Sell your house fast in Montclare
Brick bungalows a short walk from the Mont Clare Metra stop, 1910s Tudor-style houses near Grand Avenue and postwar homes close to Harlem: we buy Montclare houses as-is for cash on your schedule.
- Cash offer within 24 hours
- No repairs, fees or commissions
- We pay normal closing costs
Your Montclare cash offer
No obligation. We never sell your info. Prefer to talk? Call or text (773) 825-9855.
Selling a house in Montclare
Montclare is community area 18 on Chicago’s Northwest Side and one of the smaller ones. Harlem Avenue is its west edge, with Elmwood Park on the other side, and Belmont Avenue is its north edge, with Dunning beyond. Railroad tracks form the south and east edges. Belmont Cragin sits to the east, and the Galewood part of Austin is to the south. The 2020 Census counted about 14,400 people.
Metra’s Milwaukee District West Line stops at the Mont Clare station near Grand and Sayre Avenues. Grand Avenue is the main commercial street, with Harlem and Belmont busy too. Rutherford-Sayre Park has a fieldhouse that also holds the Galewood-Mont Clare branch library, which opened in 2010. A rail spur once ran north from here to the state hospital grounds in Dunning, and it has since been taken out.
William Sayre bought the land at a Jefferson Township sale. When the railroad arrived in the 1870s, a housing development started here, named after Montclair, New Jersey. Growth was slow. When Chicago annexed the area in 1889, it had only about 14 houses. The Grand Avenue streetcar reached Montclare in 1912, and Tudor-style houses went up in the years after. Brick bungalows filled in many blocks over the following decades, and later houses and apartment buildings took most of the remaining lots after World War II. Locke Elementary is one of the area’s public schools, and the Chicago-Read grounds sit just to the north in Dunning.
Most of Montclare is single-family. CMAP counts about 51 percent of homes as detached houses and another 6 percent as attached ones, with about 13 percent in larger buildings of 20 or more units. Around 48 percent of homes were built from 1940 to 1969, about 23 percent before 1940, and close to 17 percent from 1990 to 2009. A well-kept house here may sell well with an agent. Cash is a better fit for a home that hasn’t been updated in decades, one with roof, foundation or basement issues, or an estate sale.
What to expect
Get in touch by phone or online, and we book one visit. Inside 24 hours we hand you a written cash offer and go over how we got the number. You decide the closing date, as early as 2–3 weeks away, and a local title company handles it. We pay the normal closing costs.
Paperwork for a Montclare sale
- Transfer taxes. Chicago charges $3.75 per $500, a cost buyers usually carry, and the CTA adds $1.50 per $500, one sellers usually carry. Illinois takes $0.50 and the county $0.25 per $500. All of it is ours when we buy.
- Water account. A Full Payment Certificate from the city, showing the water and sewer bill is paid, is needed before the deed gets stamped.
- Zoning certification. Single-family homes and residential buildings with up to five units need one when they sell. Condominium units are exempt.
- Harlem Avenue line. Houses west of Harlem are in Elmwood Park, which has its own rules. The title company confirms which town your property is in.
- Property taxes. Cook County bills arrive a year late, so the time you owned the home this year is credited to the buyer.
Your title company looks up the requirements for your property ahead of closing.
Montclare house: list it or sell it to us?
| Sell to us | List with an agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Repairs/updates | Skip them | Usually expected |
| Showings | Just one | Many, on buyers’ schedules |
| Commission | None | Typically a percentage of the sale |
| Closing costs | We pay them | Seller pays |
| Older systems | Old boiler or wiring is fine | Flagged by inspectors and lenders |
| Timing | Roughly 2–3 weeks, or your date | Several months in many cases |
| Certainty | Cash, no lender | Buyer financing must come through |
| Price | Below retail, priced for condition | Top price for updated homes |
Montclare’s housing is mostly bungalows and postwar single-family homes, with a smaller group of 1910s houses near Grand Avenue. Updated systems and finishes point toward listing with an agent. A house waiting on a roof, a furnace or a whole new kitchen is where our cash number is worth comparing.
Selling a bungalow or Tudor-style house in Montclare
The houses that went up after the 1912 streetcar extension and the brick bungalows that followed are now about a century old. Common repair items are roofs and chimneys, tuckpointing, original windows, old boilers and radiators, and basements that take on water in heavy rain.
Buyers who need a loan often ask for those fixes, and appraisers may mark the house down for them. We buy Montclare houses in their current condition and build the repair costs into the price, so you can sell without managing contractors. You can also leave furniture and belongings you don’t want to move. If the house belonged to a parent or relative and is going through probate, we can wait for the court’s approval and close once the estate is ready.
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 Montclare owners sell
Nearby areas we buy
Montclare FAQ
Do you buy bungalows near the Mont Clare Metra station?
Yes. We buy bungalows and other houses across Montclare, near the tracks or not.
My house is just west of Harlem. Is that Montclare?
No. West of Harlem is Elmwood Park, a separate village. We buy there as well, under its rules.
Do you buy older Tudor-style houses?
Yes. We buy houses from the 1910s and 1920s with original roofs, windows and heating.
Will I pay Chicago’s transfer tax?
No. We cover the CTA portion that normally falls on sellers, and the city, state and county portions too.
My basement takes on water. Can I still sell?
Yes. We look at it during the walk-through and include the repair in our offer.
What if I need to close in a hurry?
We can often close in 2–3 weeks once the title and water certificate are ready. If you need more time to move, pick a later date instead.