Sell your house fast in Dunning
Schorsch bungalows near Austin and Grace, postwar brick houses in Belmont Heights and homes along Irving Park Road near Wright College: we buy Dunning houses for cash, as they are, with the closing date up to you.
- Cash offer within 24 hours
- No repairs, fees or commissions
- We pay normal closing costs
Your Dunning cash offer
No obligation. We never sell your info. Prefer to talk? Call or text (773) 825-9855.
Selling a house in Dunning
Dunning is community area 17 on Chicago’s far Northwest Side, covering about 3.75 square miles. It touches four suburbs: Harwood Heights, Norridge, River Grove and Elmwood Park. Inside the city, Portage Park is to the east, Montclare and Belmont Cragin to the south, and Jefferson Park to the northeast. The 2020 Census counted roughly 42,000 people. Neighborhoods within it include Schorsch Village, Belmont Heights, Irving Woods, Belmont Terrace and Dunning proper.
The area is named for David S. Dunning, who bought 120 acres here in 1865. Irving Park Road began in 1849 as the North West Plank Road. In 1851 Cook County bought 160 acres for a poor farm and asylum, and a rail depot called Dunning served it from 1882. The State of Illinois took over the grounds in 1912. Part of that land is now the Chicago-Read Mental Health Center, Wilbur Wright College and Read Dunning Memorial Park, which opened in 2002. Mount Olive Cemetery dates to 1886.
Chicago annexed the area in 1889, and a streetcar line ran west on Irving Park Road starting in 1896, but most of the land stayed farmland until about 1910. Irving Park Road, Belmont Avenue, Harlem Avenue and Narragansett Avenue are the main roads, and CTA buses run on each of them. The Schorsch Irving Park Gardens Historic District, roughly between Grace, Patterson, Austin and Melvina, holds 255 buildings, nearly all Chicago bungalows built by Albert J. Schorsch in 1917–1918 and 1922–1926. It joined the National Register in 2004.
Dunning is mostly single-family. CMAP counts about two-thirds of homes as detached houses, and about 51 percent were built between 1940 and 1969, with a median year of 1953. Bungalows fill the older blocks, and postwar brick houses fill the rest. An updated house here often draws good interest through an agent. A cash sale works better for a home still in original condition, one with a leaking roof or tired mechanicals, or an inherited house that needs to sell without a long list of repairs.
What to expect
Call or send the form to get started. After one visit to the home, we put a cash offer in writing within 24 hours and show the repair costs and nearby sales it rests on. You set the date to close, starting around 2–3 weeks out. A local title company does the closing, and we pick up the normal closing costs.
Selling a Dunning home: the city side
- Transfer taxes. Inside Chicago, buyers customarily pay the city’s $3.75 per $500, and sellers the $1.50 per $500 that goes to the CTA. The state adds $0.50 and the county $0.25. Selling to us means none of that comes from you.
- Full Payment Certificate. Chicago won’t stamp a deed until its Department of Finance clears the water and sewer account.
- Zoning certification. Required when a single-family house or a residential building of five or fewer units is sold within the city.
- City or suburb. Some blocks near Harlem, Montrose and the western edge are in Norridge, Harwood Heights, Elmwood Park or River Grove instead of Chicago. Those villages have their own transfer and inspection rules.
- Estates. Cook County probate cases are heard at the Daley Center. Property taxes run a year behind and are prorated at closing.
The title company confirms the correct town and its requirements for your property before closing.
Dunning house: cash sale or MLS listing?
| Sell to us | List with an agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Repairs/updates | Not needed | Usually needed to compete |
| Showings | One walk-through | Repeat showings and open houses |
| Commission | None from you | Normally a percentage of the sale |
| Closing costs | We pay them | Seller pays |
| Original condition | Priced in | Buyers discount dated homes |
| Timing | 2–3 weeks or later | Months from listing to closing |
| Certainty | Cash, nothing to finance | Subject to the buyer’s loan |
| Price | Below retail, priced for condition | Top price for updated homes |
Most Dunning homes are single-family houses from the 1920s through the 1960s. Updated ones usually sell well on the market, and that may be your better route. A house with the furnace, wiring and kitchen it was built with is where a cash offer saves you the cost and time of updating.
Is your Dunning house in Chicago or a suburb?
Dunning shares long borders with Harwood Heights, Norridge, River Grove and Elmwood Park, and on some blocks the city line runs down the middle of a street or an alley. Mailing addresses don’t always match the taxing body, so a house with a Chicago mailing address may sit in a village, or the other way around.
It matters when you sell, because Chicago and each village have their own transfer tax, water billing and inspection rules. The title company checks the legal description and tax records to confirm which rules apply. We buy on both sides of the line, and when you sell to us, we pay the transfer taxes either way.
Three steps. You pick the closing date.
- Tell us about the house
Fill out the form or call (773) 825-9855. A few quick questions, no pressure.
- Get a fair cash offer in 24 hours
We look at the house with you and show you how we got the number. No obligation.
- Close on your date
As soon as 2–3 weeks, or take more time. We close at a local title company and pay your closing costs.
Common reasons Dunning owners sell
Dunning FAQ
Do you buy bungalows in Schorsch Village?
Yes. We buy bungalows in and around the Schorsch historic district in any condition, updated or original.
Does National Register listing limit who can buy my bungalow?
No. Listing on the National Register doesn’t restrict a private sale, and we buy homes in the district.
My house is near Harlem Avenue. How do I know if it’s in Chicago?
Your tax bill and the title search will show it. Some nearby blocks are in Norridge, Harwood Heights or Elmwood Park.
Which transfer taxes would I owe?
None. We pay them. That holds for a house in Chicago and for one in a bordering village.
My parents’ house in Belmont Heights hasn’t been updated since the 1960s. Will you buy it?
Yes. We price in the updates, and you can leave behind anything you don’t want to keep.
How soon can you close on a Dunning house?
Usually in 2–3 weeks once the title work is done. If you need more time, choose a later date.