“It's a sweet deal. I thank God — and I thank RealtyTrac. Your straightforward service is unbelievable. RealtyTrac played a key role in this purchase.”
Corey Fryer
Chicago, IL
'Sweet Deals' in South Chicago: Corey Fryer's Story
Cory Fryer’s growing family needed more room.
Fryer and his wife had just moved back to Chicago from Grand Rapids, Mich., and were looking for a more spacious home for their growing family of six.
“While we were looking for our dream home, we were living in one of my aunt’s townhomes,” explained Fryer, who works for the Chicago Transit Authority. “I started searching online with other websites, but something caught my attention about RealtyTrac.”
Using RealtyTrac’s aerial mapping tool, Fryer spotted a two-story brick bungalow on a tree-lined street in South Chicago’s West Chatham neighborhood. Located on South La Salle Street, just west of the Dan Ryan Freeway, the pre-foreclosure he unearthed had been abandoned by the current owner and the boarded-up property was in desperate need of a new owner. Best of all, the home was directly across the street from an elementary school and near a park where his four children could play.
“This neighborhood was uncharted territory for me,” continued Fryer, who grew up in southeast Chicago. “My father drove around the house and he like it. Then, my father and my mom looked at the interior of the house and they liked it.”
After his wife and children walked through the house, Cory’s father negotiated an all-cash offer with the distressed owner. Fryer said the house sold in 2006 for $240,000. They paid a one-third of that, he said.
“It’s a unique house,” claims Fryer, adding that the 1,400 square foot home, with four bedrooms, a detached garage and a spacious basement that could become a fifth bedroom was just what he was looking for. “I used to think stories like mine were Cinderella stories. But tears come to my eyes — and I get emotional — because of all the struggles we went through to get this house. We looked at over 20 different houses before we went to RealtyTrac.”
He said West Chatham is well-established community with a close-knit atmosphere of hard-working professionals and retirees who care deeply about maintaining a high quality of life.
“The school across the street has a park where the kids can play,” he added. “It’s unbelievable. My son is three years old. He can walk across the street and go to school. And the neighbor to the south is a retired doctor and my other neighbor is a psychiatrist.”
But best of all, Fryer is saving money by owning instead of renting.
“I’m paying less than rent on the townhouse,” Fryer said. “It’s a sweet deal. I thank God — and I thank RealtyTrac. Your straightforward service is unbelievable. RealtyTrac played a key role in this purchase."