With a Little Polish, Could It Become a Gem? 4706 N. Damen in Lincoln Square
This 5-bedroom Victorian house at 4706 N. Damen in Lincoln Square just came on the market.
It is priced at more than 50% off the 2007 purchase price.
As you can see from the pictures, it’s going to take someone with renovating touch to bring back her vintage glory.
But at over 3700 square feet and with a garage, could this house be a diamond in the rough?
It is just a block from the Damen brown line stop.
Helen Oliveri at Keller Williams Realty Partners has the listing. See the pictures here.
4706 N. Damen: 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 3747 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in November 2007 for $650,000
- Lis pendens filed in November 2008
- Currently listed for $309,000
- Taxes of $10,031
- No central air
I saw this house on Extreme Home Makeover, or one just like it!
Then they knocked it down.
Golf clap for the 2007 seller. Good job.
Today, it might be good at this price, but might make more sense to split into a two-flat (RS-3 zoned) and make some income after the $100,000+ needed to update the place.
Depends if there is mold or other non-remediable problems. If the 100k to rehab is right (I have no idea) this could be a deal to a DIYer. Groove or WLeo care to chime in?
(Bob’s rehab skills are far too lowly to take on a project like this).
OMG the virtual tour is hilarious. What do you think the lot is worth?
300k for a lot in lincoln square? meh
You *must* click thru to the virtual tour (warning: music) and read the captions for the interior pix.
The taxes are *beyond* insane, tho I think this would be a good deal (assuming functioning mechanicals) if it weren’t on Damen *and* wedged next to the corner commercial building.
A lot in LS for 300, maybe, but not this lot.
http://www.cookandlakecountyhomes.com/virtualtours/b4706damen.html
Bahaha! @ those captions!
that music fits perfectly. helen oliveri is a genius.
“What do you think the lot is worth?”
$325k. The structure is a liability.
“The bathroom is ready for remodeling.”
BWHAHAHA! HAHA! Ohh man I love the music along with. Talk about the most extreme example of trying to put lipstick on a pig..
I rarely post – but that virtual tour demands it. Realtors crack me up.
“With a Little Polish”
yeah in 2007 A Little Polish pickup truck contractor would be all over this.
bob,
from the pictures it looks more than a basic DYI job than i could handle. i will deffer this to WestLoopElo.
it look like a DYI person started and then realized they are in over there heads. Look at the bedroom pic where they “started” the rehab the electrical holes are different heights and look to be 5in higher than where the baseboard would end. also they realized that plaster walls are a PITA to demo. its fun to demo cause you would always find really old newspapers in the walls 🙂 good reads
professional can do this place justice, a lot of that wood work can be restored to look amazing.
i dont know if being on a almost major street and all the reno’s if the place is worth 305k. look at it as this the “bones” of the hous worth maybe 75k so your saying this lot is worth 230k?
By far the best virtual tour ever.
oh, be still my heart, if I laugh any harder I will need medical attention…
but it’s got LARGE WINDOWS in the Dining Room!!!
LMAO.
“The front view of this large Victorian home in Lincoln Park”
That’s the most generous definition of Lincoln Park I’ve ever heard of.
And yes, perhaps with a little “Polish” construction this could be a gem… hur hur hur
I think the polish must come in the form of a wrecking ball.
You get the Polish down the street at Budacki’s.
Good lord, if my free time was worth $0.00 I’m not sure this is worth it.
I stay away from Victorians in general. In my experience they end up being huge money pits due to the high restoration expense required to doing the renovation the RIGHT way the first time.
I am not too fond of and very rarely take possession of a unit that has been partially demolished. The conditon of the walls, ceilings, floors and trim indicate the real conditon of the place. I see many of the period touches have been removed…all mouldings, wide wood window frames, detailed base boards, doors, etc, all gone without any idea of what was there originally. I am sure the ceilings were highly decorative and the light fixtures were great too. Even it if is beat to death, I still need to see what was there before I decide if it is worth restoring to the original period design.
Just looking at the exterior shot I get the feeling this place has been very neglected for a long time…not good in a wood framed Victorian.
Maybe a good price if after the purchase you then had around $600k+ to invest in restoring it to it’s original splendor (barring no serious structural or mold issues. Otherwise it would just continue to lose value to where it would be better to do a tear down. Hard seeing these places disappear due to neglect only to be replaced with cookie cutter, characterless projects priced above $750k
push. it. over.
“I see many of the period touches have been removed…all mouldings, wide wood window frames, detailed base boards, doors, etc, all gone without any idea of what was there originally”
good point!
west loop,
“Just looking at the exterior shot I get the feeling this place has been very neglected for a long time”
to me i looks like the original front porch is gone and this has been “updated”,
what do you think?
“to me i looks like the original front porch is gone and this has been “updated”, what do you think?”
Absolutely. That may be the original size of the porch, but that’s not what it looked like. Just look at the other frame houses nearby.
“Absolutely. That may be the original size of the porch, but that’s not what it looked like. Just look at the other frame houses nearby”
or just look at all victorians porches and how the porch emphasizes the bay window/turret thingy.
as always i am usually wrong, but i dont think original Victorians used lattice as a underporch design feature?
I like the caption: “The bathroom is ready for remodeling.” Good God, I’d hope so!
It does appear destined to be torn down. Shame, really.
But as far as the land goes, the lot is in a great neighborhood close to the Damen brown line. I could see new construction condos with retail on the ground floor here… assuming people are still constructing those kind of buildings anymore these days…