Alice Slanec of Re/Max Homes Northwest is trying to sell a compact colonial in Lake Zurich fast, so the homeowners can make a job-related move to another state.
So while touting the home`s many features, Slanec`s main strategy is to emphasize that the home is priced to move quickly.
”The home is very competitively priced. As I say, they are transfers,”
Slanec explained to a couple who toured 965 Bristol Trail Rd. during an open house last weekend.
The yellow two-story house with blue shutters has been on the market for less than a month at $164,900. It is one of the smallest models in Bristol Trails subdivision, which was developed by Lexington Homes five years ago.
The home sits on a corner lot half a block from the Lake Zurich water treatment plant, which should be phased out within a year, Slanec said.
The front door opens into a small entryway. Take two steps across the gray ceramic tile floor and you can start up the stairs leading to the second floor.
Two steps to the left of the front door is a 16-by-12 living room with a high, slanted ceiling. Adding to the open, airy feeling of the room are the white-painted walls and two front windows with a southern exposure. The carpet is a light gray to match that on the stairs, throughout the upstairs and in the 13-by-10 dining room to the right of the front door.
The dining room is also painted white, as are most rooms in the home. A brass chandelier hangs from the ceiling.
A short hallway leads from the dining room to the 13-by-10 kitchen. In that hallway are two doors, one to the attached two-car garage and the other to a half-bathroom with lavender wallpaper and the same speckled off-white and tan vinyl flooring that covers the kitchen.
The kitchen features oak cabinets, off-white countertops, a narrow pantry and a deep double-folding-door closet with cabinets.
The basement, which is not insulated, is reached through a door just opposite the open counter that separates the kitchen from the 19-by-13 family room.
The family room`s biggest plus is that it has two sliding glass doors that lead out onto a big, square wood deck.
Just as the downstairs has a cozy feel, so, too, does the second floor, which has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
At the head of the stairs is a full bathroom that carries on the home`s purple and white theme, with mauve wallpaper and a white ceramic tile floor.
To the right of the bathroom are two 13-by-10 bedrooms. One has lavender wallpaper and a wide window looking down on the back yard, while the other has off-white walls and a window looking out onto the front yard. Both rooms have double-folding-door closets.
The home`s master bedroom, to the left of the bathroom, also has two double-folding door-closets, and this pair of doors is mirrored.
Adjoining the room is a full bathroom, decorated in white and offering a glass door shower stall.
The home looks like just the ticket for a young couple with small children. No remodeling or repairs appear necessary, the concrete-floored basement could be finished off to provide more living space and the home price and expenses are reachable (1990 taxes were $2,850).
What`s more, the neighborhood is inhabited mostly by young families. That`s not surprising, given that 31 is the median age in Lake Zurich, which has a population of about 15,000 people and a median income of $41,440, according to statistics provided by Re/Max Homes Northwest.
”We`ve got a lot of growth out here, but what`s nice is that you don`t have to drive miles and miles to get what you want,” Slanec said.
The home on Bristol Trail is also less than three blocks from Sarah Adams Elementary School; about a mile from Lake Zurich`s junior high, high school and May Whitney Elementary School; and not far from the downtown and Lake Zurich itself.
Overall, the home is a tidy place in a sea of nicely kept homes within a growing, young community.
