Joe,

I appreciate you bringing this story back to it's original thesis - customer satisfaction.

Thanks,

Brian

“The buyer’s happy. The seller’s happy,” Hickey said. “Really those are usually the two most important components.”
Amen...everyone else keep your nose out of it.

And American history is of course worth nothing to people with dollars in front of their noses....

I will most definitely miss the house. This it is the house i grew up in from 1962 to 1982. I drive by the house every day, and will certainly miss its presence. It was always one of the landmark homes back in the day. But i am glad that Brian is making money, and that the buyer and seller are happy!!! They get to live with all the negative thoughts surrounding this venture.

Bill
I recently sold my beautiful 90 year old home in Hinsdale. It was a lovely old house, full of charm. But it had problems. If it was 20 degrees outside, we had to wear sweaters. The air conditioning couldn't keep up if it was 80 degrees outside . There were large bedrooms but no closet space. There was one bedroom that's only access was through another bedroom . I sold my house through Teardowns. I'm thankful I was able to move the property and not pay the heating bills and taxes any longer than necessary. The house came down. If a house does't fit the buyer's needs, and as long as the check clears, the buyer should be able to do whatever he/she wants.

I owned a beautiful 100 year old house on South Washington Street that was for sale for quite a while. Everyone loved the house, but no one wanted to buy it, and eventually it was torn down. It was a great house, but had many of the same problems shared by other old houses, and people today are not interested in rehabbing, despite what you see on HGTV. So there is a boring brick house on the corner now, with a garage facing the street. I wish the builder had cared more about fitting the new house into the neighborhood.

I understand the principles involved in buying and selling real estate. But to say that no one will remember that beautiful house is insensitive and insulting. What would convince Brian that some people are aware of their surroundings? Should we whine about it every day? Granted there are some house that have been torn down that I cannot remember the next day. But I remember the Middaugh Mansion in CH, the Sears Craft Cottage that is no longer on The Lane, the gorgeous home with the widow's walk that used to be on Monroe,the original farm house that came down on Washington-and the nine beautiful trees that they took out with it, the stucco house on the corner of The Lane and Garfield that is now a garden, the Dutch Colonial at Ravine & Garfield and the BIG Victorian at Garfield by the library. I remember the developer that wouldn't allow us to save perennials. (Midnight paeony digging took care of that.) So, don't tell me what I will or will not remember. Don't tell me that another cookie cutter mansion will be better. My childhood home in Naperville is gone. My father's childhood home in LaGrange is gone. My grandfathers farm in Burr Ridge is gone and a development.They were all sold fairly and we were compensated for their sales. But we remember them.
I also remember the PR person at Macy's saying that Chicago will never remember Marshall Field's once Macy's takes over. I, and others I know, have never shopped at Macy's. Not even for Frango's.

Anyone want to touch on solutions? Clearly, for some, there is a problem, how can it be solved? Or is the problem purely individualistic with no group solution to ponder?

Ideas?

Anyone..........Bueller? :)

Thanks (again),

Brian

Scott,

You may a little late to the party...the seller tried to sell the house through traditional marketing channels for over 2 1/2 years - using the best agents in town (by production). It was only after that lack of success (no offers for 2 1/2 years) did he choose to change marketing strategy.

As far as solutions, I'll go ahead and be the first one to offer up an idea or two (three actually).

1. All new construction must comply with all Village ordinances and zoning codes.
2. If something comes on the market deemed to have historical significance, everyone opposed to even the remote possibility of the property being redeveloped must buy the property either together as a unit or individually.
3. At the time of the purchase certain covenants must be included that forbid any modification or alteration of the home (that includes the kitchen sink) unless approved by the Hinsdale Historical Society. The term of the covenant will be 100 years.

That oughta do it :)

OK, I'm done - thanks to all for the dialog.

BW, Scott Miller....are you THE Scott Miller I went to high school with??? Married to Pat? If so, I am happy you share my love for old homes, quirks and all. If I was still in Hinsdale I would have gladly bought this home.....

Brian - I wasnt late to the party as you flippantly and erroneously stated. When i opined that it was unfortunate that the seller couldn't find an alternative to marketing the home as a teardown I meant it as a statement of fact not a judgement of the seller. Maybe I need to make it clearer for you: it's unfortunate that the only available option for the seller after 2.5 years on the market was to sell the home as a teardown.

Glad you are done. Thanks for trolling the site and responding (somewhat disingenuously) to every comment made. The people who have commented thus far have done so out of good faith and good intention they deserve the same level of sincerity in response.

If the town residents and leaders are worried about preserving history, they should start a historic and preservation commission and fund it. Otherwise, let the market prevail.

Jolyn: Hinsdale's Historic Preservation Commission, of which I am a member, has been in existence for many years. We meet at 5:00 at Memorial Hall on the second Tuesday of each month. Our mission is to promote awareness of historic structures and encourage owners to respect our heritage. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of owners of historic properties to seek out measures to protect as we have no authority to register these properties or insert covenants in the deeds. Landmarking properties and seeking out tax freezes are measures that often help in preserving historic structures and we stand ready to assist in that process for anyone who is interested in investigating these things. Sincerely, John Bohnen, Member, Hinsdale Historic Preservation Commission and Owner, County Line Properties

I live down the block from 206 N. Washington. I've been in that house many times. It needed some interior reconfiguration, and interest from the sort of buyer willing to do that. None was found, the market ruled, as it should, and the house will come down. And something huge will have been lost. As for top notch realtors? Word is, one of those top-notch geniuses suggested slapping that coat of pale lemon paint on the house, guaranteed to peel off the smooth brick in a few short years. Another inhibitor, for sure.

Sorry to say this but "Historic Hinsdale" once again proves itself an irony. This house was across the street from the now demolished house I grew up in. It has beautiful details and gardens in the back. It will likely give way to another great architecturally uninspired atrocity. I loath the fact that I have to consider this wasteland my hometown.

Just drive around Hinsdale on a Saturday and open your eyes. You will see the results of years of neglected enforcement of standards and an abandoned infrastructire, especially the roads. Hinsdale has just become simply a pedestrian suburb with an absence of character and attraction.

Just because something is old, doesn't make it worth preserving. They made crap 100 years ago, too.

Hi Brian! This happened in Naperville a few years ago with a very similar house that was not in the historical district. The neighbor of that home bought it and demolished it to give him a big side yard. It was before the crash, so it was around a million that no one could come up with. So it went. I lived in Hinsdale and loved the charm. It sure was fun building homecoming floats in someones big detached garage. Here's a thought, one hundred years from now, all new people. So then no one will care. Good for you for filling a niche in the market. Tracey Bouton :)

"Hickey said people care more about what goes up than what comes down." This couldn't be further from the truth and is a totally clueless comment. Hinsdale is a historically significant town and there needs to be more done to preserve its history. More needs to be done to keep companies like "teardown.com" from coming in and running rampant, motivated purely by profit. People move here for its historical charm and living history. This can not become a place for McMansion house flippers.

Hinsdale- more money than sense..