Analysis Paralysis - Need Help!!! (Chicago, Naperville: sales, real estate market, attorney)

[Hudson0901]

Hi all! I'm feeling really, really overwhelmed and I'm hoping some of you kind folks can help me out. I apologize in advance for this long post, but our impending home search is literally keeping me up at night. Here's the situation: my husband and I currently live in the city with our 17-month old son and we'd like to add another child to our family in the next year or so. Living in the city has become unappealing to us for a long list of reasons, and the burbs are calling our name. We are first time home buyers, and we're also mostly unfamiliar with Chicago suburbs as we've been in the city for 10+ years.

I am a stay at home mom and my husband is an attorney, working in the Loop. It's unlikely that he'll ever work in the suburbs, given the type of legal work he does, his job will be in the city. He's also the type of guy who is going to want to help coach teams, and is just super hands on with our kid(s). The idea of him getting home past the kid's bedtime every night makes both of us really sad. So - we are really hoping for a short commute, and we define "short" as 30-45 minutes. And we don't want to have to commute to the train station, ideally we could walk to the Metra stop or at least be a short drive away.

We are looking for a suburb with a nice little downtown area with shops and restaurants that we can walk to. Nice green space, lots of parks, top rated schools are a must. We want a town with some charm and character. We would love to live amongst other families that are invested in their communities, kids playing in the street, block parties, parades and such in town for 4th of July. I think you get the picture.

We have driven through a lot of towns that seem to meet the above listed criteria. Specifically, we have visited (west) La Grange, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Naperville and (north) Glenview, Northbrook, Wilmette, Northfield. We've talked to some people that we know who live in those areas and everyone just always seems to love, love, love their particular suburb. To the point where sometimes I feel like it's a competition on who can love their suburb the most, if that makes sense. It's great to know that there are so many wonderful places to live - but it doesn't make narrowing our search any easier.

Here is where I am looking for help. Our budget is up to $425k maybe $450k. We need 3 bedrooms but would love 4. We are ok with having a small house and we are ok with having to do some updates. I'm just wondering if what we can afford is realistic in any of the above listed towns? From what I see online, our price range doesn't get us much if anything in some of these towns. Are there other towns I should be considering? Please note - we are NOT interested in Oak Park, Evanston or Naperville (just not our cup of tea).

Also, how do you go about a search in multiple towns, some north and some west? We are going to start looking in mid-April and must be in a place by 8/1 (lease in city is up then). From what I understand, homes in this price range in desirable areas get snapped up fast. What does "fast" mean? Like sold the day it hits the MLS? It's easy for me to drop what I'm doing and go see a house. It's harder for my husband to do so.

So I guess I am stressing about my husband having to do a long commute and the fear that he'll never be home, always on the train, I'm stressed that what we want doesn't align with what we can afford, I'm stressed about casting a really wide net (in terms of looking at all of the above towns and just buying the best house we can afford) and logistically how do you look at so many towns in a competitive real estate market, and last but not least, does living in the smallest house in an area mean we'll be fish out of water and feel like the poor people who don't belong? I don't want that for my son.

Could be I'm just over thinking all of this? But here's the thing - I can think of nothing else! I'm terrified of using all of our money to buy our first home and make a wrong/bad choice. It's a big decision and I'm afraid I have analysis paralysis. If anyone can answer any of the thousands of questions in this post - or even a couple of them - or just offer advice or wisdom - this stressed out mama would be eternally grateful.

[JJski]

I would get/vet 2 realtors maybe even 3… When you sign contracts with them establish area covered by each. For example get a North realtor and a West realtor. PS fast can mean sold before listed on MLS - i think this is ilegal (pocket listing is what i think its called) and i am sure someone will point it out here but it happens... Hence why IMO its best to have a realtor that has a super close connection to your top desired town and knows it inside out/grew up there, has kids in school there, active in community there and knows the houses intimately... Your case is unique as not only are you going North or West but your spanning many towns a long ways across each stretch...

Can he get to office by walking from Union/Ogilvie – if yes which is preferred/closest station?

[Hudson0901]

Originally Posted by JJski

I would get/vet 2 realtors maybe even 3… When you sign contracts with them establish area covered by each. For example get a North realtor and a West realtor. PS fast can mean sold before listed on MLS - i think this is ilegal (pocket listing is what i think its called) and i am sure someone will point it out here but it happens... Hence why IMO its best to have a realtor that has a super close connection to your top desired town and knows it inside out/grew up there, has kids in school there, active in community there and knows the houses intimately... Your case is unique as not only are you going North or West but your spanning many towns a long ways across each stretch...

Can he get to office by walking from Union/Ogilvie – if yes which is preferred/closest station?

That is really great advice about realtors! I hadn't thought of that. I am using a friend as an agent currently, who grew up in the near western burbs and is very knowledgeable of the area. I wonder how she'll feel if I suggest working with a different agent for the northern suburbs? It's probably the smartest strategy, especially if we need someone really plugged in so as not to miss out on houses that might be perfect.

Do a lot of people search this way, looking all over God's green earth? Or do I need to just make some tough decisions up front and pick towns or at least decide north vs. west? What would you do?

My husband works near the Board of Trade, so Union station is perfect for him.

[Vosges]

We looked West and we looked North and we had agents for both. You want local agents for local expertise. Good Luck.

[Vosges]

My suggestion would be to go to those towns you like and do a search on Redfin of closed sales to see what you get for your budget. This will quickly narrow down where you should be looking.

For example, in Wilmette the last 6 months closed sales there has been 1 house that has closed in your budget. Wilmette might be a long shot. Decide if that is a gamble you want to take or should your efforts be focused elsewhere.

Good luck

[damba]

Originally Posted by Vosges

My suggestion would be to go to those towns you like and do a search on Redfin of closed sales to see what you get for your budget. This will quickly narrow down where you should be looking.

For example, in Wilmette the last 6 months closed sales there has been 1 house that has closed in your budget. Wilmette might be a long shot. Decide if that is a gamble you want to take or should your efforts be focused elsewhere.

Good luck

I agree. The closer you are (walking distance) to the Metra, the more expensive a SFH will likely be in popular areas with better schools. Wilmette is essentially off the table. Although we lack the OP's housing specifics, it will no doubt be an older/smaller one with a myriad of updates required. She gets more house moving elsewhere.

To satisfy the OP's demands, the sacrifice may have to be a slightly longer commute, unfortunately.

I would also suggest look at Arlington Heights/Mount Prospect since commuter options are good there too along with more housing at that general price range.

[fusillirob1983]

Having multiple realtors may also help if you're trying to make things fit your schedule. It sounds like your husband's schedule is less flexible than yours. If you have a realtor that needs to travel quite a bit to get to where you're looking, it may be more difficult to find times in both his or her schedule and your husband's.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Hudson0901

That is really great advice about realtors! I hadn't thought of that. I am using a friend as an agent currently, who grew up in the near western burbs and is very knowledgeable of the area. I wonder how she'll feel if I suggest working with a different agent for the northern suburbs? It's probably the smartest strategy, especially if we need someone really plugged in so as not to miss out on houses that might be perfect.

Do a lot of people search this way, looking all over God's green earth? Or do I need to just make some tough decisions up front and pick towns or at least decide north vs. west? What would you do?

My husband works near the Board of Trade, so Union station is perfect for him.

Small correction. It's unlikely your friend, who's an agent, would be working *with* another agent. They work independently, with rare exceptions. Just separate them and keep a different file for each. IME this will be too messy otherwise. The other agent does not need to know about your friend's assistance.

Are you selling a place as well, btw?

[JJski]

yea... At least narrow down between West versus North... We were torn when we first moved here but ultimately went west...

Then the next big choice is distance and town vibe... Of course the further west you go the more you will get for your money but at same time trade big city convenience/commute... We live in la grange right between the stations (5 minute station walk) - express to loop here is like 18Min --- Job is 5 minutes from Union so door to door is less than 30min. Regular trains are also still super quick adding only 10 minutes so marginally adds commute time... try going non-express from naperville or Ubering... HA We uber downtown at 25$ all the time to have fun...

Inner ring burbs definitely offer an easy city access advantage but you get less space and less green - they feel more hybrid urban... We love Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville but they were definitely too far for us. Even Downers Grove felt too far for us...

I think the next big question to think about (after west versus north) is will you be visiting big city alot and your husbands schedule is dynamic: staying late often and cant do express or you guys like visiting big city - you might want to refine to closer towns. But stable schedule allowing for consistent express - outer may work...

[damba]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

Having multiple may also help if you're trying to make things fit your schedule. It sounds like your husband's schedule is less flexible than yours. If you have a realtor that needs to travel quite a bit to get to where you're looking, it may be more difficult to find times in both his or her schedule and your husband's.

Really, with Zillow and a smartphone camera, there's no need for both people to be at every showing until the OP filters things more for the both of them- seeing multiple properties in person. She can live stream the whole shebang on the fly to make it seem like he's practically there(!)