The 3-bedroom, bath-and-a-half home at 12 Lathrop Ave in River Forest came on the market in January at a list price of $399,000. After half a dozen price reductions, the most recent one today, it’s now listed at $225,000 as a short sale.

The current owner has been in foreclosure several times during his tenure in the home and has repeatedly refinanced it – most recently, in October of 2006, with a $468,000 mortgage.

The home is described as a “2-story ranch” – another way of saying a “2-story 1-story.” One can only hope that the listing’s reference to a ‘scenic East view” is not the view that’s pictured above. But then, the description might merely be an instance of misguided Realtor sarcasm.