Of course that is if he can live with no bathroom on the main floor. I could do that if other family members agreed to use the basement bathroom : )
ON a cash flow basis only, $380,000 with 20% down mortgage @ 5% is still $1,632 a month plus $650 a month taxes for a monthly payment of roughly $2,300 a month.
Sure the school is Edgebrook but that’s a crowded school I hear with upwards of 30 or more kids per class.
I don’t know, I try to look at homes on a cash flow basis for budgeting purposes, and this to me does not scream $2,300 a month. More like $1,600 or $1,700, possibly $1,800.
Sure a $2,300 a month mortgage payment is easy according to the 28/36 gross income…but at $80,000 a year salary, the $2,300 mortgage takes up roughly one entire wage earner’s paycheck, leaving the other paycheck for bills like daycare, student loans and car insurance. There’s a little money left over for food and utilities. Not a lot, just a little. With those kind of numbers an extra $500 a month savings on teh mortgage pays for cable tv, utilities and car insurance.
“#miumiu on March 25th, 2011 at 10:53 am
HD, cannot you low ball it and offer say 380 for the place? I think the bathroom situation is not all that bad considering how cute this place it. Also it has real wood burning fireplace, right?”
Strike the daycare example above
a single wage earner doesn’t need daycare (presuming a two couple household); so replace daycare with ‘car payment’ which is significantly less than daycare, but still, the numbers are a little tighter than I would care to do. I mean, the wage earner lost a job and went from an $80k a year salary to a $70k a year salary, things would be tighter, or if no bonsuses were paid out, it would be tough.
“$650 a month taxes”
They should be lower, but long term might be higher.
You’re forgetting the $200+/month for insurance that everyone always wants to add in.
“You’re forgetting the $200+/month for insurance that everyone always wants to add in.”
$200+/month for insurance? You’re talking about homeowners insurance, right? Because for my SFH it’s under $50/month.
On a side note, I just received a letter from the Cook County Board of Review on my assessed value appeal. The property was overassesed by roughly $120,000, based on recent purchase price, and I got the assessment reduced by about $60,000. To get the valeu reduced further I can either appeal again with Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board or file a complaint in Circuit Court of Cook County. Anyone have any experience with either of these options?
“$200+/month for insurance? You’re talking about homeowners insurance, right? Because for my SFH it’s under $50/month.”
Yeah, I know, but time and again people put in .5% or more for HO insurance. It was a dig on that thinking.
HD, it is good to see someone is actually considering all their expenses before buying a home. I think the mood in this country was (I dare say is) to overestimate ones buying power. When I was a student, my parents bought me a condo and I was shocked that I could qualify for such a huge amount. Of course my parents knew that I could never afford to pay such a mortgage so they paid the place mostly up front and I ended up paying the same amount I was paying for rentals as mortgage as they wanted me to learn to be responsible and not squander all my stipend on cloths : )
That is why I feel bad for people who go to foreclosures and short sales. I feel the system was designed to encourage irresponsible borrowing.
Nice!
“When I was a student, my parents bought me a condo…… my parents knew that I could never afford to pay such a mortgage so they paid the place mostly up front.”
I’m prudent and responsible. I recognize, probably more clearly than most, that right now is a weird time in the economy. the days of 8% returns on my money are over. I don’t have a pension, 401(k)’s are little more than a gifted fee skimming operation for wall street, my social security will probably be means tested or reduced. Today its not like the boomers who could buy a house in the 70’s for $40,000 in northbrook or glenview and have it be worth $400,000 today paid off. Inflation today seems to produce a lower standard of living rather than meaningful wage increases. I want to buy a house that I can afford, that I can afford to actually pay off within 30 years; and I can afford if for whatever reason I have to take a pay cut. It’s an entirely different perspective for my generation that I think few have actually embraced, which puts me ahead of the curve. Of course there could always be a curveball in there somewhere but you can only plan as best as you can and a curveball might be a welcome surprise.
Someone was happy to pay 557k for this in 2007…LOL.
Don’t worry HD as people default en masse like this spendthrift owner will likely do neighborhoods like Edgebrook will start to resemble neighborhoods of Detroit. Then you can get houses like this for 40k again, but it might take 20 years.
Of my peer group of friends between 24-35, i know few people who have a net worth above zero. I know people with higher incomes, low incomes, mostly college educated, good private colleges, to the big 10 to state schools. A handful have a net worth above zero, and they almost always come from wealthy families and have no student loans. The rest of the people I know are far far underwater, well into negative net worth. The student loans, the credit cards, the car notes, a handful have mortgages. I feel like I know a fairly representative cross-section of people too. Now granted some aren’t too far from zero when you factor it in, but a significant portion are below zero. Few have pensions, same SS issues, same 401(k) issues; sure anything can happen in 30 years but i need to plan today for 30 yeras ahead and adjust accordingly.
“sure anything can happen in 30 years but i need to plan today for 30 yeras ahead and adjust accordingly.”
A not too insane bet will be the debtmonkeys will try to come after your money at some point in the future. Afterall Larry is going to need medical care for his diabetes and it’s just money!
“a single wage earner doesn’t need daycare (presuming a two couple household)”
True, if one spouse does not work, they don’t “need” daycare. For that matter, no family needs more than one bathroom, let alone nice appliances, a view, a big t.v., wood floors, etc.
But the fact is that many families incur childcare costs such as or similar to daycare regardless of the primary care-giver’s employment status. At a minimum, many so-called stay-at-homers have a sitter/nanny come at least a couple of times a week for a few hours during the day. And once the kid is two or so, many place the kid in a pre-school type program, ranging from a few hours a week to a few hours a day.
For instance, between a daytime sitter (about 6 hours a week) and a pre-school (a couple of days a week), we’re spending slightly over $1,000/mo right now for our two-year old, regardless of whether my spouse is currently working part-time. And that amount will only increase this fall, when amount of school hours increases. Even beyond the admitted “luxury” of freeing up some time for errands, exercise, etc. for the primary care giver (every care for a kid 12 hours a day, 5 days a week?), there is much to be said for socializing/preparing a kid for elementary school.
I have to say we just passed on a place in Lake Bluff that we thought was overpriced considering how much work it needed, thinking it would never short sell at that price and to just wait for the foreclosed price which would be much lower. I think it actually went under contract at the open house. It seems that in desirable areas where supply is still low people will still dig into those pockets. Of course it hasn’t closed yet, this is it’s third round under contract…
And yes Edgebrook school may have great scores but it’s very overcrowded.
It looks like the den was a garage at one time. 19 X 9 is an ackw. room size. It would take $$$, but one could fit in a bath at the interior end, make another entrance to the den ($$ due to supporting wall) in that long hallway or through the kitchen(breakfast is better in the DR and not at a bar that looks at a wall). The kitchen also bothers me as it is a go through and should be a bind corner; ie. another $$$ project to relocate the back door. Our house is very similar, and not having a bath on the main floor has not been an issue and made the house affordable. The price seems high and should be lower 300-350K considering the flaws.
That is what I used to think, but many of my colleagues have stay home wives who still use part time day care or nannies. I don’t get it myself, but in fairness I have not been in their shoes. My colleague was even telling me that once he gets home after 7 pm and on weekends he takes over the chores. He also told me that his wife taking care of a new born has barely time to even wash the bottles or cook dinner. It really scares me as both my husband and I work full time.
“a single wage earner doesn’t need daycare (presuming a two couple household)”
“He also told me that his wife taking care of a new born has barely time to even wash the bottles or cook dinner. It really scares me as both my husband and I work full time.”
So true. My wife recently left her job to stay home with our baby. Before buying a house it’s very wise to have a plan in case one spouse, voluntarily or involuntarily, stops working.
“And yes Edgebrook school may have great scores but it’s very overcrowded.”
and so is oriole park, its way over crowded year after year and despite that its always one of the top schools of the STATE and beats out test in schools.
so what is the point about the overcrowding when theses two schools continue to be at the top?
“I love the interactive floorplan on the realtor’s website.”
The experience can be disorienting because the camera angles in the floorplan don’t always match the angles in the pictures. For example, the den floorplan cameras face east and west, while the camera angles shown in the pics obviously face north and south.
“My colleague was even telling me that once he gets home after 7 pm and on weekends he takes over the chores. He also told me that his wife taking care of a new born has barely time to even wash the bottles or cook dinner. It really scares me as both my husband and I work full time”
dont be scared, i think your buddy (if i use colleague ever somebody kick me in the shins) is stretching the truth or his wife is rocking some bad postpartum depression (seriously if you think its the latter get her help quick!!!)
when little groove was born i took off for a little over a month and only went in a few days the first week of the month to close the books. wife already left work two months before.
the first i think 7-8 months i hired a cleaning lady to pick up the slack there. and the first 3 months wifey didnt cook dinner we order out.
but its not bad and we hand washed all our bottles/nipple/binky’s, and wifey “says” its no problems once you get a rhythm.
i didnt have to worry as wifey had the house clean and dinner ready by the time i got home, and really with no complaints of it being as bad as your buddy said.
right after i will say she had a few cases of the postpartum depression and once i would pick up on it or my mother in-law saw it. i would “send in the troops” and give her a free weekend with the girls and during the week get a grandma to scoop the kiddo up for a “impromptu” park visit.
once a quarter send they new mommy to a spa and when you see its a hard day with a case of the colic while you were at work kick her out the house and take over.
just make sure when she gets back the house doesnt look worse than when she left it, as that usually makes things worse as i learned the hard way 🙂
“He also told me that his wife taking care of a new born has barely time to even wash the bottles or cook dinner.”
Really depends on how much the newborn sleeps, and what attitude one takes toward level of interaction with the little lump when awake. Parenting a newborn can *definitely* consume every moment, if you want it to/let it.
Groove you seem to have a great attitude and life. I hope we can be as good as you guys.
I have so far (knock on wood) never ever been depressed and if fact, people think I am more on the hyper side : ) But you never know with all the hormonal changes and all. Good thing is that we are fortunate enough to have both my mom and my mother in law being kind enough to offer us help and also we are going to have a nanny. My mother in law might even come over for couple of month to help and she is an amazing cook among other things.
“Parenting a newborn can *definitely* consume every moment, if you want it to/let it.”
oh gosh its all in the midset how you approach it like anon(ufo) says. the little bugger will be a time machine shooting forward to a day you didnt realize and say “shyte its thursday already”.
just remember good mind GOING IN is the key and will keep the good mind during the rough times and will come out with a GREAT mind in the end.
You’re right, it can be $1,000 per month for a part time sitter and schooling, which again, makes a $380,000 house with 20% down all the less affordable according to the traditional 28/36 gross income guidelines. Which is why every time I crunch the numbers, they just don’t add up, and it’s sort of depressing because the ‘deals’ get snapped up quickly and the rest is all overpriced; and eventually, there is always someone willing to overpay far more on a unit than what I think it’s worth. Then again it makes my sig other think that we’re poor and everyone makes more than us.
I have to tell her no, we are not poor, we are far from poor, we don’t have $15,000 balances on our target card nor do we go out to dinner 6x a month and charge it to the discover card. We’re not willing, unlike others, to pay 50% of our take home income to live in a $400 or $500 house, but plenty of others are. many of them make up the difference on credit cards and have little in savings. I might be overly broad here making sweeping generalizations, but I’ve learned doing these bks (Which aren’t all poor people from teh south side btw) that you never really know what your neighbor’s financial picture is like, and more likely than not, it’s debt, not wealth, behind that facade.
“and charge it to the discover card.”
ok off the kid topic, but i thought the discover card was now akin to the dinners club card? do they even have good enough rewards?
and dang it if you dont have the red card for the 5% off what the heck is wrong with you. that 5% is better than any points i can get
I think your sig other should be proud to have a thoughtful confident man who does not need to conform to masses to feel good about himself. My husband is like you too. He is very wise and always calculates carefully before making financial commitments. He even puts me through these drills…lol…that involves me writing a check for the amount we will need for the mortgage and all every month for 6 month or so ahead to make sure I still can manage my accounts and won’t feel pressured or unhappy.
somtimes i feel like the discussion on CC is a pursuit in getting down to the most exact home economics numbers… next im guessing the discussion will be on whether or not people should have children at a certain age…
Simply brilliant!
Worked with first child – both parents shared housework/childcare and it worked well
Stayed home after second child was born – I did all the cooking/cleaning/school commitments, husband expected to work more now that he has a stay at home wife
Recently returned to work – I’m still doing all the chores as well as working full time and my husband is still expected to do more work
Working once your children reach school age is much more difficult than when they’re babies. And the cost of having two kids in daycare is obscene, better plan space for an au pair if you want to have more than two and keep a full time career.
Thanks for the advice Jennifer. I feel you. Eventually most woman who work end up doing majority of the home chores as well. But I love my job and cannot imagine not working so have to learn to do as all you other ladies have been doing.
“somtimes i feel like the discussion on CC is a pursuit in getting down to the most exact home economics numbers… next im guessing the discussion will be on whether or not people should have children at a certain age… ”
Children are one of the worst economic decisions you can possibly make. But they are worth it (or so I am told)
DO you have any other nuggets of wisdom for us?
“Children are one of the worst economic decisions you can possibly make. But they are worth it (or so I am told)”
He is right though.
looks like I hit a sore spot eh HD… guess you aren’t as financially prudent as you like to think you are
Aside from the fact that you have to live in an area with better schools (higher property prices and possibly taxes) and that they require more space than you may have previously needed, there are doctor bills, dentist bills, they go through clothes like you wouldn’t believe and then they start school and you have the PTO knocking on your door. Then there are sports. And college. And weddings. Although I promise you don’t have to buy a minivan.
Miumiu it is possible to have a career and be a parent. Plenty of women do it every day. In our case we decided to make sure one of us was always available for the kids and that happened to be me, if my career had taken off first it would have been him. But we don’t have family to help and have never had space for a nanny. We are literally alone, which we don’t mind, but it means sacrifices. You’re not in that position so you’ll be fine.
It’s not a sore spot at all, really. I may not even have any children, just planning for them.
Jennifer is right though, you can never plan to have enough money for kids… its impossible unless you’re a millionaire already
Well you sound like a wonderful mother and a wife Jennifer and the fact that you guys did all this without help speaks volumes of you and your husband.
BTW, just came back from watching King’s speech. What a great movie!
This place will not go for over $400K. The bathroom issue is a major one here. Also, what is the great thing with this specific area? The diagonal street just south is a traffic nightmare most days with huge backups there. Ick.
It is getting harder and harder these days for a one income family, especially if the husband is earning a similar salary or even a lesser salary than the wife. This is what causes many people to self select out of living in the city or the Chicago area altogether after they hit 30-32 years old and want a family with a stay at home parent.
Jen – a lot of families do not have relatives close by to help with child care and do not have “nannies” or sitters; they use day-care centers/nursery schools. Funny that you didn’t mention those options in your post.
Oops -my bad, you did mention day care as being too expensive for more than one kid. Don’t they (like many private schools) give you a “second child discount?”
Grove77: “but its not bad and we hand washed all our bottles/nipple/binky’s, and wifey “says” its no problems once you get a rhythm.”
WTF is a binky?
Binky=pacifier
M.L. on March 25th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
“I love the interactive floorplan on the realtor’s website.”
The experience can be disorienting because the camera angles in the floorplan don’t always match the angles in the pictures. For example, the den floorplan cameras face east and west, while the camera angles shown in the pics obviously face north and south.
M.L. – I think you’re mistaken, please check the Picture Plan again – all photos have been placed correctly. After each Picture Plan is completed by our production staff, our quality control staffs makes sure mistakes that are caught before final delivery.
Second child discount at most daycares is 10% if you’re lucky, and non-existent if you’re not. Our current daycare is $340 per week for babies (it gets cheaper as they get older), my friend’s downtown daycare is $400 per week. Once you get to two it gets cheaper to just hire a nanny at those prices!
And I forgot to mention that you can’t send a child to daycare when they’re sick, which when they’re in daycare is often, you can’t always get out of school care during school vacations (we could only get 3 days this week, the park district program isn’t running the other 2), and then there are snow days. It’s actually easier for a dad to get more flexibility at work to take care of this stuff than it is for a mom surprisingly.
So basically, you need someone with a more flexible job in order to have a dual income family and a kid. This is good to know, as many companies took away some of their flexibility from workers during the recession because they could. When you live in this region, it takes longer to get to and from work if you work downtown, and adds to the time you are away from home/paying for a nanny/day care.
It’s an all around crappy situation but I guess it could be worse. There are no easy answers now that in most cases, both parents work full-time. The only other option is to move out there, way out there, like McHenry County or Will County out there, and move into one of those new neighborhoods where there are tons of kids, 4 bedroom homes, an elementary school within walking distance, and it’s all for around $200k or a little more. But then I’d have a hellish 75 to 90 minute commute everyday, but there are plenty of people who live that lifestyle. However, this is an appealing option for many, given the explosive growth of Kendall, Kane, McHenry and Kane Counties over the past decade. The trends have already been in place for years, and stupid homes like this with no bathroom on the first floor for $450k only further cement the trend.
“#Dave M on March 28th, 2011 at 6:50 am
So basically, you need someone with a more flexible job in order to have a dual income family and a kid. This is good to know, as many companies took away some of their flexibility from workers during the recession because they could. When you live in this region, it takes longer to get to and from work if you work downtown, and adds to the time you are away from home/paying for a nanny/day care.”
Yeah, I agree. I think this one needs a major remodel, so a second bath is added, and this house is brought into the 21st century.
It needs more than a remodel, it needs a major price reduction and lower taxes. Times are tough and they’re not going to get any better. The city has over promised services, pensions and salaries and now they’re about to stick their hands deeper into our pockets. God help us all.
“…stupid homes like this with no bathroom on the first floor for $450k…”
HD–what’s the most you would pay for a property with only 1 bathroom (presumably on the second floor) in a decent area?
“Yeah, I agree. I think this one needs a major remodel, so a second bath is added, and this house is brought into the 21st century.”
There is a second bath, it just happens to be in the basement.
Executed Recorded Document Type Amount
11/27/1992 12/07/1992 WARRANTY DEED $195,000.00
Executed Recorded Document Type Amount
07/24/1989 07/25/1989 WARRANTY DEED $155,000.00
The previous, and long time owners, from 1992 – 2005, paid only $195,000 for the home. The owners before that paid a whopping $155,000! The 1989 mortgage was for $124,000! My how times have changed.
I don’t know what kind of condition it was in, but in 1992 or 1989 I’m sure the neighborhood was substantially similar to it is today given that the residency requirement has been around for a while.
To get the payment of this house less than $2,000 a month (cash flow basis only) the price needs to be $320,000 with 20% down payment.
To get the payment down to $1,800 a month (which to me at least seems like a reasonable amount to pay for a SFH with no bathroom off the living room in an over crowded school dist) the price needs to be $280,000 with a $56,000 (20%) down payment.
Sure, that seems absrub
Sure, that seems absurd to some people, but crunch the numbers, look at what this house cost in the past, look at what a rent equiv (on a cash flow basis) would cost. When the housing market recovers prices will look like this, most assuredly.
don’t forget that interest rates were nearly double what they were during the bubble.
“Sure, that seems absurd to some people, but crunch the numbers, look at what this house cost in the past”
$156,000 mortgage at 9% is still less than $1,000 a month and most assuredly taxes were far lower too.
“The previous, and long time owners, from 1992 – 2005, paid only $195,000 for the home. The owners before that paid a whopping $155,000! The 1989 mortgage was for $124,000! My how times have changed. ”
$195k in ’92 deflated is $307.6k now. And, at a minimum, the kitchen was redone after 1992. Something around $350k might be an ok equivalence.
“$156,000 mortgage at 9% is still less than $1,000 a month”
NO it is *NOT*. It’s $1,255. Deflated, that’s $1,979 now, which, at 5.5%, pays a $350k mortgage.
RE taxes anon; the $1,979 doesn’t include $671 a month in RE taxes…
We can crunch real vs. nominal numbers all day long but that won’t change the fact that I have family members who work for the airlines and make, nominally, make LESS per hour today than when they started in 1992. Sure there is inflation, there are also wage issues too. I stand my assertion that this house should cost less than $2,000 a month with RE taxes. I showed above that making $80k a year makes this home a very tight fit because even at $2,000 a month it takes up nearly one wage earners entire paycheck.
“NO it is *NOT*. It’s $1,255. Deflated, that’s $1,979 now, which, at 5.5%, pays a $350k mortgage.”
Yeah, this price is absurd given the house. $80,000 is a decent salary for one earner for most college educated people with 7-10 years of experience. This would be your typical buyer in this area.
“We can crunch real vs. nominal numbers all day long”
When you say things like “$156,000 mortgage at 9% is still less than $1,000 a month” it seems like you’re just making them up, which then becomes the focus of the discussion rather than any actual points.
That’s true.
When you start comparing it real vs. nominal, and factoring in taxes, and then it starts to get complicated.
“#anon (tfo) on March 28th, 2011 at 10:38 am
“We can crunch real vs. nominal numbers all day long”
When you say things like “$156,000 mortgage at 9% is still less than $1,000 a month” it seems like you’re just making them up, which then becomes the focus of the discussion rather than any actual points.”
DUH! It’s monday, it is $1,200 a month, I couldn’t figure out what you were talking about…I forgot to take out the 20% down payment part on the redfin calc.
I’m going to stop posting now before I cause any other problems.
“When you start comparing it real vs. nominal, and factoring in taxes, and then it starts to get complicated. ”
But, just looking at a nominal price from 20 (or more) years ago with *NO* adjustment is horribly misleading, too.
Did you know that you used to be able to buy a brand new Ferrari for less than a Ford Taurus costs today?
Adjust for median incomes or average wages or starting teacher salaries or whatever, but $195k in ’92 was a *lot* more than $195k today, even ignoring mortgage rates. Which, of course, doesn’t change the fact that this house isn’t what either of us think you should get for $430k *today*.
Anon I see you missed my 10:46 a.m. post…
“But, just looking at a nominal price from 20 (or more) years ago with *NO* adjustment is horribly misleading, too.”
“Did you know that you used to be able to buy a brand new Ferrari for less than a Ford Taurus costs today?”
You know I don’t disagree with your main point, or your specific statement (as written) about the Ferrari/Taurus, but I was just talking with someone about how nominal quality-adjusted prices for cars haven’t changed that much. I remember someone buying a (top of line) Accord for about $15K in 1988. Seems to me you could get pretty close today (recognizing the features/size of the 1988 Accord).
FWIW, my 1985 Honda Accord still had the window sticker in the glovebox when I bought it over a decade later, IIRC, the MSRP was ~$11,500 for a fairly loaded-up LX model (cloth, power windows and locks, automatic transmission, power antenna, tape deck). A Civic DX starts at $16,605 with automatic, and it includes all the features my Accord did, along with airbags, ABS, and fuel injection. The current Civic is also larger than my Accord was.
I haven’t checked but the price I have in mind was for a 1988 LXi sedan, I think pretty loaded although the “base” LXi may have had most everything already.
“The current Civic is also larger than my Accord was.”
I’ve got a Civic too but note how much legroom is lacking for those rear seats. Might be fine for transporting four adults to lunch or short distances but quite unfeasible for medium or long road trips.
I think the newer Jetta is going to smoke the Civic as it’s priced comparably, similar MPG and has much more rear legroom.
“Anon I see you missed my 10:46 a.m. post…”
Typing while you posted.
“nominal quality-adjusted prices for cars haven’t changed that much.”
No, they haven’t, that’s true. What has changed is the price of the cheapest available new car, which has gone up quite a bit, but then the current entry-level car is much better equipped, and of better overall quality, than an “average” car from 25 years ago.
So what kind of earnings do people need to live comfortably in that area then? $110K or more?
Let’s assume the following: one spouse works, the other stays home with the 2 kids. Max out on 401k and Roth IRA contributions. Buy cars every 10 years. Live conservatively and clip coupons.
“So what kind of earnings do people need to live comfortably in that area then? $110K or more? ”
“Live conservatively and clip coupons.”
You and I have different definitions of comfortable.
Even with current interest rates, I wouldn’t go over ~3x income, unless I were intentionally stretching for some good reason (reasonably expectation of near term raises, inheritance, etc.).
Let’s assume 20% down. So to buy this one, you would say you’d need $120K in income, assuming it sells for ask?
“Let’s assume 20% down. So to buy this one, you would say you’d need $120K in income, assuming it sells for ask?”
I meant purchase price of 3x, so I’d say $135k, at a minimum, and liking everything as-is (paint, possibly light fixtures, excluded) well enough to live with it for 5+ years.
“The trends have already been in place for years, and stupid homes like this with no bathroom on the first floor for $450k only further cement the trend. ”
This seller, like so many others, has likely used their house as ATM to sustain their spendthrift lifestyle so they can’t lower too much. But if they’re underwater and want to move enough of these people will be walking and it will go back to the bank.
“This seller, like so many others, has likely used their house as ATM to sustain their spendthrift lifestyle so they can’t lower too much.”
Dude, read the post. They paid $557k for it–even if they put 20% down and are completely current on the mortgage, at the current ask, they’d need to bring cash to close to pay the realtor and transfer costs.
This is doable on $120,000, but the question you should be asking is does someone with a $120,000 household income want to be living here at this price point. I’m not talking two cops at $60k a piece or a streets and san guy making $80k and a wife making $40k in HR. I’m talking a professional with a $120,000 with a stay at home partner. Sure, that cuople would live in the neighbrohood, there are plenty of nicer homes in the near vicinity; but would they want to live in ‘this’ house. The answer is clearly no at this price.
“#Dave M on March 28th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Let’s assume 20% down. So to buy this one, you would say you’d need $120K in income, assuming it sells for ask?”
$135K is beyond the means of most people that would be looking to buy in that area, especially with just one income. Probably not worth over $400k in my opinion.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6142-N-Lenox-Ave-60646/home/13513966
$331k
I just think that $120,000 is a lot of money for an income for one earner. Maybe I’m crazy, but often times it takes 15-20 years in a profession to reach that level, at which point you wouldn’t want to be living in this location.
“Dude, read the post. They paid $557k for it–even if they put 20% down and are completely current on the mortgage, at the current ask, they’d need to bring cash to close to pay the realtor and transfer costs.”
Good then they dug their financial grave when they bought it for $557k. Fortunes are made or lost in RE on the buy. They might not have known it but they lost theirs.
Plus that basement looks damp either it’s not getting enough light or it’s prone to flooding. Quite unsafe to have a basement with no windows either (cannot tell if the 2nd window is glass blocks or not).
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6325-N-Legett-Ave-60646/home/13513314
$479,000 3/2 up the block
“I just think that $120,000 is a lot of money for an income for one earner. Maybe I’m crazy, but often times it takes 15-20 years in a profession to reach that level, at which point you wouldn’t want to be living in this location.”
The location is fine, it’s the particular house, for the particular price, that’s questionable.
i also noticed that there is no closet in the master bedroom, and no room for dressers, so they built some sort of 1980’s looking dressers into the wall near the door. I just bought new furniture and it wouldn’t even in there.
I’m looking for a place to put a bathroom on the main floor and I’m just not seeing it. The ‘den’ maybe, but where? Theres a side door that leads outside from the 19×9 ‘den’ that is accessable only by going into the stairwell to go to the basement.
This house is getting weirder and weirder, there’s no way to fix the problems. That’s why they have that 1980’s bathroom in the basement. I’m liking this house less and less. I know there are no perfect home, but this is just flawed it seems.
“I’m looking for a place to put a bathroom on the main floor and I’m just not seeing it.”
It’s called “in the addition”. Which is also where the master bedroom and bath are located. Look at the aerial and how much shorter than most of its neighbors this house is.
Yeah, I was trying to figure out how to do it without an addition, but that’s not possible. With an addition you could have to reconfigure the floor plan a little too. blow out the kitchen, add a bathroom, put a master bath and room for furniture, etc. No way this is a $450k home that needs $120,000 addition.
An addition also means tearing up that nice patio deck and redoing it. that’s additional expense.
It’s probably a $330K home that needs a $100K addition that would probably need to be 100% paid for in cash by the buyer. No thanks.
“However, this is an appealing option for many, given the explosive growth of Kendall, Kane, McHenry and Kane Counties over the past decade.”
HomeDelete,
dude i was at the walmart on rt31 in mchenry county this past saturday (dont ask why) and doooode you dont want to live that lifestyle.
my wife and i left that walmart sad for the human race. and we are not snobs, but daymn there is a reasom peopleofwalmartdotcom is popular.
Yeah, it’s amazing to witness, it’s the same at the Walmart on Touhy where the Edgebrookers go, actually it’s worse there ….at least in McHenry they speak English.
“my wife and i left that walmart sad for the human race.”
You can’t use wal-mart to base your judgment. It’s not fair. Half the people in the store only leave their home to shop there. And the other half waits until midnight on the first of the month to buy their items.
http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/09/22/walmarts_midnight_baby_formula_bread_line
and the other half are hypocrite union members who shop there for the lowest possible prices!
“You can’t use wal-mart to base your judgment. It’s not fair”
i know, i know i say it in jest but you know there some truth to it. but mchenry county is a different life than OIP, its a litte too “us 99.5” for me to relate and enjoy the neighbors.
not saying its bad it just different from where you and me live now.
im am out on rt31 once every 5-6 weeks and its nice to visit but would need zoloft to live there
Except there’s also rampant fraud in food stamps. I know of many people who take advantage of their free $200/mo in groceries even after they re-gain employment.
I can’t say that it still isn’t nutritionally beneficial to them as they do wind up eating generally healthier food bought from the grocery store vs. fast food, but it is fraud nonetheless.
UNDER CONTRACT
Probably won’t see a closing on this for a LONG time being a short sale.
Reactivated; new price $409,000.
$380,000 listed