First they were rehabbers. Now they are landlords. Next, Darlene and Marek Pawlas plan to enter a different stage of homeownership-a very settled one.
They hope to trade their Jefferson Park two-flat for a single-family home in an area where their two boys can start and finish school. Their deadline is next fall, when 4-year-old Mark starts kindergarten.
“We’d like at least one more bedroom, a family room and another bath,” Darlene told Barry E. Paoli of Century 21 McMullen Real Estate Inc. in Chicago. “We’re squeezed here. We have no room for storage. As something comes in, we throw something out.”
Paoli recently visited the Pawlases to give them some pointers on how to maximize their selling price and minimize their selling time.
“It’s a major concern,” said Darlene. “When we want to sell we don’t want to be sitting between houses and worrying all night.”
The beige brick bungalow-style two-flat is about 60 years old. The Pawlas family lives on the first floor and rents out the second. The two units are identical. Each has two bedrooms, one bath, an eat-in kitchen and formal living and dining rooms. There is a full basement, a back yard patio and a two-car detached garage.
During the three years they have lived here, the couple has painted, replastered ceilings and refinished the hardwood floors. They also have remodeled the first-floor kitchen to provide added storage and counter space. They are thinking about ripping out the pantry to enlarge the kitchen further.
“I wouldn’t do anything,” Paoli said. “The house speaks for itself. It is well-maintained and the location is great.”
Another owner might come in and replace the pale green wall tiles in the bath, he said. However, the project will be costly and the expense is not one the Pawlases should incur just to sell.
“We’d just be trading dollars,” concurred Marek.
As Paoli sized up the situation, the family has a couple of major challenges. The first is making sure they are moved into their new home before school starts next fall-without making double mortgage payments.
Sell first, then buy, advised the broker. “If you were my customer, I’d tell you to give a long time for possession. I suggest 90 days after closing. It takes about 60 days to close and then you pay rental. Then you’re not forced out. You give yourself five months from the time you sell to the time you have to leave.”
If they find their ideal home first and make the contract contingent upon selling the two-flat, Paoli noted, they could lose out if the two-flat doesn’t sell.
Another challenge will be breaking even or making a small profit on the two-flat. The Pawlases have owned it a short time and have put several thousand dollars into it. According to local market statistics Paoli consulted, the price they paid was at the high end of similar properties. Values have gone up since then at about the same rate as the cost of living.
“It has stifled some people’s dreams,” he said. “What is happening is people are saying we’d better stay here a while if we want to build some equity.”
Feeling squeezed
“The house is getting smaller for us,” Marek said, and they would like to stay within their chosen time frame.
Paoli said he was sympathetic and admitted that home values could change somewhat by early next year. “You can ask anything you want, but I’m looking at what is pending and what has sold,” he said. “You paid at the top of the market so you want to sell at the top of the market. That means spring.” The spring market heats up about the middle of January, he added.
Darlene and Marek listened carefully to Paoli’s comments. “It’s good to know we’re on the right track,” Darlene said.
“How about landscaping?” Marek asked. “We didn’t do much.”
“Don’t spend any more money,” Paoli said. “Your spending days are over.”
