Trying to Sell for More than the 2005 Purchase Price: 1657 W. Carmen in Andersonville
This 3-bedroom single family home at 1657 W. Carmen is only a few blocks away from the shops and restaurants of Andersonville.
Originally listed last October, it has recently returned to the market.
The vintage Victorian home has a renovated kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.
Two of the three bedrooms are on the second floor with the third (in the attic?) on the third floor.
The listing says the basement is “semi-finished” and being used as a den/tv room.
The house does have a 2-car garage but no central air.
The home is listed for $49,900 more than the 2005 purchase price.
Is it possible to sell for more than a 2005 price in Andersonville?
Mairan Nixon at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures and the virtual tour here.
1657 W. Carmen: 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 2 car garage, no square footage listed
- Sold in November 1997 for $100,000
- Sold in January 1999 for $265,000
- Sold in April 2004 for $450,000
- Originally listed in October 2009
- Lis pendens filed in December 2009
- Currently listed for $499,900
- Taxes of $5092
- No central air
- Bedroom #1: 15×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 13×9 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 20×14 (third floor)
I don’t think it is bad of a deal at all considering what a large 2/2 or duplex costs in that neighborhood. I would just make sure it is possible to add a 2nd bath though.
It looks like they may have put some money into new kitchen & bath since ’04. If there is a way to add a second bathroom, it might be worth it.
I could do some damage in that kitchen. I dig the layout and counter space for work flow reasons. Might be a pain during dinner parties when friends refuse to stay in the dining / living areas and migrate towards the fridge but that’s taken care of with a beverage / bar area in dining room.
I’ve forwarded this to a friend who is looking in the area to watch, though it is a bit on the pricey side for their range yet.
from listing “modern updates where they count: kitchen and bathroom”
ummmm C/A would be a MAIN modern update that would count, am i wrong?
and if only the bathroom and kitchen have been updated since 2004 why is it listed higher that that 2004 price?
I do like the place, good curb appeal!
do you guys think staging this place better you can make it look bigger in the pictures?
to much bulky heave furniture making it look cramped?
no A/C, one bathroom… really far from the loop, uh what am I missing here for 500k?
I have to say that I like this place and if the work was done since the last sale there should be some return on it. I kind of lost my enamour when it came to that picture of the yard. What a let down. Having any yard in this city is a pretty big deal — appreciate it. The only thing missing in that picture of the yard is an 80-year old lady setting out a bowl of milk for the raccoons.
“if the work was done since the last sale there should be some return on it”
Jon,
SUBSTANTIAL work not cosmetic should see return, and do you think its 50k worth of work done.
ps..not attacking you just disagreeing….
This is a beautiful home but why anybody would pay 450k for a 3/1 is beyond me. Except that it was 2005 and they thought they would at least break even on the thing and probably put very little money down.
They’re waiting and praying for a greater fool. Unfortunately even those guys are likely taking pause or even not getting financing for a 500k 3/1.
Bank is going to eat this one as they should.
“SUBSTANTIAL work not cosmetic should see return, and do you think its 50k worth of work done.”
Hard to say, but I think some of the updating like the tile and cabinetry looks pretty recent. Maybe not $50K, but something. Just trying to defend the fact that a place could sell for more than its 2005 purchase price if enough work is done — and if the seller got a decent deal when they bought it.
I saw this place. It’s kind of cute, but also weird. The basement is not partially finished. It just has furniture and a tv. The style on the remodel is nice to the eye, but the quality of the finishes is pretty low. The third bedroom is up in the attic with spiral staircase as the access. It’s not bad bonus space, but you would probably want to use the larger of the two bedrooms on the second level as your master. The main photo is also a little decieving. It cuts out the big white sided dormers they put in to create that dormer space. The build-out was done in a way that really takes away from the curb appeal. Current occupancy seems a little strange. I’m guessing it’s three guys living as roommates. All in all, not a bad place, and not a bad place for the price in this hood, but it’s got some issues.
“I’m guessing it’s three guys living as roommates.”
You obviously don’t know much about the demographics of Andersonville huh?
“could sell for more than its 2005 purchase price if enough work is done — and if the seller got a decent deal when they bought it”
True maybe the place was a dump when they bought, must reno looks cosmetic.
plus i am assuming things, reason i say cosmetic is yard was untouched, and basement was untouched. But J above says that dormers were put in wonder if it was done by current owners i would say no cause of the use of the 90’s spiral staircase.
But this is all assumptions.
LOL @ Bob
To answer some of the back and forth above: realtor told me that the work was done by the previous owners.
Also, not sure it’s clear from the listing but the place is a short sale.
Nice home but turn key houses in trendy neighborhoods cost money; and those who bought during the bubble without the means to sustainably make payments should be entitled to significant appreciation for their job at temporary house-sitter. Its a whole new paradigm: it’s just not enough for owners to live mortgage free for months on end, they should be entitled to honest appreciation; the next owner must also buy the home at an unsustainably high price that they too go into foreclosure; and they can sell for an even higher price and even more profit. We’re working off an entirely new paradigm here folks.
“The only thing missing in that picture of the yard is an 80-year old lady setting out a bowl of milk for the raccoons.”
Jon – this comment cannot go unappreciated . . . LMAO!
good looking out J
I understand the demographics of Andersonville. But it still seems odd to me that three grown men would be living together as roommates — i.e., they all have their own separate rooms — in a house that does not appear to be an investment property. I’m guessing one guy bought it, figured he could rent out 2 rooms to help pay the mortgage, but things haven’t worked out.
I think it is perhaps not a bad deal, though the 2004 price sounds right. That’s only $50K less and could make the difference in the deal being doable for a lot of people, since $417K is the cap for loans bought by FNMA or GNMA.
The amazing price history of this house since 1997, when it sold for about $100K, is about how the real way to make money is to take a chance on a “marginal” or “gentrifying” neighborhood and work to improve your house and neighborhood. Andersonville was just beginning to take off in the late 90s, and had many blighted houses and buildings. Those who took a chance on it have been well-rewarded. It’s about increasing the value of your property relative to other areas.
Couldn’t the same thing be said of the property on Iowa (and other nearby properties?)
Some are selling for much less than this one (don’t know their condition.) Lots of foreclosures. If you go a bit further west towards Humboldt Park- even cheaper.
Yes- it’s gentrifying. But there are a lot of artist and musician types moving to the area having been priced out of nearby Wicker Park and Bucktown. There are some nice local taverns and restaurants starting to pop up (especially along Chicago Avenue.)
I too have seen this home, I am a realtor and I have recently sold a 3 bed/1.1 bath home for $480,000 in the andersonville area within the past three months. This is a cute sellable home, but with the 3rd bedroom being up a spiral staircase, it really limits the pool of buyers, would be awkward for raising a family. Only option for 2nd bathroom is in the basement or expansion of the home.
It’s worth more than a 3 bedroom condo in Andersonville.
Assuming the home was in it’s current condition when they purchased in 2005. I think this home will sell closer to the $425-$450 price they paid for it.
There was an 2nd loan taken out in 2006, that is the reason for the high price and thus short-sale.
I love this place, I’ve looked at it online more than once. That backyard could be beautiful after I got my hands on it! However, no a/c is huge. Anyone know what putting in a/c entails/costs? Might be worth it if we could get it down to $450… but then we’d also want to finish the basement, adding a bathroom down there. And change out the spiral staircase, if possible… The list seems to be growing. Great location though, and curb appeal.
I think the positive comments here on this house relate to the nice staging and decent furnishings. Room sizes are very small, renovations look “Home Depot” weekend remodelings, and the configuration serves only a couple or a family w/one child. (Attic bedroom might work for teenagers, but such a family is unlikely to chose Andersonville/Amundsen – drive by Amundsen at dismissal and check the police activity.)
This house needs to be priced at $450,000 max, and sell around $400,000. It’s about the equivalent of a small 3-bedrm Andersonville condo, with extra basement storage, but not the requisite 2nd bathroom or decent room sizes often found here.
My friend passed on viewing due to the price & lack of A/C, in that order. Great curb appeal though.
10k? for spacepak? for A/C
for the C/A it would be easy to go in from the attic and do duct work down, but since the attic is a bedroom scrap that idea.
its also very easy when you do a gut rehab, but thats out since the price doesn’t reflect that.
i have no experience with SpacePak but i have heard i works well in small rooms and small houses. I notice when people redo an attic the just go with spacepak up there instead of running ducts from the existing. most likely cause its cheap and easier?
i thought they had taken the yard pic down but then i found it on the virtual tour. I dont think it’s that bad, but probably they could spiff it up and that could sway peeps. Nice looking home from the listing. Hop skip and a jump to T’s, which is a pretty cool restaurant/bar that attracts ladies who like ladies.
Having seen the house I’ll offer that the yard isn’t that bad.
The bigger problem, which I noted above, is that the curb appeal is greatly reduced by the big white dormers jutting off the house like tumors. This is not shown in the picture.
Re second bathroom — the realtor offered the idea adding a small powder room towards the back of the kitchen. It’s hard to see from the pictures, but with some rearranging you would probably have room to do that, and the wet wall is right there so the renovation wouldn’t be massive.
chichow on February 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am
10k? for spacepak? for A/C
Try closer to $20-25K
yeah had no idea. so 20k for spacepak. ok. still doable.
“yeah had no idea. so 20k for spacepak. ok. still doable.”
or three GOOD window units for 2k?
Strike one: only 1 ba.
Strike two: only two beds on second-floor.
Strike three: no a/c.
Shame really because the street is nice, great curb appeal, good location. Unfortunately, these pros wouldn’t offset the other three for me. Expensive to change. Plus, I think houses in the city appeal to families with kids. And those three cons are dealbreakers. The school district is not bad, but not terrific. Sellers have a big uphill battle here, i think.
Under contract.