The Elusive Lakeview SFH Under $400K Is Still Available 7 Months Later: 3442 N. Paulina
Last May, we chattered about what was then (and still is) one of the cheapest single family homes for sale in Lakeview at 3442 N. Paulina.
Check out our prior chatter here.
Back in May, this 2-story home built in 1888 was listed at $399,500 and had gone under contract in 3 days.
The old listing said it had a new kitchen, including bamboo floors, and baths. The house also had central air. It was missing parking, however, but there was a mysterious “parking easement” possibility.
It has been on, and off, the market in the 7 months since.
The house is now back “on” the market and has been reduced by $14,500 since last May.
It still has its location near Starbucks and Whole Foods. And it still has the backyard. There is now no mention of parking.
The current listing says it has new HVAC, plumbing, electric and hardwood floors.
This listing also has a larger, and better, set of pictures.
Elizabeth Bleeker at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
See the property website here.
3442 N. Paulina: 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, no square footage listed (but in May it said 1600 square feet)
- Sold in September 1988 for $106,000
- Sold in June 1991 for $136,000
- Was listed in May 2009 for $399,500
- Under contract in 3 days
- Re-listed several times
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $385,000
- Taxes of $5593
- Central Air
- No Parking
- Bedroom #1: 20×13 (second level)
- Bedrooms #2: 12×10 (second level)
- Bedroom #3: 10×10 (second level)
- Living room: 14×13
- Dining room: 13×11
- Kitchen: 10×14
The price sounds rather low for a SF in decent condition in that area.
Amazing how that part of Lakeview has improved since 1991, when this place sold so low. It was not the affluent nabe it is now by any stretch and was really pretty seedy.
Ugly exterior and right on the El tracks. No thanks.
Right on the EL tracks? Hardly. It is at least the equivalent of 2 blocks from the EL tracks.
The house itself is pretty nice. Nice sized yard, exterior isn’t too bad considering the extent of remuddling that could have happened given the house’s age, and nice looking interior.
No parking is going to be an issue, but if on-street parking isn’t too bad in this area it wouldn’t be a problem. Although, I must admit that if there was at least one dedicated off-street (even uncovered) parking space for this house I would call this the deal of the decade.
Incorrect ME. This unit is actually 10 houses away from the El. Ten houses is no the equivalent of two blocks.
It is about 1 block from the Paulina stop. The El noise isn’t terrible but you can very clearly hear “this is paulina…” with the windows open. As far as the layout goes – the dining room is atrocious and the floor in the livingroom actually had holes in it when I toured the property. At that time (August?) the listing agent mentioned that adding a parking pad in the back yard would require an agreement with the condo building behind it as the back yard backs up to their driveway (the neighbors have this in place). He said they would want around 15k for the priviledge of driving on their asphalt… The amount of work to bring the finishes up to par and add parking would exceed the value you could ever expect to get from this place. Great if you commute by train and expect to have 0-1 kids tops.
Bob – more like the 11 lots away – aka ~275 feet, with many sound barrier buildings between and a brick 2 story commercial building starting right at the tracks. At that distance and with that many possible barriers in between the noise should be tolerable and mostly background.
Although, you must be really sensitive.
Well it appears the bar close by closed when the owner finally kicked the bucket not long ago. So that could be a positive for this place.
I dont know how i feel about this place, i do know that fence in back needs to go. and $100 for stain and brushes and one weekend could make that fence presentable, the yard has perenials but it looks like a late fall pictures so those plants need a clean up.
roscoevillagepeople also did not give it a glowing review, and with it under contract and not closing…i dont know how i feel about this place.
“at least the equivalent of 2 blocks”
“more like the 11 lots away – aka ~275 feet”
You live in a world with *very* small blocks. 36+ blocks to a mile.
“with it under contract and not closing…i dont know how i feel about this place”
More than once. And let me help you there groove–the way to feel about it is “stay away”, at least w/o a significant discount from current ask.
c’mon anon the ~275 ft is agreeing that 2 blocks was wrong on my part, but the feet distance is fact.
i thought is was like 8/12 blocks to a mile. depending if it was e/w or n/s
“but the feet distance is fact.”
Well a more precise measurement on Google Maps shows that its ~300ft to the El tracks. Which does seem like a bit more space than 10 lots I suppose.
So what should the value of this house be I am wondering. The land value alone I would guess around 275k so is this a teardown?
With it not closing, and the fact that there is no mention of possible parking, I feel strongly that a final, officail agreement in writting could not be made with the condo association. I’m not familiar enough with condo law on selling easements to a neighbor. This may have required a full owners majority vote or maybe just the board. Whould the neighbor need to pay assessments as well for upkeep of the condo’s driveway? How much assessment? I feel if it was that easy the current owner would have done it. Parking is a big deal, especially in this area and especially in a SFH.
“More than once. And let me help you there groove–the way to feel about it is “stay away”, at least w/o a significant discount from current ask”
I am trying to be positive today and thought hey 385k asking and a solid 350k bid gets you a SFH fixer upper in a pretty good spot. (but this is me being positive today, check back after lunch)
On value, one clue would be MG sold the place across the street for $600k earlier this year (3449 n paulina).
But that was an oversized lot v. this tiny 25×75, and it had a 2 car garage, an extra bath, a finished basement, and nice finishes throughout. But not hugely different sq footage.
What I would give to see the inspector reports on this one. My first thought was “how bad could it be, they replaced the plumbing and elec already?” But then I saw they replaced some wood in the basement, so you have to wonder whether there are structural issues.
If it wasn’t that, it was the parking. . . but with the deals falling through after K, that would be hard to believe.
Also– looks like owner died last year, so this is liquidation of an estate.
Normally that says “somebody oughtta step up with an offer”. . .
But they did. . .
So now I’m with anon– full on suspicion, and none of this Groovy Optimism.
3449 is much larger than this place. It is on a standard 25×125 lot.
me: “c’mon anon the ~275 ft is agreeing that 2 blocks was wrong on my part, but the feet distance is fact.”
I was just teasing; sorry. And yeah, the foot distance is fact; It would be nice to be ~2x that far, but it’s hardly on top of the el.
bob: “The land value alone I would guess around 275k”
What can you build on ~2000 SF here? Zoning is RS-3, do max FAR is .9. Means you’re capped at ~1800 SF above-ground. So that reduces the value fo the land. Still, at $275k for the lot, I’d expect one of the neighbors (or both, together) might bite.
Yes, it appears to be an estate sales. There also appears to be no mortgage. Someone is watching their inheritance slowly diminish.
“There also appears to be no mortgage”
if thats the case rent the little bugger out make some money. 5k in taxes, 1k homeowners insurance, 2k for upkeep ahhhh who am i kidding there is no upkeep here.
The weird thing about this house is that it basically juts out onto the sidewalk. It isn’t setback at all. I can imagine random strangers hanging on the front steps if the need a rest.
@Question – yeah it is hard not to bump into the porch every time I walk to the el. A bulldozer would be the best renovation option. Does any one have info on the “Swan House” Plaque on the front?
The best attribute to this house is its proximity to the Paulina Meat Market. I love that place, pricey, but so good.
I would actually seriously consider this place if I had a bit more of a down payment.
This is a true condo-alternative. Lots of sacrifices (similar in magnitude to those that you make living in a condo (trust me)) at a decent price. This is decent.
“I would actually seriously consider this place if I had a bit more of a down payment”
a,
hey brother you can still throw a 325k offer out there, you never know? the sellers are just might want there inheritance money sooner than later.
If you think you may like it go check it out, if you still like it after you see it, think of what you can REALLY afford then drop that by 5% and present that offer see if it goes well
Groove77,
Yeah, I was thinking about that. I wonder what the seller who backed out offered.
I used to live close to this place. It’s not a bad area, close to Whole Foods and the Meat Market and public transportation. However, the house looks really out of place and like it won’t last more than a few more years without falling over on itself. Land value may be $275,000 due to the small lot and FAR restrictions, so that’s what it should sell for give or take.
When did that bar with the empty lot next to it close? I saw it open last year, but there was no sign on it outside. Reminded me of an old Milwaukee bar from an old picture in the 1920’s or something.
“Yeah, I was thinking about that. I wonder what the seller who backed out offered.”
a,
i have always went by the philosophy “if the worst out come is a NO try it and see what happens, if the worst out come is you get kicked in the nutz try it but wear a cup”. and thats how i met my wife 🙂
look at is as you can hit gold or you can lose a part of a weekend afternoon.
good luck and let us know how it goes.
“thats how i met my wife ”
She felt sorry for you after you forgot your cup?
If you don’t ask, the answer is already “NO”, so you may as well ask.
“She felt sorry for you after you forgot your cup?”
good stuff anon, my wife just called me and told me you posted that.
she says thank you for the laugh!
“she says thank you for the laugh!”
Tell her she’s very welcome.
Home disclosure says, ‘aware of leaking in the basement’, and ‘aware of cracks/bulging in foundation. We are now trying to take steps to find out to what extent all of this is, and what it might cost to see if it is worth putting in an offer. Felt great when we went to see it last weekend, but feel like we found out ‘oh…that’s why it’s so low…’ We’ll see.
‘aware of cracks/bulging in foundation.”
thats a wooooooooo one there. potential for mold 🙁 leaks can be simple as sealing the cement walk against the foundation, or as bad as doing some digging around the problem areas.
i wish ya luck, and @ 385k and some serious foundation issuse?
“‘aware of cracks/bulging in foundation.””
In all seriousness, get an estimate for having the house jacked up and a brand new foundation poured–and make the basement 9′ tall at the same time (we have friends who had this done, so I know it works). You’ll then have a permanent solution to the basement issue and real, usable basement space.
Seems to be major issues with the foundation and possibly with the roof. They should really be selling this place “as is”.