Pre-Inspection Report
this Chicago two-flat (address withheld) · prepared 2026-06-10
What to expect before you inspect — property records, comps, and a permit-and-age read on the home's systems.
This home: 6 bd / 2.0 ba · 1800 sqft · built 1889 (Sqft: Redfin (https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)-60608/home/14078272); Beds/Baths/Year Built/Lot Size: Realtor.com (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)_Chicago_IL_60608_M70081-17072), Zillow (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)-Chicago-IL-60608/2062847977_zpid/), Coldwell Banker (https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/il/chicago/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)/pid_71387606/). Lot size 25×125 was converted to 3,125 sq ft.)
| Estimated value (comps) | $323,473–$577,626 |
| Condition-agnostic — no inspection performed for this report |
What to expect — from permits & age
1889 home with only old electrical fire-repair permits on record; most major systems should be treated as age-sensitive until verified.
Built 1889 · about 137 years old. A system is flagged when its typical service life is behind it and no recent permit suggests it was replaced.
| System | Typical life | Outlook | Why | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roof | 20–30 yrs | ⚠️ aging — investigate | Built in 1889, and there is no roof permit in the records provided, so the roof is likely old enough to warrant verification based on typical service life. | Confirm roof age, material, visible wear, leaks, flashing, and any recent replacement or repairs. |
| Electrical | 30–40 yrs | ✅ recently addressed | Electrical fire repairs were permitted in 1987 and finalized on 11/23/1987, with additional electrical emergency temp fire repairs finalized on 01/20/1988. | Verify scope of the 1987-1988 electrical fire repairs, current panel/service capacity, grounding, and whether any original wiring remains. |
| Plumbing | 40–60 yrs | ⚠️ aging — investigate | Built in 1889 with no plumbing permit on record; older Chicago homes of this vintage may still have legacy supply piping if not previously updated. | Check supply and drain materials, water pressure, visible corrosion, leaks, and whether plumbing has been modernized. |
| Hvac | 15–25 yrs | ⚠️ aging — investigate | No HVAC permit appears in the records provided, and for a home built in 1889 any current furnace/AC equipment could be well past typical service life unless previously updated. | Verify age and condition of furnace, AC, ductwork/radiators, and service history. |
| Water Heater | 8–12 yrs | ⚠️ aging — investigate | No water heater permit is shown, and typical water heater service life is about 10-12 years; without a recent permit, age is unknown but worth checking. | Confirm installation date, tank age, venting, safety valve, and signs of leakage or corrosion. |
| Foundation | lifetime* | ⚠️ aging — investigate | Built in 1889 and no foundation-related permit is provided, so this very old foundation should be checked based on age alone. | Inspect for settlement, cracks, water intrusion, shifting, and prior structural repairs. |
| Windows | 20–40 yrs | ⚠️ aging — investigate | Built in 1889 with no window permit on record; original single-pane windows are common in homes of this age unless updated. | Determine whether windows are original or replaced, and inspect operation, glazing, drafts, and condition of frames/sashes. |
| Exterior | 30–50 yrs | ⚠️ aging — investigate | Built in 1889 and no exterior permit is provided, so exterior components are likely older unless previously updated outside the visible record. | Check siding/masonry, trim, porch elements, drainage, and exterior sealants/flashings. |
The permit history only shows electrical fire repairs from 1987-1988, so electrical is the one system that appears recently addressed in the record. For the other major systems, there are no recent permits shown, and the home’s 1889 build year means many components may be near or beyond typical service life unless they were updated off-record. Permits are a noisy proxy: unpermitted work is invisible, and this is not a substitute for an inspection.
Inferred from permit records and the home's age — a partial proxy. Unpermitted work is invisible and permit-pulling habits vary. This is not a home inspection.
Neighborhood snapshot
| Area home prices, last 5 yr | +37% |
| Median home value (ZIP) | $321,600 |
| Median rent (ZIP) | $1,168/mo |
| Median year built | 1938 |
| Owner-occupied | 40% |
Sources: U.S. Census ACS 2022 5-year (ZCTA 60608) · FHFA House Price Index
Price history
- 1987-01-01 — Sold Public Record: $46,000 (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)_Chicago_IL_60608_M70081-17072)
- 2014-07-24 — Listed: $215,000 (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)_Chicago_IL_60608_M70081-17072)
- 2014-11-11 — Listed: $195,000 (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)_Chicago_IL_60608_M70081-17072)
- 2014-12-11 — Price decreased: $189,000 (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)_Chicago_IL_60608_M70081-17072)
- 2014-12-30 — Listing removed: $185,000 (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)_Chicago_IL_60608_M70081-17072)
- 2026-05-15 — Listed for sale: $419,000 (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)-Chicago-IL-60608/2062847977_zpid/)
- 2026-06-01 — Status changed to Contingent (Active Under Contract): $419,000 (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/this Chicago two-flat (address withheld)-Chicago-IL-60608/2062847977_zpid/)
The available public history shows one older public-record sale in 1987, followed by two 2014 listing attempts that were reduced from $215,000 to $185,000 before being removed. The current MLS-syndicated listing began on 2026-05-15 at $419,000 and changed to Contingent on 2026-06-01, with no other verified price events provided in the supplied sources. Coverage is incomplete for any events not shown in the cited public records and listing history.
Sources: [1] · [2] · [3] · [4] · [5] · [6] · [7] · [8] · [9] · [10]
Permit history
🔥 Fire/structural work on record — material history.
- 01/20/1988 — Electrical: FIRE REPAIRS [Final]
- 11/23/1987 — Electrical: EMERGENCY TEMP FIRE REPAIRS [Final]
The authoritative City of Chicago DOB records for this property include two older fire-related permits from 1987–1988: one for emergency temporary fire repairs and one for fire repairs. Those are material history for a buyer because they indicate the building experienced fire damage and had repair work recorded by the city. I did not find any clearly matching City of Chicago permit records for 2006 to present in the accessible open-data sources, and the county permit portals do not apply to this Chicago address. That means the online record is not a complete life-of-building history: it covers a modern city-permit window that appears quiet for this parcel, plus these older fire permits, but it may still miss other older permits or any work recorded under an alternate address format. I also did not identify any open or expired permits in the records provided, so there is nothing obvious here that a buyer would inherit as an unresolved permit issue. Still, because this is an older building with a fire-repair history and a sparse accessible permit trail, a buyer should budget for the possibility of unrecorded, deferred, or unpermitted work and verify the property’s condition on site or through a DOB/PIN-based search.
Sources: [1] · [2] · [3] · [4] · [5] · [6] · [7] · [8] · [9] · [10] · [11] · [12] · [13] · [14] · [15] · [16]
Comparable sales
Currently listed at $419,000. The home's own list/sale price is the market's most direct read on this property, so the value range is weighted toward it, not comparable sales alone.
| Address | Sold | Price | Bd/Ba | Sqft | Dist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33XX (street withheld), Chicago | 1996-07-24 | $213,367 → $558,595 adj. |
3/1.0 | 780 | 0.0mi |
| 33XX (street withheld), Chicago | 2013-12-26 | $604,298 → $1,128,829 adj. |
2/2.5 | 1463 | 0.0mi |
| 33XX (street withheld), Chicago | 1999-07-14 | $182,328 → $431,734 adj. |
2/1.0 | 600 | 0.0mi |
| 17XX W 35th St, Chicago | 2026-03-19 | $479,000 | 6/2.0 | 1840 | 0.68mi |
| 16XX W Pershing Rd, Chicago | 2026-02-19 | $575,000 | 6/2.0 | 2016 | 1.0mi |
| 30XX W 40th Pl, Chicago | 2026-05-05 | $380,000 | 6/2.0 | 2418 | 1.33mi |
| 43XX S Rockwell St, Chicago | 2026-02-07 | $399,000 | 6/2.0 | 0 | 1.37mi |
| 35XX S Seeley Ave, Chicago | 2026-06-01 | $469,000 | 6/3.0 | 2814 | 0.38mi |
| 37XX S Honore Ave, Chicago | 2026-05-19 | $619,000 | 6/3.0 | 0 | 0.7mi |
| 37XX S Wood St, Chicago | 2026-01-31 | $394,900 | 6/3.0 | 2308 | 0.7mi |
| 38XX S Honore St, Chicago | 2026-06-06 | $415,000 | 6/3.0 | 1836 | 0.77mi |
| 27XX W 38th St, Chicago | 2026-06-10 | $425,000 | 6/3.0 | 2976 | 0.9mi |
| 39XX S California Ave, Chicago | 2026-06-10 | $495,000 | 6/3.0 | 2934 | 1.05mi |
| 30XX S Broad St, Chicago | 2026-04-28 | $574,900 | 6/3.0 | 0 | 1.07mi |
| 32XX S May St, Chicago | 2026-01-16 | $589,000 | 6/3.0 | 2772 | 1.39mi |
| 44XX S Washtenaw Ave, Chicago | 2026-06-10 | $517,000 | 6/3.0 | 3018 | 1.48mi |
| 25XX W 45th Pl, Chicago | 2026-06-10 | $369,900 | 6/3.0 | 1716 | 1.52mi |
| 28XX S Homan Ave, Chicago | 2026-06-09 | $245,000 | 6/3.0 | 1824 | 1.52mi |
"adj." = sale price projected to today via the FHFA House Price Index. Directional, not an appraisal.
The verified comp set contains several immediate-neighbor (street withheld) sales, but the strongest valuation signals come from the nearby, more recent AVM/RentCast-style comparables clustered around roughly $380k–$619k, with multiple sales in the $380k–$479k band and one higher 3-bath comp at $619k. Given the subject’s 1,800 sqft size and 6-bed/2-bath configuration, a condition-agnostic value range centered around the mid-$400ks is reasonable. The older (street withheld) time-adjusted comps are useful for context but should be weighted less than the recent nearby sales. Confidence is limited because the web research did not yield additional independently verified closed sales with full address/date/price/sqft detail beyond the ground-truth comps already supplied.
Sources: [1] · [2] · [3] · [4] · [5] · [6] · [7] · [8] · [9] · [10] · [11] · [12] · [13] · [14] · [15] · [16]
Maintenance vs. comparable homes
This home shows less permitted upkeep than comparable Chicago homes.
With 0 routine permits versus a sample median of 1 among the 22 comparable homes, the subject appears to show less permitted upkeep than its peers. Its upkeep score of 0 also points in the same direction, though the two fire/structural permits are separate from routine maintenance activity. Permits are only a partial proxy for upkeep: unpermitted work is invisible, and permit-pulling habits vary from owner to owner.
Sources: [1]
Rental estimates
- Upper unit (3BR, ~900 sqft) (900 sqft): $1,188–$1,593/mo — Low end reflects as-is/dated condition at about $1.32/sqft using the lower bound of local rental comp support; high end reflects well-maintained condition at about $1.77/sqft, which matches the top of the provided local rent anchor band.
- Lower unit (3BR, ~900 sqft) (900 sqft): $1,188–$1,593/mo — Same size and likely same vintage configuration as the upper unit. Low end uses the as-is condition discount from the local comp band; high end uses the well-maintained ceiling from the provided rent anchors.
- Whole building (2 units, residential only) (1800 sqft): $2,376–$3,186/mo — Whole-building figure equals the sum of the two unit estimates, per instruction. It is not independently modeled; it is simply the combined range of both 3BR units.
3339 (street withheld) is a 2-unit multi-family building with about 1,800 finished sqft total, so the most supportable rental breakdown is two roughly equal ~900 sqft 3BR units. Using the provided local rent anchor band of about $1.32–$1.77 per finished sqft (median $1.64), each unit underwrites to roughly $1,188–$1,593/month. Because the building is an older 1889 two-flat and no separate legal garden/basement/coach-house unit is supported by the supplied sources, I did not add any extra rentable space. The whole-building residential total is the sum of the two unit estimates. Note: the verified AVM median rent of $2,410 and range $2,020–$2,800 is treated as ground truth, but the unit-level breakdown above is constrained to the local comp methodology you specified.
Sources: [1] · [2] · [3] · [4] · [5] · [6] · [7] · [8] · [9] · [10] · [11] · [12] · [13] · [14] · [15] · [16]
What's nearby
Amenities within about 1.0 mile of the property — how many, the closest of each, their average Google rating, and how the count and rating compare to a typical spot in the Chicago metro.
| Category | Within 1.0 mi | vs. metro | Avg rating | Closest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools | 16 | 1.04× | 4.35★ (4) · -0.22 vs metro | Everett Elementary School · 0.1 mi |
| Transit stops | 20+ | 1.01× | 4.46★ (7) · +0.25 vs metro | 35th Street & Leavitt · 0.2 mi |
| Parks | 14 | 1.25× denser | 4.35★ (11) · -0.03 vs metro | Hoyne Park Fieldhouse · 0.1 mi |
| Groceries | 13 | 0.98× | 4.17★ (12) · +0.06 vs metro | Oakley Foods · 0.1 mi |
| Restaurants | 20+ | 1.08× | 4.08★ (20) · +0.04 vs metro | New Archview Restaurant— The Chicago Room · 0.2 mi |
| Bars | 6 | 0.54× sparser | 4.2★ (6) · -0.09 vs metro | El guaco · 0.2 mi |
| Coffee shops | 10 | 0.86× | 3.77★ (9) · -0.12 vs metro | Dunkin' · 0.2 mi |
| Shops | 20+ | 1.05× | 4.14★ (17) · -0.06 vs metro | Oakley Foods · 0.1 mi |
Source: Google Places · metro baseline from a city-wide sample
Methodology
System outlook. Without opening walls, the best read on a home's systems comes from its age and its permit record. Each major system has a typical service life — roughs are roof ~20–30 years, furnace/AC ~15–20, water heater ~8–12, electrical service decades but dated by code era. A pulled permit means a system was likely addressed recently; the absence of one well past that service life flags a system as aging and due. We combine the home's year built with the permits on record to flag what's most likely to need attention, and — where city permit data allows — compare the home's permitted upkeep against nearby homes of similar vintage.
Value & neighborhood. The value range comes from recent comparable sales weighted by size, proximity, and recency (older sales projected to today by a house-price index), then reconciled toward the home's own current list or sale price. Neighborhood figures are public-census area stats and a live amenity scan (counts + ratings vs. the metro).
Everything here is directional and built from records, not an in-person look — it tells you what to expect and what to scrutinize before you pay for a full inspection.
This Pre-Inspection Report is a good-faith estimate from public records and AI analysis, for informational purposes only. It is not a home inspection, appraisal, or legal advice, and does not assess the home's actual condition. Verify anything you rely on; an in-person inspection is strongly recommended before purchase.