Mission Hills Condominium (Chicago, Northbrook: real estate, renting, townhome)

[phvtran]

How is it like living in the Mission Hills condominium in Northbrook? We are thinking of purchasing a condo instead of a single family home. We have a five year old daughter so we want to make sure this condominium complex is suitable for raising our daughter. Our max budget is $425,000. What's the pros and cons of living in a condominium complex with kids versus a single family home? Any insights will be appreciated.

[chet everett]

Before I touch on the quality of life issues I think that anyone considering buying a condo in the broad Chicago region should take a hard look at the long term trends of price / resale. The fact is even as single family houses are moving upwards in price since their nose dive began about 4 years ago condos/ town homes are persistently moving downward. Further as condos age it is not uncommon for the assessments needed for maintenance to increase at rate that far higher than for single family homes.

As to the desirability of living in a relatively restrictive / confined space in a part of the country where single families are the predominate trend I would caution that even in the most well built condo neighbors will hear far more of your family's movements / noise making. It is unlikely that any condos in the region have a similar amount of outdoor space per resident as typical single families have. An unfortunate side effect of this crowding is that folks who need to walk their pets essentially compete with space against all other uses. The overwhelmingly predominate category of condo owners in the region are retirees. The lack of "snow shoveling" tends to be very high on the reason they (and their adult children...) choose to live in such a situation.

I would strongly encourage RENTING for as long as possible before tying yourself to a situation that is less than ideal for most families in the region.

[3Series]

I agree. Also, with a $425k budget you should be able to find some type of SFH. In Chicagoland, the only place to buy a condo is in chicago proper, preferably as close to the loop as possible.

Also, if you really want shared living, I would at least go with a townhome in Northbrook, not a condo.

[linicx]

I think the only advantage to a shared home might be real estate taxes. I do believe the town home might give you the best of both worlds. The advantages to the SFH is the personal space and garage.

[phvtran]

Thanks for all your insights. What's your opinions/insights on the single family homes that are in a maintenance free community that only have two/three bedrooms compare to the regular single family homes? There seems to be a good number of these type of homes in Northbrook.

[chet everett]

Three bedrooms are MUCH MUCH MUCH better for resale. A two bedroom home will likely only appeal to builders considering tearing it down, and then only if it is in a nice neighborhood. Of course if the price is low enough (like a discount of over $75k compared to three bedroom homes...) then maybe it makes sense to consider starting out in a two bedroom...