Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here is what happens when you buy a stately home and try to remodel a kitchen on the cheap -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Western-Sp.../home/14059635 This is one of those cases where "As-Is" probably means "we got estimates for a new furnace (or similar vital mechanical system) and we'd rather let that be the NEW OWNER'S headache"...
another great house in Hinsdale with reasonable taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by OakBrookMom
Looking at many homes each week, every once in a while I see a home with clients that may not speak to them but definitely does to me. Sometimes it is a home I can see potential in and other times it is an appreciation for craftsmanship. The home I liked the best (9 S Monroe, Hinsdale) in your stated areas with that price range fell into the latter category. It had all my must haves:
Architectural details - helped that it was in one of my favorite styles (craftsman/prairie)
Some Newer mechanicals
Higher end finishes
4 bedrooms
2.1 bathrooms
First floor office with easy access for clients as opposed to living room which I find is wasted space
Taxes around 10K
Laundry where the bedrooms are (usually that means second floor)
Finished basement with bath
Nice back patio or low maintenance deck with yard just big enough to play ball but small enough not to take a whole day to maintain
Attached 2 car garage for our brutal winters/no huge driveway to shovel
Highly rated schools using the most recognized polls/sites/report cards
Walking distance to town/train for resale/kids and close to a 294 exit for my husband
What I would change - shower in master (It was too modern/spaceship for me), street (passed over tracks which meant more traffic), cement board siding would have been preferred over cedar siding
Hi OakBrookMom, Nice to hear from you. Thanks for joining in.
Here is the link to the listing - it's a great house! I was extremely surprised to see the taxes at around 10K - that's amazing for the size and finishes-
Beautiful natural wood trim; I also seem to like the Prairie/Craftsman style house. I was also surprised to see that this was recently built. It has great-sized bedrooms, as well as an office on the main level, with a lot of open space and large rooms on the main level. Huge finished basement. I concur regarding the attached garage! Had this house been around a few weeks ago, I would have placed an offer on it.
Now, someone mentioned in another thread that house prices (I think he mentioned LG) had gone up significantly over the past year- two years. Now, I did see a graph for house prices for the mid September-December time range which reflected a significant dip beginning at mid-November. With the house valuations recently lowered, do you think this will be reflected in the new listings come January '15? So, do you think this downward dip will continue?
Thanks for sharing your "ideal" for this price range and location. It's certainly a beauty! I enjoyed viewing it.
Hi OakBrookMom, Nice to hear from you. Thanks for joining in.
Here is the link to the listing - it's a great house! I was extremely surprised to see the taxes at around 10K - that's amazing for the size and finishes-
Beautiful natural wood trim; I also seem to like the Prairie/Craftsman style house. I was also surprised to see that this was recently built. It has great-sized bedrooms, as well as an office on the main level, with a lot of open space and large rooms on the main level. Huge finished basement. I concur regarding the attached garage! Had this house been around a few weeks ago, I would have placed an offer on it.
Now, someone mentioned in another thread that house prices (I think he mentioned LG) had gone up significantly over the past year- two years. Now, I did see a graph for house prices for the mid September-December time range which reflected a significant dip beginning at mid-November. With the house valuations recently lowered, do you think this will be reflected in the new listings come January '15? So, do you think this downward dip will continue?
Thanks for sharing your "ideal" for this price range and location. It's certainly a beauty! I enjoyed viewing it.
Dandiday
It was relatively recently "updated / expanded" but I think it was originally built in the 70s
I know the listing agent, and her dad. They have lots of nice properties.
I have no idea why prices dipped, but low inventory and strong demand at not a recipe for anything other than upward price trends, especially with cheap mortage rates...
Here is what happens when you buy a stately home and try to remodel a kitchen on the cheap -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Western-Sp.../home/14059635 This is one of those cases where "As-Is" probably means "we got estimates for a new furnace (or similar vital mechanical system) and we'd rather let that be the NEW OWNER'S headache"...
Chet, I know... . It seems like we were a few weeks too late. The first one had decent sized rooms, finished basement, laundry on the 2nd floor, a small deck, and an attached garage! (loved that!). 625K down from 699K.
I found it very interesting there; is it more common to wait for a drop in price rather than offer something lower, but closer to fair market value? This practice is extremely different from Texas in that regard.
What do you think of some of the prices of the houses still left on the market? I think the length of time that a house sits, unsold, indicates it has some fatal flaws that need remedy (reno $$$), and/or are over-priced. Your thoughts? OakparkMom?
2nd- this is an interesting house! It looked nice in the photos....again, I love the natural wood trim! We actually viewed it. It had serious cracks inside and out, had significant gaps in the flooring-to-baseboards, and the dining room ceiling had a pretty obvious and significant patch job - looked like a leak from the roof. Every wall had some buckling, cracks, etc. So, not only would the kitchen need a total gut from top to bottom, but the kitchen walls between the dining room and family room needed to come down and moved to make more of an open feeling. Upstairs was "tight" as well. Even the garage was tilting!
Now, I don't know what the cost would be for everything that had to be done...full kitchen reno, move walls, fix several walls and ceiling, update the 1.5 bathrooms, add at least one more, finish the awful basement, and possibly add an extension off of the back. Do you know roughly what each reno would/could cost?
439K seems to be a bit high-priced in light of getting this house on-par with your first home listed above, as well as the comps recently sold or contingent.
3rd - priced at 959K, on listing for 178 days. Great room on main floor, although second floor bedrooms seem small for this price point. Also, do you think the huge jump in price is warranted from 510K in Dec. '13? It was listed for sale in Feb, '14.
I recall you saying in a previous post that the "move in ready" or recently -reno'd houses are overpriced relative to the work done (or something similar). I don't know about this huge price...and that the attic has been expanded to accommodate bedrooms- one is narrow at 8'. That seems odd to me. Also, I've seen a few houses that have been "quick flips" like this one. One wonders about the quality of the job, the materials used, and who actually did the work. What are your thoughts about that? The bathroom vanities I've seen (similar to these) are those pre-fabricated items from the large DIY stores or Home Decorator Magazine...they feel "cheap" to me. Not made of quality wood, but pressed wood and a plastic-like laminate.
Judging from the length of time on MLS, it's overpriced. Also, I thought that true attic space was not supposed to be included in overall above-grade square footage? Correct me if I'm wrong, please!
4th - this is another one that we saw, and was overpriced. It actually was contingent at one point, and came back on the market for 25K less. Nothing special inside, in fact, it was quite "tired" and worn quite hard. All of the floors needed refinishing. Even the kitchen granite was chipped, dull, and scratched. Wall trim had been painted over umpteen times, crudely, and without prior sanding or recaulking. I don't know about you, but I think houses with thumb-sized "over-caulking" over old caulk and paint, and then repainted is quite ugly...and lazy. This one was reno'd several years ago...and needs a facelift!
Again, side-by-side with the comps, (recent solds), and current contingents, this is grossly overpriced.
I wouldn't touch this for over 650K.
5th- WS - This one was among my favs! The main level is adorable...natural wood trim, huge fireplace, open in some areas, and great windows! However, there isn't a tub in the master bath - and a single sink.
Do people expect a double sink for the master?
Some $ would have to be expended for updating the bathrooms and kitchen. Also, the basement was ice-cold, and needed finishing. There was quite a bit of plain wood on the walls and ceiling; it didn't appear to be insulated.
But, it had great curb appeal and a beautiful back garden. I don't know what the WS comps are, but this would have to come down a good 75K for us to accomplish all that needed to be done, or else it would exceed the 800K budget limit. ($280/sq.ft.)
6th - I agree! cute as a button, great space, just needs some updating. Great price at 612K, $237/sq ft. Nice sized living and family rooms as well, and some nicely finished basement space. lovely back deck!
Do you think being so close to Ogden Ave. could be a problem for noise? Resale?
I didn't see the last one yet...but I'd be interested in hearing your comments about mine above.
This is one of the reasons I asked about people's "ideal" house for the price point...to discern these houses from each other, especially for resale or appeal to others. Anyone else care to comment?
Thanks for taking the time to look at those and post them, Chet! I'm learning so much from these posts!
H'worth, this one is LOVELY!!! The bedrooms on the main level give us so many options! Great sized rooms, and gorgeous kitchen! The back wall of windows is intriguing...lets so much light in!
Finally, the bedrooms on the second or third levels would be perfect for an art studio.
What is the surrounding area like? Is it a popular neighborhood? What do you think of the price? Resale potential?
It would work for us...the houses in La Grange (at least the good ones), seem to be under contract or sold. I see what you mean about more bang for your buck...this one has everything and more on our list!
What do you think is the driving time to Loyola? Is 38 a road/highway that backs up? Any good alternatives?
If you see more pop up like this, please DM me at your earliest!
Thanks so much!
Hi 4122 - great post! I loved reading what you wanted and why. You posted logical reasons for a new person like me. Sounds like a house with wide appeal. So, the further west one goes, the more chances one has of finding houses built after the '60s?
Are there any homes you can find on Redfin sold over the past year, that fit your criteria? I'd love to see something that exists to demonstrate the house qualities you prefer.
Thanks!
Dandiday
Thank you! I'm glad you liked my post and I hope it helped a lot. Yeah, basically the farther west you go the more newer homes you'll be able to find. In the particular area you're looking at, they have a good amount of older homes, but it's not hard to find newer homes too and the area isn't dominantly newer homes or older homes except for La Grange and Western Springs. It would be a little difficult to find a newer home in La Grange or Western Springs because they have more old houses.
Here's a house for $515k in Downers Grove that's my ideal home and it even has a pool which I like a lot and low taxes which is also great:
Thank you! I'm glad you liked my post and I hope it helped a lot. Yeah, basically the farther west you go the more newer homes you'll be able to find. In the particular area you're looking at, they have a good amount of older homes, but it's not hard to find newer homes too and the area isn't dominantly newer homes or older homes except for La Grange and Western Springs. It would be a little difficult to find a newer home in La Grange or Western Springs because they have more old houses.
Here's a house for $515k in Downers Grove that's my ideal home and it even has a pool which I like a lot and low taxes which is also great:
That used to be a very plain split level, they really upgraded it. It is probably priced pretty fairly for the size / quality but there are some much more modest homes nearby... Sorta like this: Downers Grove Real Estate & Downers Grove Homes For Sale - Zillow
3rd - priced at 959K, on listing for 178 days. Great room on main floor, although second floor bedrooms seem small for this price point. Also, do you think the huge jump in price is warranted from 510K in Dec. '13? It was listed for sale in Feb, '14.
That was a top-to-bottom overhaul and it is a huge price jump. Is it deserved? Hard to say. I would have made some difference choices, especially with finishes in the kitchen, and my gut says that is why it is still on the market. I mean when you are up that high in price there are things that really bug some people -- light fixtures, cabinet details, the kind of sink that is installed, how big (not big enough...) the appliance look... There are "stupid bad" pictures too -- the light from the granite is reflecting onto the ceiling making it look like there is a cheap fluorescent or sky-window. Ugh. Other things -- in my mind when cross a certain price point people kind of expect things like "crazy sexy" bathroom and a basement that does not have creepy old lights or scary "bulkhead doors". Now maybe there is somebody that wants THIS BLOCK is LaGrange and will be pleased as punch with the shear quality of the renovation but that is not how I would want to want make my living doing renovations...
That was a top-to-bottom overhaul and it is a huge price jump. Is it deserved? Hard to say. I would have made some difference choices, especially with finishes in the kitchen, and my gut says that is why it is still on the market. I mean when you are up that high in price there are things that really bug some people -- light fixtures, cabinet details, the kind of sink that is installed, how big (not big enough...) the appliance look... There are "stupid bad" pictures too -- the light from the granite is reflecting onto the ceiling making it look like there is a cheap fluorescent or sky-window. Ugh. Other things -- in my mind when cross a certain price point people kind of expect things like "crazy sexy" bathroom and a basement that does not have creepy old lights or scary "bulkhead doors". Now maybe there is somebody that wants THIS BLOCK is LaGrange and will be pleased as punch with the shear quality of the renovation but that is not how I would want to want make my living doing renovations...
Agree with you 100% and more....
We saw several of these "total rehab" houses, at ridiculous prices. They had finishes or layouts that were blah at best, or could have moved some walls to make better flow or space. Then, there was one that removed TOO many walls, and had a huge kitchen (no island), but a bar sitting blindly against a wall, taking up space for furniture. Very odd! This one still can't sell, coming down to the 600's from the 800's!
Realtor photos are a pet peeve of mine... Not only bad reflections, but the dark ones. Haven't they learned that you have to adjust the f-stop to accommodate for the light flooding in from the windows? Or, shoot the photos at night.
Regarding the wonderful dank, dark and creepy basement description you gave - that's what the 4315 Lawn Ave. WS house had...I didn't want to seem to be too picky. But, the basement was a total disaster and turn-off. I literally could see the upstairs floorboards, which had me wonder just how c-c-cold that house became in the winter.
It's a shame, because that house has real potential. Just not at that price point, with regard to the amount of work it needs to be on par with the sold comps.
What other house rehabs or for sales do you know about? You're an endless source of info, which I find amazing!
Thanks!
Dandiday
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
another great house in Hinsdale with reasonable taxes
. It seems like we were a few weeks too late. The first one had decent sized rooms, finished basement, laundry on the 2nd floor, a small deck, and an attached garage! (loved that!). 625K down from 699K.
