Realty Check
Tough talk on all things housing -- booms, busts, bargains and more -- from "Nightline" correspondent Vicki Mabrey
Vicki Mabrey is a correspondent for "Nightline" based in New York. She covers real estate as well as a range of national stories.
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Location, Location, Location
September 15, 2009 9:25 AM
Fancy chatting over the backyard fence with a former president? Are you okay with going through a checkpoint to get home? If so, have I got a real estate opportunity for you.
The stately residence next door to the Obama's home in Chicago has gone on the market. Wish I could tell you the price, but the brokers aren't setting one. They're waiting to see what the market will bear. Typical homes in the neighborhood sell for between $1.5 million and $2.5 million. The Obamas purchased their Kenwood/Hyde Park home in 2005 for a reported $1.65 million.
The house has quite a history. It was built in 1906 by a man named A. R. Clark, who actually was the original owner of President Obama's home. During World War II, it housed officers who needed to stay in the area, then became the boarding house for a military school. The current owners purchased the 6000 square foot home from the military school in 1973 -- for $35,000.
It is a stunner of a mansion -- grand staircase, original stained glass, hardwood floors, formal mouldings, ornate fireplaces, graceful plaster detail. The listing says it needs renovation, and the brokers helpfully note that the buyer can add 4000 square feet -- but really, heating 10,000 square feet in a Chicago winter? Brrrrr....
September 15, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (10)
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Very nice home, but I imagine the price will be far too high (in dollars and Secret Service hassles).
Posted by: Jed | Sep 15, 2009 12:40:52 PM
WOW, what a rare buying opportunity! Who wouldn't want to be neighbors with the President? I predict a bidding war on this property for social, historic and investment reasons. I'd say a cool 3.1 million will seal the deal. Oprah, are you listening?
Posted by: Flenda | Sep 15, 2009 1:31:49 PM
Now THAT'S the home we should be pooling our money to buy! I could be Michelle's new BFF.
Posted by: Jana | Sep 15, 2009 2:59:48 PM
Which one is it -- the one with the white porch or the one with the green porch?
Posted by: LIsa Simeone | Sep 15, 2009 6:00:53 PM
I would not go through all the security hassles and expenses of buying this place, even if I could afford it, unless there was a guarantee that I could flip it and make some serious money. I doubt that Obama will live there for very long after his presidency ends. He may even sell it sooner.
I hope Oprah listens to Fienda and moves back to Chicago where she belongs. She could unload her $50 million mansion in Montecito and buy a whole bunch of houses near Obama.
Posted by: Proud Native American and Angry Independent Voter | Sep 15, 2009 7:05:03 PM
I would love to live next door to our great President, but I'm not sure I could handle the daily media frenzy!!!
Posted by: Lesley | Sep 16, 2009 12:08:22 PM
It would really be nice to share a couple of beers and discuss real American history with the nations first black president. But the best part would be to have him drop over now and then just to be neighborly. I do think he's that kind of guy. No matter the price, whomever can afford it, is going to get a deal of a lifetime. I'm betting on Oprah.
Posted by: Ray | Sep 17, 2009 12:03:10 AM
No way I would move away from my home, but Barack and Mischelle could drop by MY house anytime. I hope they bring the kids, too.
My guess would be that the Secret Service will buy the place and use it as long as necessary. Hawaii might not be a bad place to retire to either.
Posted by: soularddave | Sep 17, 2009 11:55:36 PM
This is a beautiful resident. What a hefty price tag. Typical homes in the neighborhood sell for between $1.5 million and $2.5 million. Amazing.
Posted by: Affiliate Expert | Sep 18, 2009 2:46:55 AM
I would definatly buy the house if I had that sort of money :)
Posted by: Tone | Oct 30, 2009 12:49:59 PM
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