Where do tree hugging, vegetarian liberals belong in north Chicago? (Evanston: mortgage, credit)

[chet everett]

Cali is correct -- a month-to-month is very undesirable for a landlord in Illinois. If I were going to rent you a house I would pretty much be expecting it to be 12 months starting in summer/early fall and if you are not going to renew I would want to know at least 4 months ahead of time. Consider a landlord's "worst case" scenario -- you move in July 15, find a house and decide to close in September and the landlord is left with a place that is empty October to June, as school gets out -- that is 9 months ! Probably at least $15,000 that is going to burn up several years of positive cashflow...

With multi-unit you are really in a whole other part of the market -- I'm guessing with the girls so little you are going to be be fine with a 2 bedroom. Those units are far less dependent on the school-year driven calendar, though even then I would caution that rents for the "corporate housing" type places often have far less attractive rates than a traditional 12 month lease.

If you do end up renting an expensive single family home it is not unheard of to factor that unexpired lease into negotiations for the purchase of a home. It is still a buyer's market but if you find a place that is priced close to what you would like to spend the seller may be amenable to rebating your outstanding lease. If by simply slashing $20,000 off their price they get the place sold MONTHS before they otherwise would it can be a win for both you and them...

I don't know about their being "a lot" of coach houses, but that might be worth pursuing. Even then it is my experience that even if someone is not really do it "for the money" they will want a lease and their accountants / advisors will have stressed with them that doing things in a less than businesslike manner can jeopardize any tax advantages. Don't expect too many variations from the "school year" leases...

[Anthera]

I am also skeptical of a multitude of coach houses being available, but I don't really know Evanston. A bit further north the coach houses are generally not rented and are used as guest quarters. When they are rented it is as a favor (a teaching assistant at their kids school, a friend relocating, someone's nephew attending NU). Jay also has a dog and two small children, two factors that don't scream "quiet tenant"(although I am sure Jays children and dog are well-mannered).

[Nysee53]

There are many coach houses available in Evanston, but you do have to know somebody who knows somebody, because it is usually older people who own the homes with coach houses in Evanston, and they don't necessarily know how to use craigslist. There are many month-to-month rentals in Winnetka and Glencoe. They tend to be pricey, like over $5,000 per month, but they are there. Moderator cut: advertising Almost all of the rentals in New Trier are pets ok.

[jaynetarzana]

We spent the day in Evanston and it is hands down where we feel most comfortable. Now we need to find a place to live. We drove all over today and we much prefer the North Evanston area.

What does everyone think of Wilmette? Is there much liberal runoff from Evanston? We just wanted to try to keep our options open a bit since we might have trouble finding a decent place to rent.

[chet everett]

If Lake Bluff was too off putting to Jay's liberal sensibilities I don't know how helpful it will be to suggest anything that is not Evanston, remember Glencoe & Winnetka (along with Wilmette & Kenilworth) are part of that pressure cooker of academic achievement known as New Trier...

I do agree that there tends to be a hefty premium on month-to-month rentals, and it is not really fair to characterize either Winnetka or Glencoe as having "many" rentals of any kind. According to city-data Winnetka has about 4500 total units of housing, Glencoe about 25% less. I would be shocked in there were even 1000 rental units in both towns combined. If even 20% are available I would be floored.

As to "liberal runoff" I hear that due to strict water detention policies everything that has not soaked into a green roof is sent directly to the north shore channel and from there is hand selected to fill up re-used Ethos water bottles were it is strictly against sanctions to allow into Wilmette.

But in all seriousness, people do recognize the boundaries and the change in mindset can be quite a sharp contrast. Remember, it is not just the address you stick on your return to send mail -- it where you send your tax dollars, where your kids go to school, how responsible / serious a a local government you want. These things all matter more as you climb higher in housing cost. If you could tell from the sponsors of 4th of July floats that a town was not for you, then I suspect you will get a bad feeling putting any zipcode that is NOT 6020x on "new address cards"...

[Nysee53]

Wilmette has some of a liberal edge, but it is mostly conservative. Please do look at Southeast Evanston. It is more expensive than most of North Evanston but it is great especially near Main Street. What is your rental budget? I AM SOOOO HAPPY YOU CHOSE EVANSTON!!!!!! I knew it was the best fit, along with Wilmette. Did you see those houses I pulled for you? Those are some great places! I know a lot about Evanston, so just ask me if you need something!!!!

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by chet everett

If Lake Bluff was too off putting to Jay's liberal sensibilities I don't know how helpful it will be to suggest anything that is not Evanston, remember Glencoe & Winnetka (along with Wilmette & Kenilworth) are part of that pressure cooker of academic achievement known as New Trier..

You are exactly right chet. Unless someone knows of a mecca for liberals that hasn't been mentioned yet, we really need to focus on Evanston. It has the most of what we are looking for.

I did read today that mosquitos in Evanston have tested positive for West Nile. Lovely.

[Nysee53]

New Trier is no more of a pressure cooker than ETHS. ETHS pushes their affluent students into Honors and AP also. Both are outstanding institutions, both have their issues and some students do better at one than the other.

West Nile is something that is everywhere in Illinois. Just so you know!

Now we are making some progress. I believed all along that the lower North Shore and Evanston would be the best fit for you!

[Nysee53]

Jay by the way, Evanston has more conservative spillover from Wilmette into Northern Evanston than Wilmette has liberal spillover.

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by chet everett

But in all seriousness, people do recognize the boundaries and the change in mindset can be quite a sharp contrast. Remember, it is not just the address you stick on your return to send mail -- it where you send your tax dollars, where your kids go to school, how responsible / serious a a local government you want. These things all matter more as you climb higher in housing cost. If you could tell from the sponsors of 4th of July floats that a town was not for you, then I suspect you will get a bad feeling putting any zipcode that is NOT 6020x on "new address cards"...

Another very good point Chet. Evanston it is! On a side note, why does everything close so early here? We went to eat at Foodstuffs, but they closed at 5 pm! We had better luck finding a place to eat in the sleepy town of the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland!!

Thanks for the info on Evanston Nysee. Again, if anyone knows of a month to month rental, please let me know. I know we have very tough criteria, but we also have A+ credit and that might count for something.

We don't want to feel pressure to buy right now because we can't find a rental. We need to make sure we can handle the winters here first. So all of you have my permission to remind me of this when I start talking about putting an offer in on something. I know there is a distinct possibility of that since I am not fond of our current living situation (hotel) and day by day I am feeling a stronger urge to make my nest for my little ones.