Where do tree hugging, vegetarian liberals belong in north Chicago? (Evanston: landscaping, homebuyer)

[Nysee53]

It has been looked at for teardown, I think the lot is a little narrow though. 40' wide is a little tough, but Highland Park and Evanston have special zoning issues, so everything is subject to review and you can reduce the required setbacks. I think it is a great house, but new homes always beat old homes. Truth is, I would love to be a home rehabber, but old homes have become sooooooo hard to sell on the NS. It is rediculous. No one rehabs anymore here.

[Nysee53]

Well that would mean that your homes value could be compromised. It could mean that no matter how much you put into the home, it will only be worth the land value. I think it should be safe though, but I have seen many 40' wide lots be used for McMansion purposes. When I build I try to be tasteful. I love anti-teardown communities like Lake Forest, where you are forced to buy vacant or ranch home land to build on. This keeps the integrity of the neighborhoods. Places like Hinsdale have neighborhoods that are just really messed up, but Hinsdale is still a nice town, IMO.

[Lookout Kid]

Having teardown potential rarely makes your property value go down...

[Nysee53]

It definitely does, if you buy a teardown to live in, it will only be valued by the land. This was discussed in the Hinsdale, Winnetka, etc Will We Fit In thread.

You might want to look at Deerfield. Similar to HP, right next door, same school district, but higher ranked schools. Downtown Deerfield is a nice walkable neighborhood.

Here is a nice Downtown Deerfield Home:
Single Family Home - 644 ORCHARD, DEERFIELD, IL, 60015 - Realtor.com

[Paige65]

Don't worry about the "teardown" potential. I find that a bit difficult to believe. No builder is going to spend (or has spent - in Ravinia) >$400,000 for a 40x130 lot because the economics don't make sense. The maximum a new builder could put on this lot is about 2100 square feet (there are special exemptions for existing homeowners who can ADD a little bit more sq. feet than new construction). A new home in the Ravinia area, on a lot that size, would go in the mid sevens to possibly $800. They are having difficulty selling two new homes on Pleasant in the $800,000s right now.

Anyway, unless it was looked at as a teardown because of some structural issue, "being looked at as a teardown" means absolutely nothing.

If you are willing to consider the home on Burton, then you should take a look at both houses in the 500 block of Pleasant that are in the high $400/low $500 price range.

[cohdane]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I've always wondered where that was! It was obviously designed by a Chicago Mies disciple... Do you know the "name" of the house? Or the architect? I'm getting more interested in Chicago's single-family home architecture, which always takes a backseat to Chicago's giant catalog of canonical high-rises.

[SIZE=3]Ben Rose House by George E. Danforth

It's terrific.
[/SIZE]

[cohdane]

Alright, as long as everyone is throwing suggestions in the hat, I finally found the property I remembered-- although it's a stretch.

1954 by Edward Dart. Some &^%$!! speculator bought it and left it vacant/unheated. It would need a LOT of work inside. (There used to be pictures of the interior.) But it's a big lot (so expandable) and it's priced at 350k, so maybe doable? I don't know enough about that stuff:

434 Sumac MLS 06792882

If not, here are two others, not classic mid century, but at least kindred:

315 Russett Lane MLS 06944190

??? MLS 06907875

If you can rent for a while, prices will be going down (IMO) and a good house might come on. I know that's hard with kids, though.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

It definitely does, if you buy a teardown to live in, it will only be valued by the land. This was discussed in the Hinsdale, Winnetka, etc Will We Fit In thread.

You are absolutely wrong about this. Having teardown potential actually RAISES your selling price. It increases the pool of buyers, and teardown developers will almost always give you a better price for your house than you would get on the market. This is commonly known in my line of work.

Here's a good NY Times article about the phenomenon (note that in this article "teardown" refers to the existing house, while "rebuild" refers to the new house built in place of the teardown.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/re...ref=realestate

Two quotes:

“Teardowns are doing a little better than overall markets, because most teardowns are located in highly desirable neighborhoods that command a premium price and are somewhat easier to sell,” said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors in Washington.

“To get the most value out of the lot,” Mr. Ireifej said, “we decided to take the money and run, and let builders do it.” (Mr. Ireifej moved to a larger house, also in Greenwich, that he plans to expand, but he is also hoping to buy another teardown as an investment.)

[Calidreemer]

Paige my sister moved from Ravinia to Evanston because of a divorce. She wanted out quickly so she let her ex buy her out of the house rather than spend time fighting over it. As a single person she is happy being in Evanston. She is with the young hipsters and is a quick drive to her friends in Lincoln Park and DePaul.

Next subject - I love that cute bungalow - I would rip out the kitchen and bath and start over there and paint and I think it would be all good. I love that kind of architecture. We have a 1920's house and I love it although my husband hates how much it costs to maintain and rehab. Oh well - it has good energy and it is cute IMO.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

It has been looked at for teardown, I think the lot is a little narrow though. 40' wide is a little tough, but Highland Park and Evanston have special zoning issues, so everything is subject to review and you can reduce the required setbacks. I think it is a great house, but new homes always beat old homes. Truth is, I would love to be a home rehabber, but old homes have become sooooooo hard to sell on the NS. It is rediculous. No one rehabs anymore here.

Really? Whats all that hammering and sawing I hear all the time. The Percy mansion just went under contract this week for just under $10M, its going to be rehabbed, My friends are redoing the Clement Stone mansion, and I know tons of other people who have rehabbed, myself and most of my neighbors included(with our far more modest homes and budgets).