Condos such as this one in Geneva are selling for within 95 percent asking price if they are in top-notch condition. If you think you can afford a $200,000 property, you’ll have lots to choose from. That price range, which we set at between $190,000 and $210,000, garnered 1,841 listings on SearchChicago, more than appeared in any of the $100,000, $300,000 and $400,000 ranges.
While the amount of space and vintage vary a great deal around the Chicago area, this price typically gets you an attached unit, either a condo or a townhome, with – no surprise here – the amount of square footage going higher as you go farther from downtown.
Logan Square condo - $209,800 Geneva condo - $205,000 Hainesville home - $204,975 Naperville condo - $209,000 Oswego home $199,900
While some buyers still are qualifying for 100 percent loans, that is, a loan with no down payment, you will get a better mortgage rate if you can plunk down some cash. For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume you have $10,000, or 5 percent to put down. That amount does not get you out of paying mortgage insurance, however, so you will have to factor in an additional monthly insurance payment.
Your situation could be different, but here is one way in which the numbers could play out:
You will need a household income of about $60,000. This is assuming you have one car payment of $450 a month, no credit card debt (did we not say this was a hypothetical?) and are hoping to buy a home for which real estate taxes would be about $300 a month. It also assumes you’ll get one of today’s juicy low mortgages of about 5.5 percent. This calculation does not include the cost of condo assessments, which are typical in this price range.
But with those amounts plugged in, you’ll get a $200,000 property for monthly principal and interest payments of around $1,100.
Calculate your own situation by using our How Much Can I Afford? calculator.
Among the properties recently for sale for about $200,000, were a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath single-family home at 501 Heritage Drive, Oswego, for $199,900.
This was a whoppingly good deal because it is a short sale, says Realtor Richard Vesely, an agent with Coldwell Banker Primus Realty in Oswego. To prevent the home from going into foreclosure, the bank agreed to a short sale, where in order to expedite a fast sale, the bank will not recover the full amount of the loan.
“This home probably would have listed for $246,000 a year ago,” Vesely said. But even now, its comps are “in the $200,000 range.” That’s an amazing price for a newer home, such as this one, he says, but the home does have the disadvantage of being on a busy corner — Ogden Avenue.
Because the home’s price dropped recently it quickly took a contract, he said. That would be a tough deal to repeat in Oswego, which has a lot more in the $230,000 to $240,000 range, he added.
Looking in the city?
Here’s a condo conversion/gut rehab for $209,800 in Logan Square at 2924 Sacramento.
The building was built in 1935, but the conversion was done in 2004, and this unit has had one owner since, says agent Tom Sizopoulos with Remax Unlimited Northwest.
The unit has two bedrooms, one bath, and about 920 square feet overall. It has all new everything, including granite countertops, maple cabinets, stainless appliances and so on.
“It’s one block from the Kennedy and about a 10-minute walk to the train station,” Sizopoulos said. “It’s a pretty darn good price for what it is.”
Its drawbacks might be that the 8- by 10-foot kitchen, though remodeled, is rather small due to the age of the building.
“What I have been seeing is that units that are overpriced are sitting for a long time,” Sizopoulos said. “Units have to be updated, too, or they will languish.”
Condos such as this one in Logan Park, he said, are drawing young first-time buyers who are looking for value they can’t find farther east in Wicker Park, for example.
North by Northwest
In tiny Hainesville, about 15 minutes west of Gurnee, you’ll find lots of local history and quite a few newer homes.
While most homes in the area are going to be priced higher, $200,000 is a typical price for a starter home, says Frank Tierney, an agent with Remax Unlimited Northwest.
“You have a couple of options” in that price range, he said. “You can get a home built in the last 10 years, or you go older homes, about 50-plus years old.” He is seeing a lot of young couples as well as retirees heading towards that price range.
One of his listings which just took a contract was an 8-year-old, single-family home with three bedrooms and two baths in the neighborhood Cranberry Lakes, listed at $204,975 and contracted for at $199,000.
Neighborhoods like Cranberry Lakes in Hainesville are a good option for people who have been priced out of Lake Zurich, where the same type of home might go for $300,000, he said.
“For working in Lake County or in north or northwest Cook, the drive is not too bad,” Tierney said, “and there is a train stop in Round Lake and in Hainesville.”
And more…
• 1229 Koster Court, Geneva. $205,000 gets you a two-bedroom, 2.1-bath condo in a development with a pool and clubhouse, a lower level with rec room; a private patio facing the trees, two skylights, close to downtown Geneva, the Fox River and biking trails. Listing agent: Diane Carpenter, Coldwell Banker Primus Realty, 630-232-6900.
• 2708 Rockport St., #2708 $209,000 buys a condo in Naperville’s School District 204, with two bedrooms and 2.1 baths. The condo has a gas log fireplace with a TV niche above it, a loft area, lots of closet space and all appliances stay. The home is in the Stonewater neighborhood, which is very near the city’s newer 95th Street library.
“It could also be for a single person with a roommate, since each bedroom has its own bath,” says listing agent Patti Winkel with Remax Professionals South, 630-232-6900.
Winkel is high on the location of the condo, in the fast-growing southern portion of Naperville.
“This area is growing a lot,” she added. “There is a brand-new movie theater in a nearby shopping area, steakhouses and other restaurants, Dominick’s and Jewel are very nearby. For $200,000 you get quite a bit. Actually in this area, half a million for a house is conservative. And Neuqua Valley High School is very close.”
