By Mike Danahey
mdanahey@stmedianetwork.com
August 31, 2011 6:32PM
A home at 463 East Chicago Street in Elgin was purchased by the city, rehabbed with money from HUD and is now up for sale.
August 31, 2011 | Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media
Online listings
162 Summit St.: www.tomsvintagehomes.com/
MyHomeDtl.asp?lstPages=1HomeID=1233286
318 South St.: www.tomsvintagehomes.com/
MyHomeDtl.asp?lstPages=1HomeID=1233290
457 E. Chicago St.: www.rwfv.com/listnow/
listings.html?p=81fee8a0-22e4-47da-b9d6-ed386211d294
463 E. Chicago St.: www.rwfv.com/listnow/
listings.html?p=5a8c8ab1-1758-4e01-a2c1-16272d8c1cf4
Article Extras
Updated: August 31, 2011 6:41PM
ELGIN — Four of the homes the city purchased and rehabbed with money from a federally funded program are on the market, while a fifth home that was turned over to Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley is now occupied and a sixth one will be next week.
That was the word this week from Elgin Budget and Purchasing Officer RuthAnne Hall. Without saying which property, Hall also noted, “The city is currently reviewing offers to purchase two of the homes (now on the market).”
In a process that began more than two years ago, the city received $2.16 million from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization effort to buy, renovate and sell properties in the distressed housing market. Any money made on such sales is required to be put back into the program until those funds run dry.
The city took what it termed a “worst of the worst” approach, eventually picking 11 blighted properties with the aid of neighborhood groups. The plan was to convert them from run-down dwellings that, in most cases, had become multiple rental units into single-family homes.
Four properties were turned over to Habitat For Humanity of Northern Fox Valley. Elgin also bought and demolished a home at 209 Franklin St. The city owns homes at 315 Jewett St. and 218 Franklin St., which won’t be rehabbed until money comes in from the sale of the four fixer-uppers it oversaw at 457 and 463 E. Chicago St., 162 Summit St. and 318 South St.
Of the four city-led projects, Hall said the last to be finished was the house at 457 E. Chicago St., which was completed in July and listed for sale Aug. 23.
Selling prices set
The homes all passed city inspections, and Hall thanked contractors for their work and for flexibility in meeting with city staff. Homework Construction Services of Elgin rehabbed the Summit home, while JB Builders of St. Charles completed the other three sites.
“Open houses have been held at all of the homes in July and August for prospective buyers, and two Realtor tours have been conducted in July and August as well,” Hall said. “The homes are all available for view on the Internet as well as by appointment with the Realtor.”
The city awarded the agreements to act as sales agents to Realtor Tom Krebsbach at Vintage Home Realty for 162 Summit St. and 318 South St. Realtor Michael Simpson at Realty World Fox Valley Inc. is showing the home at 457 E. Chicago St. and the one next door at 463 E. Chicago St.
Realty World Fox Valley is listing the 457 E. Chicago St. home for $215,000 and the 463 E. Chicago home for $210,000.
Vintage Home Realty has the South Street property listed for $202,500 and the Summit Street house for $125,000.
Both Realtors are working for a 5 percent commission on the final sale price.
Habitat development director Bill Klaves said the keys to 511 Washburn St. were turned over to its new homeowner last week, while 485 E. Chicago St. will be occupied within a week by a husband and wife and their four children. Other Habitat projects tied to the HUD funding are the houses at 355 Moseley St. and 108-110 S. Channing St.
Klaves said all four homes were significantly old and in need of structural restoration. Since the homes on Chicago and Channing are in historic districts, Habitat recruited experienced volunteers to help with the specifications of period exterior detail work.
“We were happy to work with the city on getting people into homes and to help them meet their goals of converting” what had been made into multiple-unit dwellings into single-family homes, Klaves said.
Positive comments
Krebsbach said he might be writing an offer on the Summit Street home Wednesday. He has had a couple of showings a week at the homes in his charge over the 40 days they have been on the market, as well as an open house for Realtors and one for the public that drew about two dozen people.
Since the Summit Street home is small, Krebsbach said, lookers have tended to be single or young couples, while the bigger home on South Street has been getting a variety of viewers. A big selling point for both is that they are within walking distance of Metra stations, Krebsbach said.
Simpson said the 463 E. Chicago St. property went on the market July 19 and that both East Chicago Street properties have received positive comments. He has hosted a Realtor open house that drew five brokers and a public open house that attracted three potential buyers for both homes he oversees. He has shown the 463 E. Chicago St. home by appointment four or five times, and one party seems interested, Simpson said.
One big challenge of selling homes at more than $200,000 in the aftermath of the recession and the foreclosure crisis is that they are competing with underpriced properties, Simpson said.
Another challenge is that the program has income requirements where a single person can’t make more than $63,000 a year and a couple no more than $72,000 per year to qualify to buy one of the homes. Buyers also must also be able to secure a loan in a tight lending market.
Buyers must also complete four two-hour classes offered free of charge through Neighborhood Housing Services of the Fox Valley.
Simpson said there remains a good amount of uncertainty in the housing market. On one hand, inventory has shrunk, meaning prices can stabilize and begin to climb. On the other, he noted, the number of properties that might be heading into another wave of foreclosures remains a big unknown.