What’s the Price of Land in Lakeview? 3447 N. Paulina Sells

We last chattered about this vintage 3-bedroom single family home at 3447 N. Paulina in Lakeview in July 2010.

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See our prior chatter here.

At that time, it was amongst the cheapest single family homes in Lakeview- as it was priced “as-is” for $349,000.

There were no interior pictures in the listing but the house was on a standard 25×125 lot.

Built in 1888, it was really being sold as a rehab or for the land value.

The house recently closed for $74,000 under the list price.

Did someone get a deal?

There are 1-bedroom condos in the neighborhood attempting to sell for this price.

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Carmen Cardenas at Haderlein & Company had the listing.

3447 N. Paulina: 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 1320 square feet, 2 car garage

  • Sold sometime before 1991
  • Originally listed in March 2008
  • Withdrawn
  • Was listed in July 2010 as “as-is” and a “builder’s/rehabber’s dream” for $349,000
  • Sold in September 2010 for $275,000
  • Taxes of $712 (no- not a typo)
  • No central air
  • Bedroom #1: 11×20
  • Bedroom #2: 10×14
  • Bedroom #3: 8×11

35 Responses to “What’s the Price of Land in Lakeview? 3447 N. Paulina Sells”

  1. Good price. Could end up with a nice new construction SFH for under $700k, if this was bought by a future o/o. Developer will probably price it at $795k, unless they get too fancy for the block.

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  2. nice to see lots under the 300k mark. Very short hop to the el.

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  3. Rent it out to recent college grads for $1,500/mo.

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  4. “Rent it out to recent college grads for $1,500/mo.”

    And make sub-5% when the taxes go up to $5000+. Not enough to assume the risks of this (likely) deferred-maintenance nightmare unless there’s capital upside.

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  5. Some flipper will fix it up all fancy after putting $120k or $150k into it and try to sell it in the high $400’s or low $500s to someone looking for a new new move-in condition home with a reasonable monthly payment. many of these modest homes like this were torn down during the boom to make way for ug mcmansions or three flats.

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  6. ****Some flipper will fix it up all fancy after putting $120k or $150k into it and try to sell it in the high $400’s or low $500****

    ummm, without even looking at any pictures, I’m guessing that there is a good probablility that nothing is worth salvaging/rehabbing….especially worth $500k post-rehab.

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  7. “Some flipper will fix it up all fancy after putting $120k or $150k into it and try to sell it in the high $400’s or low $500s to someone looking for a new new move-in condition home with a reasonable monthly payment.”

    Bet this gets torn down. $120k into this place would be lipstick on a wild pig.

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  8. Seems like a great deal for the land value, assuming there’s nothing ugly in the neighborhood (no time to check). Only drawback for the $1MM home crowd is that it’s not one of the popular school areas.

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  9. “assuming there’s nothing ugly in the neighborhood”

    That whole block is pretty ugly (heh.), but the closest thing to deal-killer ugliness are the el 3/4 of a block south and being smack b/t Ashland & Lincoln, which are both sort of situationally ugly.

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  10. Kind of crappy part of Lakeview, but decently walkable and close to the El but not too close. Seems like a good price for land value, though I understand the school isn’t that desirable.

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  11. If the school’s not so hot, why have a SFH? (And if the answer is “private school,” it will need to be one heck of a new construction luxury home to make up for the immmediate neighborhood.)

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  12. Of course I could be wrong but I think the days of the brick mansion million dollar home that sets the floor for home prices in ‘hoods is close to over. I’m seeing a lot of these shacks selling lately in the $100’s (although $275,000 is a bit high) but if there’s a $100k to $150k a premium for a 1,300 sq ft shack in lakeview vs. rest of the north and NW side then it would make sense. Like Sabrina once said a few months back, people think they can get the $500k or $600k cottage in lakeview but that barely exists. There’s a lot of demand for that price point and the SFH. This would be a 1300 sq ft plus finished basement with OK finishes and people would buy it. of course this is just my opinion but who knows, maybe it is a tear down. They find a way to fix these up and put lipstick on a pig.

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  13. the school, Hamilton, is actually one of the next breakthrough schools in CPS. In the last year, under a new principal it’s done a dramatic turnaround. It was never a ‘bad’ school per se, the test scores are decent but they had a very uninvolved prinicpal. They’ve had a strong parent group the last three year or so and just needed a boost in the administration. I’ve seen a few realtors actually use “Hamilton School District” as a selling point. At a recent tour the principal actually indicated that they likely would have less than 10 kindergarten slots to even offer to non-neighborhood kids. So yes, this is definitely a good SFH rehab/teardown for the price

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  14. “At a recent tour the principal actually indicated that they likely would have less than 10 kindergarten slots to even offer to non-neighborhood kids.”

    Not there yet, then. First step is turning it into a pure neighborhood school (at least for the non-magnet program). Those 8 or 9 kids will be there for all 9 years. Obviously, it’s a chicken/egg thing.

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  15. “Of course I could be wrong but I think the days of the brick mansion million dollar home that sets the floor for home prices in ‘hoods is close to over. I’m seeing a lot of these shacks selling lately in the $100’s (although $275,000 is a bit high) but if there’s a $100k to $150k a premium for a 1,300 sq ft shack in lakeview vs. rest of the north and NW side then it would make sense. Like Sabrina once said a few months back, people think they can get the $500k or $600k cottage in lakeview but that barely exists. There’s a lot of demand for that price point and the SFH. This would be a 1300 sq ft plus finished basement with OK finishes and people would buy it. of course this is just my opinion but who knows, maybe it is a tear down. They find a way to fix these up and put lipstick on a pig.”

    1. But you haven’t come across another one with taxes this low.
    2. Which means the prior owner was old as dirt.
    3. Which most likely means the last time anything was replaced was when asbestos was still used for household insulation.
    4. Which means the structure is likely to be a liability.
    5. Which is why I think it’s not rehabable, at least cost-effectively.

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  16. Isn’t this place only on a 75 foot deep lot as well? I used to live in the area and the neighborhood was pretty safe. It’s about 100 yards north of Waterhouse and the Paulina brown line stop, and close to other restaurants.

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  17. “Isn’t this place only on a 75 foot deep lot as well?”

    That’s one on the even side of the street.

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  18. “Rent it out to recent college grads for $1,500/mo.”

    Yeah, and then get sued for millions when they have a party and someone gets hurt!! I’m telling you – do NOT be tempted into being a landlord – especially if you are not doing it full time, don’t have a management company, and aren’t handy – you WILL be sorry. The tiny profit you MAY make is not worth the time, effort, worry, liability, and money you put into it!!!

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  19. I love how the term “vintage” on this site means a crappy old frame house, or a nice old brick/stone building depending on the day.

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  20. i remember this place now from walking past it – a total dump – it looked like it was going to fall over. Definitely a tear-down.

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  21. danny (lower case D) on October 11th, 2010 at 8:33 pm

    Built in 1888!… this must be one of the oldest structures in Chicago, predating even the Columbian exposition.

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  22. danny (lower case D) on October 11th, 2010 at 8:39 pm

    Clio: “…do NOT be tempted into being a landlord…”

    Great advise, especially from someone who would know. Much appreciated.

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  23. Do a Google street view on either side of the side dump and you will get an idea of who I would put money on having bought it. The idea of buying the lot next to you (for under $300M) and basically creating more green space for the family is more appealing now that the market is more efficient. We have friends that have done this. Basically, it becomes a grass side yard with a sports pad in the very back, off the alley. Extra parking for the holidays but hoops and such the rest of the time.

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  24. i live next to a house dating from 1873.

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  25. “Built in 1888!… this must be one of the oldest structures in Chicago, predating even the Columbian exposition.”

    That’s more than 50 years younger than the oldest house. Anything not from before the fire (1871) is not of particular note, solely because of its age.

    http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/unknown-chicago/2010/05/chicagos-oldest-house.html

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  26. danny (lower case D) on October 11th, 2010 at 11:53 pm

    Cool info. thanks.

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  27. Yes, Hamilton is regarded as a “good” school (that it’s open to kids from other nabes is something I regard as a positive trait) and for parents who prefer a private school, there’s St. Andrew’s.

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  28. I’ve also heard from a prospective parent potentially moving into the area that he’s also gung-ho on Hamilton.

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  29. “Not there yet, then. First step is turning it into a pure neighborhood school (at least for the non-magnet program). Those 8 or 9 kids will be there for all 9 years. Obviously, it’s a chicken/egg thing.”

    Not there, sure, but is it informative as a leading indicator? Is 10 non-neighborhood slots good? Is a decline from whatever it was to 10 (assuming it declined) a good sign, maybe a really good sign (were there schools on a similar trajectory that stalled)?

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  30. This is not the price of land in Lakeview. This is the price to buy a teardown.

    So you need to subtract demo costs to arrive at lot valuations. How much is a demo? 30k?

    So this lot would sell for 245k greenfield. Far lower than anon(tfo)’s belief that lots in the GZ start at 350k. 250k more like it.

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  31. “So you need to subtract demo costs to arrive at lot valuations. How much is a demo? 30k?

    So this lot would sell for 245k greenfield. Far lower than anon(tfo)’s belief that lots in the GZ start at 350k. 250k more like it.”

    Um, you’re mixing up your addition/subtraction. The teardown is in ADDITION to purchase price, not a subtraction. Greenfield it’s $305k. And this is not a particularly nice block for a new construction SFH.

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  32. Land value is based on 3 main factors:
    1. Location – obviously location is the #1 factor in determining real estate prices
    2. Lot Size – standard Chicago city lot size is 25×125. Anything that differs from the standard size should be priced accordingly.
    3. Zoning – this determines what can be done with the lot, whether you are looking to build a house, townhome, apartment building, condo building, etc will depend on what the zoning allows. Zoning restrictions also determine minimum square footage per floor, # of total units, setbacks, yard requirements, building height, etc.

    You can look up zoning classifications for any Chicago address on the city of Chicago Department of Zoning website:

    http://maps.cityofchicago.org/website/zoning/liability.html?Submit=Accept

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  33. I just parked across the street from this place for my stop in at the Paulina Meat Market. They’re renovating – new siding is going up all around, though it looks like the new siding is going on over the rolled ashphalt stuff. I’m not a renovation expert so not criticizing, just noted it. Looks like some new windows were being brought in, and a lot of wood & sawing action going on.

    Struck me that I we had chatted about this place so there’s a quick update. Actually a pretty nice location in terms of el, elementary, and stuff to do.

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  34. No surprise. They aren’t building any more.

    Slap on some siding, some new windows, etc, put some lipstick on a pig and flip for a profit.

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