Sell your house fast in East Garfield Park
Brick two-flats on the side streets off Madison, older frame cottages and three-flats within walking distance of the Garfield Park Conservatory: we buy East Garfield Park property as-is for cash and close on your date.
- Cash offer within 24 hours
- No repairs, fees or commissions
- We pay normal closing costs
Your East Garfield Park cash offer
No obligation. We never sell your info. Prefer to talk? Call or text (773) 825-9855.
Selling a house in East Garfield Park
East Garfield Park is community area 27 on Chicago’s West Side, a few miles west of the Loop. The Union Pacific tracks mark its north edge, Arthington and Taylor Streets the south, Rockwell Street the east, and Hamlin Avenue and Independence Boulevard the west. West Garfield Park is next door to the west, Humboldt Park and West Town are to the north, the Near West Side is to the east and North Lawndale is to the south. The 2020 Census counted close to 20,000 people.
Transit is close by. The Green Line runs along Lake Street with stops at California, Kedzie and Conservatory–Central Park Drive, and the Blue Line stops at Kedzie-Homan in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway. Madison Street, centered on Kedzie, has been the main shopping street since the 1920s. The Chicago Park District manages close to a fifth of the land here, most of it in Garfield Park, about 180 acres laid out in 1869 as Central Park. Its conservatory, designed by Jens Jensen and finished in 1908, is one of the largest in the country.
The city annexed the area in 1869. Streetcars on Madison Street and the Lake Street and Garfield Park elevated lines drove a building boom from about 1885 to 1914, and after the 1871 fire most new buildings went up in brick and stone. That era left brick cottages, two-flats and some older frame houses. The Eisenhower Expressway later cut across the southern blocks, and many factories and warehouses near the rail lines closed over time.
CMAP figures show about 47 percent of homes built before 1940, and more than half of all units sit in two-, three- and four-unit buildings. Detached single-family houses are about 12 percent. A share of the housing, close to a fifth, went up between 1990 and 2009 as newer infill. A rehabbed two-flat may do well on the open market. A cash sale tends to fit an original building with a worn roof and old mechanicals, a building that has sat empty, or one with open city violations.
What to expect
Start with a call or the form, and we’ll walk the building with you once. Inside 24 hours you get a cash number in writing, along with the repair costs and nearby sales we used to get there. You set the closing date, and the earliest is usually 2–3 weeks away. Normal closing costs are on us, and a local title company handles the signing.
Before you sell in East Garfield Park: city paperwork
- Transfer taxes. The city’s share is $3.75 per $500 and is normally the buyer’s, while the CTA share of $1.50 per $500 normally falls to the seller. Cook County adds $0.25 and Illinois $0.50 per $500. We cover every piece of it when you sell to us.
- Water certificate. Chicago won’t issue transfer stamps until a Full Payment Certificate shows the water and sewer account is paid. Any unpaid balance is cleared from the sale at closing.
- Zoning certification. A sale of a residential building with up to five units calls for one. It confirms the legal number of units, which matters for flats that may have had a basement unit added.
- Vacant buildings. The city expects an empty building to be registered within 30 days, insured and kept secured, with renewals every six months. The registration is closed out after a sale.
- Tenants. In rented flats, leases and security deposits carry over to the buyer, and the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance requires written notice to tenants after the sale.
Your title company checks each of these against your property before the closing date.
East Garfield Park: cash sale or a listing?
| Sell to us | List with an agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Repairs/updates | Leave them for us | Lenders and buyers want them done |
| Showings | A single visit | Open houses and repeat visits |
| Commission | Zero | Usually a percentage of the price |
| Closing costs | We pay them | Seller pays |
| City violations | Open cases are fine with us | Often must be cleared first |
| Timing | 2–3 weeks or your date | Market time plus loan time |
| Certainty | Cash with no financing | Can stall on appraisal or loan |
| Price | Below retail, priced for condition | Top price for updated homes |
Most of the area’s flats and cottages predate World War II, and the newer infill homes are a separate case. If your house is one of the newer ones or a finished rehab, ask an agent for a price too. If it is an original brick two-flat with deferred work, compare that against our offer.
Selling an empty building in East Garfield Park
Some owners here hold a building nobody has lived in for months or years. It may have been a relative’s home, a rental that lost its tenants, or a flat that needs more work than it can pay back. Chicago treats an empty building as a vacant building once it sits unoccupied, and the Department of Buildings wants it registered, insured and boarded or secured, with a sign posted giving the owner’s contact information.
Fines and violations can build up if those steps are missed. We buy vacant buildings in East Garfield Park as they stand, including ones with boarded windows, water damage or open housing court cases. The title company works out any city balances and the registration at closing, so you are not stuck carrying a building you no longer want.
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 East Garfield Park owners sell
Nearby areas we buy
East Garfield Park FAQ
Do you buy two-flats near Garfield Park?
Yes. Two- and three-flats make up much of the housing around the park, and we buy them with tenants, without tenants, or empty.
My building has been vacant for a year. Can I still sell?
Yes. We buy vacant buildings as-is, and the title company handles any open registration, fees or water balance at closing.
Who pays the transfer taxes on a sale to you?
We do. That covers the city, CTA, Cook County and state amounts.
There are building code violations on the property. Is that a problem?
No. We price the work into our offer and buy with the violations open, so you don’t have to fix anything first.
Does a basement unit affect the sale?
It can. The zoning certification shows how many units are legal, and we account for that in our number.
How do I start if I live out of state?
Call or fill out the form. We can walk the property with someone you choose, and the title company can arrange signing by mail.