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Old 07-29-2015, 05:03 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,981 times
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Hi, Riverside seems like a beautiful community with the idllyic widening roads. Can you tell me the best areas in Riverside, IL and any areas (streets) that I should avoid. I am looking for a property and desire the ability to walk my dog at night and not have a home that is prone to flooding. Can you give me your opinions.

Appreciate the input.

Thanks!!!
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Old 07-29-2015, 05:04 PM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,328,551 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pioneer123 View Post
Hi, Riverside seems like a beautiful community with the idllyic widening roads. Can you tell me the best areas in Riverside, IL and any areas (streets) that I should avoid. I am looking for a property and desire the ability to walk my dog at night and not have a home that is prone to flooding. Can you give me your opinions.

Appreciate the input.

Thanks!!!
Which streets can you afford?
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Old 07-29-2015, 11:48 PM
 
367 posts, read 1,201,181 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pioneer123 View Post
Hi, Riverside seems like a beautiful community with the idllyic widening roads. Can you tell me the best areas in Riverside, IL and any areas (streets) that I should avoid.
The FEMA maps are something to get you started. https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search?A...riverside%20il

I haven't studied it in detail, but both Harlem Ave. and 26th St. are somewhat ragged/utilitarian corridors bordering lower income municipalities, with more apartment buildings, so being super close to either of these is less desirable. Right along the tracks east of downtown, on the two streets with homes that back up to the tracks you will see the homes are on average smaller and with more apartment buildings. This brings down the desirability of these two streets.

None of this is really a secret, I think you will see lower list prices per square foot for homes in these areas. And it's not really a safety issue, there is little crime anywhere in city limits. The lower prices reflect the obvious, though modest, detriment to quality of life living near a busy street or railway. And living on a block with more modest housing stock.

Watch out for property taxes! They are a large factor in the cost of owning a home in Riverside, and can be pretty different for two similar houses.
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Old 07-30-2015, 08:23 AM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,666,014 times
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I am only commenting to second everything that Meatpuff has said. The river flooding has been an issue only for certain parts of town, including the streets west of Des Plaines Avenue and parts of the "First Division" on the peninsula in SW Riverside. But many other houses have wet basements due to seepage, sewer backups, and poor grading. The first two can be controlled by the homeowner, and the third one can in most circumstances... But I would avoid lots that seem to be collection points for stormwater runoff. This applies in ANY suburb.
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Old 07-30-2015, 08:59 AM
 
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I like Riverside a whole bunch, I have some rather good friends that live there and have shown many properties to prospective clients over the years. The uniqueness of some of the homes is truly outstanding but there are also other homes that are frankly a bit out of place. This makes the town more susceptible than most to a what some real estates agents call "ugly duckling syndrome" -- when shoppers see that the home they are interested in is flanked by a couple of less attractive homes it brings down the asking price. I suspect this has long been a problem and probably was one reason that some subdivisions in towns like Oak Brook still have an "architectural review committee" on the HOA-- they wish to avoid the out of place homes...

The reason this is a bigger deal in Riverside than say LaGrange , Western Springs, Hinsdale etc, is that teardown values in Riverside have not been as healthy. Folks are more likely to teardown the ugly ducklings in those towns (where they tend to rarer to begin with...) and replace the out of place homes with a "swan" (or maybe just a much larger and more full featured "super duck"...).

There are certainly folks that appreciate the very twisty Fredrick Law Olmstead laid out streets, the charming collection of public buildings / commercial development that present a unifying aesthetic to the core of Riverside, and the easy access to employment at Loyola or the VA medical centers, as well as speedy Metra service to the Loop, but moreso than other towns I would try to find a home that itself has good visual appeal AND is surrounded by good looking neighbors. Of course, if you have the ability to buy a home that is a block of otherwise attractive homes and make changes so that it enhances the appeal of the block I know from experince that you will be the hero of your neighborhood and that too might be an opportunity that the OP could explore.
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Old 07-30-2015, 09:33 AM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,666,014 times
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Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
The reason this is a bigger deal in Riverside than say LaGrange , Western Springs, Hinsdale etc, is that teardown values in Riverside have not been as healthy. Folks are more likely to teardown the ugly ducklings in those towns (where they tend to rarer to begin with...) and replace the out of place homes with a "swan" (or maybe just a much larger and more full featured "super duck"...).
I think there are very few "ugly ducklings", but there are certainly a lot of older houses that need updating. I recently went back to Riverside after living in Glen Ellyn for the past couple of years, and was struck by how beautiful it was due to the "no teardown factor". Consistent architecture and scale across most of the village, which is unheard of in most other Chicago suburbs these days. I love it from the perspective of visual harmony and layout.

I think the lower land values in Riverside compared to La Grange and points west on the BNSF are due to the fact that it is nestled closely to the non-glamorous Berwyn, North Riverside, and Lyons. And it has very little business/retail amenities to serve the population. If you can live with these factors, it is a great place to live with low crime and good schools.
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Old 08-03-2015, 11:24 PM
 
Location: Near West Burbs
44 posts, read 133,752 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
The reason this is a bigger deal in Riverside than say LaGrange , Western Springs, Hinsdale etc, is that teardown values in Riverside have not been as healthy. Folks are more likely to teardown the ugly ducklings in those towns (where they tend to rarer to begin with...) and replace the out of place homes with a "swan" (or maybe just a much larger and more full featured "super duck"...).
This made me spit out my water laughing. Well stated!
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