Inner Ring Suburbs - thoughts? (Chicago, Skokie: apartment, condo, crime)

[sthornt1]

I may have led the discussion down the wrong path with the 4 bedroom opening salvo. Yes, ideal, but not necessary. Really needed for grandparents to stay with us when visiting, which is probably 3 times per year. An office/den/basement that could convert into a sleeping space for short periods of time would easily suffice.

However, space that is very tight overall will not work out, so a 3 bedroom/1200 sq ft place is probably not going to work. My gut says 1600-2000 sq ft is probably where we'd be comfortable plunking down the money for a SFH. Below that point I'd probably just rent in the city for a little while.

Unfortunately it's becoming very clear that there are very few locations that are convenient driving-wise to both of our places of employment. Skokie in particular makes it difficult.

[tonythetuna]

Have you considered the Northwest side of the city? Do you have to move to a burb?

[chet everett]

The cops and firefighters that live in the edges of the city won't sell their places for $300k and the average sq ft in most the NW side neighborhoods is below that of the suburban areas.

I don't think the OP is alone in HOPING to find some way to have a bigger home and a tolerable commute as well as good schools -- in fact those things are pretty close to UNIVERSALLY desired. LOTS of familes really want / need those things which is EXACTLY WHY people are still willing to stretch their budget and / or extend their commute to TRY and work on the best compromise.

Given the fact that he is OK with the longer commute and wife wants / needs to be close-ish to Western & Roosevelt I think something in Western Springs cover MOST of their desires for bicycle paths (ride all the way through Oak Brook or to Brookfield Zoo on paths from Forest Preserve in Westen Springs...) , nice walkable downtown with a few places to get groceries or a meal or just hang out, excellent schools, mix of housing, great acces to 294.

Will $350k buy a mansion? No, but it WON'T in any town that is not WAY OUT IN THE LAND OF SIX LANE HIGHWAYS AND BIG BOX STORES!! Can it get a livable sized three or four bedroom? Yep, posted links to half a dozen and I was not even looking hard.

[Lookout Kid]

Just curious, Chet, but what percentage of asking are people getting these days in Western Springs? Will houses listed at $450,000 frequently sell for $400,000? The market is so weird right now that it's hard to know what to make of asking prices.

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

As far as the houses go, the 2nd one is quite lovely, and $100,000 over the OP's budget.

Standard real estate agent behavior - take the clients stated budget and try to get them to pay more. Show them only crap houses at their budget to try to convince them that their budget is too low. Then show nice houses that are significantly above the stated budget.

Even if the OP had a budget of $500K, the real estate agents on this thread would have shown them houses at $650K.

It's the rare real estate agent that actually listens to their client.

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[chicagojlo]

Honestly I think you should stick with Skokie. You aren't going to be able to get your wife's commute shorter by any significant amount, so why have both of you spending 2 hours a day driving? It makes no sense.

[chicagojlo]

Actually I think this would be a good place, 3 beds, lots of sq ft, low taxes, reasonable commute to both.

4329 North Drake Avenue, Chicago IL – Trulia Mobile

[Ophidian14]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Due to recent over supply of multimillion dollar housing, perfectly livable homes that would have otherwise been torn down are available for purchase. By buying such a home ones investment is all but completely isolated from market downturns. 130 OXFORD Ave, CLARENDON HILLS, IL 60514 | MLS# 07701041

I'm sorry but that house is a dump and NOT worth $350k or ANYWHERE near that amount.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by Ophidian14

I'm sorry but that house is a dump and NOT worth $350k or ANYWHERE near that amount.

It is not a dump, but I certainly would not pay over 200k for it.

Any house on this page blows that place out of the water:

http://www.ziprealty.com/homes-for-s...icago/detailed

[chet everett]

The question about "percentage of ask" is , more than ever, driven by comps -- for homes that do not need updating and/or are on lots that could support a larger home (either through expansion or tear down), with no negatives (like being too close to a busy street) odds are that comps will largely be priced far above that of VERY similar homes that do not have the same characteristics.

The fact is we have been in an extended period of a "buyer's market" that has seen most of the better inventory get consumed.

When one looks at a home that is not updated but is still completely habitable AND in a good / great location directly across from a huge park, where one can also walk to school, and be a ten minute walk from the train, Starbucks, dining, childcare and STILL be well located with respect to 294 and the Ike the whole package is such that anyone that calls it other than "rare" clearly has no understanding for how real estate pricing works at all in desirable suburban area.

Let me completely clear -- the OP's desires for a non-six-lane highway town, without cookie cutter homes, with access to two difficult commute points, and in a town that affords them the opportunity to bicycle to things and have good schools put them in stiff competition with basically every other younger family that also desires these things. At the lower end of the price structure for such towns one absolutely will have to compromise on condition. Sellers know this. They have seen homes in worse condition, with a more difficult to build on lot, sell for their price OR ABOVE and any attempt to ignore the closed the comps WHICH FULLY SUPPORT THE ASKING PRICE will not result in a closed deal...

The difficultly is that there are some homes that are still overpriced -- if one wants to submit offers that more accurately reflect the piece of recently closed comps, but are far below asking price, there is some slim chance that your offer is the "magic wake up call" that is accepted. Far more likely is that your offer is rejected and the seller eventually does lower their asking price to trigger more offers...

The "percentage of list" is a statistic that always goes off FINAL asking price, and except for brief periods of rapid down drafts in the market (that were literally caused by inability of buyers to obtain financing and sellers that were unnaturally panicked...) desirable suburbs rarely see any huge gap is list-to-close.

When one is shopping for a home where the neighboring properties paid more for a vacant lot than what you have to spend you can rest comfortably -- anyone who would calls your home a demeaning name probably lives in an area that more discerning buyers would never consider for their family...