h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yeah, the problem is that if I paid $50K cash, I wouldn't have much left for renovations, and especially extensive ones- and ideally after closing costs and renovations, we'd like to still have 6-12 months salary in savings. So I'd really rather not have to spend more than $60K or so up front. While I don't mind having to do some renovating, we really don't have the option of paying cash for something and then renting for months while a house is gutted and rehabbed. While we could technically get a rehab loan, that's not the way I want to go- loan terms are different for developers and even if we're going to live in it when we're done, most banks selling homes in that condition are taking only rehab loans or cash deals. I'd much rather buy something that needs a little work before we move in and then we can do little things as we go. That seems the best way to go.

For example I saw a nice old graystone for $75K but it had visible mold. Mold removal can cost up to $50K depending on how extensive it is. At that point, better to buy a $100K house and do a little less work. If I had more than $200K cash, I'd go for the gut job.

It's a shame, isn't it, when pesky little things like reality get in the way of a good plan! Like if I could afford this, it might be tempting... http://search.knightfrank.com/cho100035

I'm glad you're able to go look at things again after everything that's happened

Well, that's out of my price range, too.

This one is nice, and well within our price range:

http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3536-W-Adams-St-60624/home/13257681

I think the neighborhood used to be a bit iff but isn't too bad now. It sure is pretty.

Heh. It kind of reminds me of the house in Spaced, albeit as a single family thing, rather than a town-house.

Very nice, with lots of features, and even though there's as much original wood in this as in some of the other ones you've shown us, this one seems brighter, more open, which I like.

I can totally picture you guys living in something like this!

Oooh, shiny

Buy that one.

ismarah - ooh, a hoff haus!
I believe the trick with them is being the one to build them, not to buy them already built as the mark up is phenomenal. I remember the one on Grand Designs (UK show) was near friends of the time and went for a stupidly inflated price (not quite the 3mill of the one you chose though!).

PC - as for that one you posted last, that's fantastic - very 'interesting' externally, how many styles involved? Shame the fireplace is a bit ick, but that can be fixed!

Yes, buy that one.

We're going to drive down through the area over this weekend to see what the neighborhood looks like. I think that last one might be a bit sketchy. Weekends are the best time to do that, and with it being so hot, if it's a rough area everyone will be outdoors. That one doesn't have a/c, but for that price, we could get the house and potentially have some sort of a/c put in for less than most places we've looked at up here.

Peeked at the crime blotter for that area and while it's apparently "up and coming", it's still somewhat rough. There are usually a couple crimes reported a day in my neighborhood- domestic stuff, deceptive practice, some narcotics here and there, and a robbery or burglary once or twice a week. In the area where this last house is, there are an average of 4-5 narcotic, burglary or robbery arrests each day. The home itself has an alarm system, a garage and appears to have a fence... but I'd still need to get there and back from the train, and K sometimes gets back really late from deejaying, etc.

We'll drive past the last five or so I've found over this weekend.

Heh. I live in a really small (& posh) town, where nothing ever really happens.

But the last armed robbery / burglary that happened...

Yup, on my street. Where there are only about 40 houses. Nice.

Admittedly, the house that was burgled is a rental and the then tenants were immigrants from somewhere hotter than here and it turned out to have basically been an inside job / feud thing.

The demolition of housng projects and building of mixed-income housing (as well as imposing requirements on existing housing in regards to accomodating lower income tenants/ buyers) means that overall, things are fairly equalized throughout the city, at least on the north side.

But on the south and west sides, there are areas still affected by riots and fires which occurred as long ago as the 1960s. This particular area that the house on Adams St is in is close enough to the Loop that development and gentrification are moving that way, but depressed housing markets mean it's happening slowly.

Personally, I don't *want* to live in a homogenous, totally gentrified or yuppified area. Parks of Lakeview which used to be interesting now look like the suburbs. But, neither do I want to live somewhere I'll be afraid to walk from the train in broad daylight or have stray bullets flying through my windows. Something in between would be ideal.

I've only once been the victim of a "dangerous" crime (one other time, someone passed me a forged check and I had to file charges to try to recoup my money), and that was in the suburbs. I'm sure there's the odd gang-banger in my current area, but I've never had any run-ins, and living on the third floor no one's going to bother breaking and entering. I'm sure I don't look like someone worth rolling, and the way K keeps his car, it's not worth the effort to steal it.

And not only is the woodwork in that last place gorgeous, but *three* wood burning fireplaces?! One in the master bedroom, to boot. Winter weekends, I'd never get out of bed!

Re. the crime rates - not sure it'll be improved by your doing a drive-by..

I've driven cars that were in that state, where you think if someone is stupid enough to nick it, they're welcome to it and you can at least claim on your insurance. Nobody ever did though, I was stuck driving horrible Ladas and falling to bits teeny Mazdas and so on.

I agree about not being too homogenous, and where we are is not on the ubiquitous 'estate', but I'm not as bothered as you are about city living.

Noticed the location of this last one, sooo close to that bigass park. And if you have 3 fireplaces, you could easily share!

Yeah, but I think that's one of the worst areas in the whole city. If I'm not mistaken.

Oh noes! In the nicest way possible, I hope you're soooo wrong!

Me, too, but I won't get my hopes up yet. We might not be able to get out that way this weekend- K's car crapped out (again) on his way home from work last night, and he had to have it towed home. It's parked outside the repair shop and he's heading over at opening time to try to get it looked at today, but we won't know if it'll be finished till after they look at it. If they even have time to look at it today...

So, I think some of that money we have saved is going to be used to buy K a newer car. No point financing a car if we can pay cash- the interest rates are usually extortionate. If they offer us 0% financing, however, we may consider it. That'd boost both our credit scores. But I hate to finance otherwise if we can pay outright. We're going to visit a Toyota dealer and check out a fairly basic model Prius.

Oh, for 's sake.

The car needs a new engine. I checked the trade-in value, and it's technically not worth it. We won't know till Monday how much a new engine will cost, meanwhile who knows how K will get all the way to work.

We'll be shopping for a new car this week.

I have pics to send you- might cheer you up..

Gawd, PC wooh, all seems so complicated!

That place looks lovely, but if you aren't happy about the neighbourhood crime stuff maybe best to first find a "relatively" safe area & hunt there?

It seems awful to me that crime rates are so high; here in Eyeland we rarely even lock the door of house or van, if is around, she would lick a burglar to death!

zdt