Buy New, Buy Used, or Remodel in Naperville? (Chicago, Evanston: real estate market, foreclosure)

[MOD220]

after spending a lifetime researching and digging through this website which has SO much information, I think my wife and I are most interested in relocating to North Naperville. We are "city people" and have never lived in towns with less than 200k people, so even Naperville is small to us. But, it seems like the closest thing we'll get to Chicago living, while having great schools, reasonable home prices, lots of activities etc. I also will work primarily in the western suburbs, which is why Evanston was ruled out. It looks like most of the newer homes in Naperville are in the southern half of the city, away from downtown. we want to be near downtown (preferably walking) and I need access to the expressways.

Now the question is do we build a new house, buy a newer used house, or remodel an older home? When its all done we want a house with all the amenities, new appliances, electronics, home automation etc. But I'm stumped as to where the best "value" is?

the advantage to building new is everything is brand new, current, and based on our individual selections. the downside is this will have the risk of developer going bust, may not be in the best location, and most of all would probably give us the highest mortgage payment.

buying used has the advantage of being a turn key property, with no development risk. but the downside of having a larger mortgage, and no chance to choose specific options.

third option which I'm leaning towards, is buying an older home (10-20 years old) and redoing it. new baths, kitchen, flooring, paint, etc. not too much structural, more cosmetic. this would get us the smallest mortgage, and we can do the upgrades as needed, spread out over time (my work is cyclical). giving us the custom feel, but without the same monthly liability and risks. my only issue here is in a "down" real estate market, you get a discount on everything. whereas a rehab, we're still having to pay retail for appliances, tile, wood, etc. make sense?


any input as we start to make a decision?

[acdevane]

I would need to know what price point you are trying to work within in order to guide you.

Most homes walking distance to downtown are older than 10-20 years unless you're talking tear down.

Working with a knowledgeable Realtor from the area, you will receive guidance as to the safe builders to work with.

There is some inventory of homes that have already been rehabbed/updated.

All of this depends on your bottom line.

[MOD220]

All in I'd like to stay below $800k, hopefully closer to $700k once the house is complete.

4 bd
3.5 ba
3 car garage
3-4000 sq ft.

budgeting roughly $150,000 in a remodel situation.

[chet everett]

Naperville itself may have "only" 140,000 people but it is not isolated. It is part of the broader "metroplex" that stretches from Milwaukee into SW MI and has upwards of 5M people.

If you truly want a "walk to downtown" location you are either going to pay through the nose for newer construction (which even if vacant / foreclosed may have been a teardown and somebody spent big money on), end up doing your own new construction/ teardown (which is not much cheaper and might have more hoops to jump through), find a suitable home that needs updating (which is probably the most realistic if you are serious about having the ability spend up to $150k on remodeling), or maybe dialing down some of the expectations -- things like a 3 car garage, 4000 sq ft, 3.5 ba, electronics(?) and home automation TOGETHER WITH A WALK TO TOWN location are VERY VERY VERY hard to come by. Now if you are ok with the much more common 2 car garage, sq.ft. around 2500-3000 (with maybe finished basement not part of the measured space), that is a MUCH more realistic list to have WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE and under $800k...

If you want all the bells and whistles there homes in subdivisions and even infill areas are much more likely to have 'em, but majority of those are farther from core.

[MOD220]

What would a typical lot/teardown run walking distance to downtown?

Any links to properties?

Thanks for the help, I know I'm looking for something specific, but also feel pretty realistic about how to accomplish it

Originally Posted by chet everett

Naperville itself may have "only" 140,000 people but it is not isolated. It is part of the broader "metroplex" that stretches from Milwaukee into SW MI and has upwards of 5M people.

If you truly want a "walk to downtown" location you are either going to pay through the nose for newer construction (which even if vacant / foreclosed may have been a teardown and somebody spent big money on), end up doing your own new construction/ teardown (which is not much cheaper and might have more hoops to jump through), find a suitable home that needs updating (which is probably the most realistic if you are serious about having the ability spend up to $150k on remodeling), or maybe dialing down some of the expectations -- things like a 3 car garage, 4000 sq ft, 3.5 ba, electronics(?) and home automation TOGETHER WITH A WALK TO TOWN location are VERY VERY VERY hard to come by. Now if you are ok with the much more common 2 car garage, sq.ft. around 2500-3000 (with maybe finished basement not part of the measured space), that is a MUCH more realistic list to have WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE and under $800k...

If you want all the bells and whistles there homes in subdivisions and even infill areas are much more likely to have 'em, but majority of those are farther from core.

[linicx]

Let me preface this by stating I'fe flipped several houses in the last 25 years. Having said this, the
national prognosticators say it will take as much as two years before the housing bust is over and 40M more homes will be in foreclosure.

Given the current market I personally would look for a livable home with WOW! potential that has solid value, and is located in a good neighborhood. i would upgrade it while keeping in mind that cosmetics are nothing more than expensive eye candy that sells houses.

.

[chet everett]

There are sites "too close" to the retail section of Naperville that some sellers want to hold out for a commercial buyer, they might want $500k or more for a sub- quarter site, there are a handful of properies that have major negatives (like flooding, EPA cleanup, railroad in the back yard) that you might get for less than half that.

For a solid build able lot less than a mile from the core of Naperville be prepared to have sellers that won't settle for less than $350k.

Now if you do some digging and find some one with their back against the wall and you have cash to deal at a third of that, MAYBE you con find a desperate soul...

Other options? Lisle has lots more sites walking distance from it's little downtown for WAY LESS MONEY ( of course town is also far less desirable).

Ditto for say Westmont.

In between there is Downers Grove, which has a whole too offer and sellers are maybe a little more realistic, but not much...

If your goal is to stay real close to Naperville then I would not really focus on Elmhurst, but since it has similar amenities the prices there may be useful -- and they are very similar too...

Hinsdale is much higher priced, but even there tear downs that were going for $600k or more are down over $100k in asking price for stuff in "walk to train" zone; go an extra half a mile and save another $100k for your troubles. Worth a longer walk / drive? Only the buyer knows....