Winnetka in $750K house, bad idea? (Chicago, Glenview: real estate market, renters, mortgages)

[JenniferFn]

in case anyone is interested, here's the type of house and location, one gets at that price range, certainly not a mansion:

MOD CUT: Not enough posts to link.

I was a "lower quartile" kid in the "right town with the right address" with parents who had white collar jobs. The judge, the MIT grad, the bank president, the lawyers were neighbors. I went to public school. The message from my parents was pretty simple. "You're not one of them."

Why did they say that to you? My husband went to Northwestern, so I don't think he feels subpar intellectually to the people/peers who make more money. Our problem is the real estate industry that he and I work in! Sure, it's given us some savings, but it's not been the windfall other jobs can provide, and the boom/bust cycles have made us terrified of over-extension. (maybe in our college days in the 1980's we should have focused on finance or law or information technology, like all the rest, and then we'd be in the $1 million+ house, but that's hindsight now). We know many finance or corporate professionals that make more money, and some of them aren't that special, they just make more money is the way we see it. Thanks for listening and commenting.

[madpaddy]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

OP titles his post as such - Winnetka in $750K house, bad idea?

Yet someone shows a house well beyond that price point.

I guess $45,000 is nothing to some people...

I swear, if your budget is $750,000 you have to lie to your real estate agent and say that your budget is $650,000, because they will ALWAYS try to upsell you and show you houses above your budget...

The house has been listed for over a year. It certainly seems well within the realm of possibilities that it could be bought for $750k.

[cubssoxfan]

OP, I worked in Winnetka during from '82-'86 while I was in college. I found most of the clientele more down to earth than when I previously worked in Skokie or Glencoe. Sure there were some "silver Spoon" mentalities but then there were people who dressed, drove and acted below their means. They were taught the value of a dollar and how to spend wisely. They were taught you are judged more on how you treat people than by what you have. I know friends of a close friend, a doctor and lawyer who live in Winnetka and their family embodies this as well. You will find Joneses to keep up with in many areas. How you react, interact and teach your children to IS what matters.

The only question I have is with a $300,000 down payment and anxiety over future earnings, why a $750K home?
You could find a nice home in the North or Northwestern suburbs with quality schools for about $150-$250K LESS. That's a lot of Benjamin's that would stay in your wallet! Places like Arlington Heights; D25 and Hersey/Prospect may not be quite at a New Trier or Winnetka Elementary education, but the difference is also quite narrow AND your children would receive an excellent education.

[chet everett]

Even the most desirable house rarely sells for list price.
The OP clearly stated they have $300K available for a downpayment and are interested in 15 year financing, both signs that they are far from the typical cluesless buyer that wants way more house than they can afford.

Current list-to-sell prices in most every category / most every desirable town are showing discounts of far greater than 6% ESPECIALLY as school starts in DAYS and when homes have been on the market for an extended period and things that are likely to bring greater uncertainity to sellers (or anyone with assets...) like the presidential elections are looming it would be foolhardy to look beneath one's target price.


I swear when amatuers that have only the vaguest sense for what drives real estate prices offer their opinions on anything related to choosing where to live it may as well be taken with as much a seriousness as stand up comedian's musings...

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

OP titles his post as such - Winnetka in $750K house, bad idea?

Yet someone shows a house well beyond that price point.



I guess $45,000 is nothing to some people...

I swear, if your budget is $750,000 you have to lie to your real estate agent and say that your budget is $650,000, because they will ALWAYS try to upsell you and show you houses above your budget. It's like they think I'm joking when I tell them my budget, or that I haven't given it any thought...

[Los Guys]

What about Wilmette or North Evanston for slightly more bang-for-the buck? It's not that different of a feel and might put some of the inadequacy fears to rest.

[Aleking]

lol, the OP is going to fit right in up in Winnetka. WOW.

[chet everett]

Not a knock, Los Guys, as I tend to agree with your point, especially in regards to Wilmette or other towns that also feed into New Trier, but the OP seems well aware of the trade-offs. The fact is Wilmette is MORE than twice as big as Winnetka. I know that Wilmette's average household income is just about as far below the OP's as Winnetka is above -- may they just believe in "aiming high" (though I really don't think that targeting Wilmette would be anything like "aiming beneath themselves".

Frankly it does not sound to me like the OP is afraid of "inadequacy" so much as they don't want to "stick out" as the only family not "moving up". That couldn't be further from the truth. LOTS of folks in ALL KINDS of desirable towns recognize the pitfalls of trying to climb "the property ladder". (Now when it comes to real issues of inadequacy there are comments from others about how they may have gotten a less affirming message and that might explain a whole lot, but that is another issue altogether...).

There are some real differences in the pretty much every town as far size and certainly "cost vs value" and to a lesser extent how those things are seen in ways that are tangible, like schools / parks. I don't like to delve too much into the "feel" aspects that are more emotional / social, but I do have to acknowledge that taken with the above Winnetka is more "personalized" or "boutique" than Wilmette, and that is worth a premium the same way some folks prefer custom cut shirts and others are totally fine with a high end shirt from luxury department store...

Originally Posted by Los Guys

What about Wilmette or North Evanston for slightly more bang-for-the buck? It's not that different of a feel and might put some of the inadequacy fears to rest.

[pvande55]

Plenty of Winnetkans are mortgaged up to their ears (usually for the schools) and have essentially no disposable income. They don't all have money running out their ears as you might think.

[linicx]

Originally Posted by JenniferFn

Why did they say that to you?

I suppose because their parents were born in the 1880s, and it was de rigeour 60 years ago. Reverse racism, haughty snobbery, sweetly packaged deception, and all the other social skills, learned in the 1920's and honed in the 1930's survived in the 1940's and well beyond.

[mattywo85]

Originally Posted by JenniferFn

Hello: we're thinking of moving to Winnetka from Chicago, we're both 45 yrs. old, two kids ages 1 and 3.

We can only afford a house in the lower quartile of Winnetka, and (based on our ages) it would not be a starter home, it would be the home for the next 20 years. Our income is $150K, but we've got $300K for a down payment, so the goal would be to pay the house off in 15 years' time, use the public schools. I feel we're mostly locked in income-wise, and firmly in mid-career, so the idea of progressing to a $1 million+ home is not likely.

I'll get the point, we're wondering if this is a bad move?

Most people who buy the lower quartile homes (under 2,500 sf) are younger parents around 30, and for them it's a starter home, and they usually move-up to something better and bigger by the time they are 45.

Will our kids feel like have-nots in Winnetka under this scenario? (I grew up in Deerfield and have no desire to live in Deerfield, Glenview or NBK, so please don't suggest that "we'd get more house for the $$" in those burbs, etc., no offense) Thanks for any input on my insecurities, are they justified? I figure if we get a nice, well-kept, older home in Winnetka, furnish it with high quality stuff basically once, that would make me happy, but I worry about the kids living in these smaller "have-not" houses all the way through teen years. We're looking in Hubbard Woods (Asbury, Vernon, etc.) and those houses off Hibbard: Cherry, Ash, Oak, Elm, etc. that have the smaller lots.

I'm not trying to be mean but if you have $300k to put down why not just buy a house out right and have no payment whatsoever. It just doesn't make sense why you would still want a mortgage. You can find some great deals now a days.