How about a nice little townhouse in a four-unit building at 1206 Inverrary Lane in Deerfield for only $99,900?
It would be a great starter home, said Sally Bartlett, who sat in for selling agent Robin Rotella of RE/MAX Homes Northwest at last Sunday`s open house.
The owners of the two-bedroom ”quad home” have put money down on another house and are eager to sell, which is why the price is right, Bartlett said.
Yes, it would be a really nice starter home, agreed one visitor, unless, like she and her husband, you started out in something both nicer and cheaper somewhere else. In that case, homes that are considered bargains in the north suburbs may not seem like such bargains to people from other places.
The visitor, her husband and their young daughter live in a small Wisconsin town, just a block from a lake in a three-bedroom home that cost less than this quad home.
They`re originally from the North Shore and still have family in the area, which is why they`ve decided to look around. For right now, they`re not setting their sights on anything more than a small townhouse.
”I think that`s all we can afford,” the visitor said.
Sticker shock
Bartlett admitted the cost of housing in the north suburbs is often a surprise to people from outside the area. ”They`re just shocked when they see what they can afford.”
What $99,900 will buy in this quad home is cozy living quarters, a very small front yard, a one-car attached garage, use of a tiny swimming pool and gas and electric bills that average about $40 and $60 a month, respectively. This home is in a complex of four-unit buildings with varying exterior designs.
The 16-year-old home has its own front steps and entrance that lead into a one-person entryway, from which you can see the whole downstairs. The 19-by- 13 living room has white walls, gray vertical blinds on the wide front window (where there are a few holes in the screens) and plush gray-green carpeting that runs through most of the house. A black iron railing decorates the stairs that lead up and down.
The 9-by-8 dining room allows for an average-sized table with four chairs and a cabinet for dishes.
The nearby 8-by-8 kitchen features a dishwasher, refrigerator, stove and a two-basin sink, with plain wood cabinets sandwiched in between.
Off the living room is a basic half-bathroom with a blue ceramic tile floor.
Down the stairs is an 18-by-11 family room, which smells musty. The L-shaped room has a cool, cellar-like feeling, with its low ceiling and light-colored wood paneling.
The upstairs of the house is just as compact, with a remodeled white, pink and gray bathroom at the top of the stairs, a short hall with a linen closet, the 16-by-11 master bedroom and the 11 1/2-by-10 1/2 second bedroom.
Walking into the master bedroom comes as a surprise because of all the plaster patches that cover nail holes and gouges in the walls. But a sign on the living room table explains that the sales price includes a new paint job in the room, in the new owners` choice of colors.
The room also has a small vanity and mirror set into the wall, a walk-in closet and two windows that make the room bright.
The second bedroom is also light, thanks to white walls and the window`s southern exposure.
It`s a home that calls for a ”not bad, not bad at all” response. Unless you`re a stranger from cheaper parts, that is, in which case a gulp might precede the comment.
