Budget under 500K Western suburbs- where to live (Chicago, Joliet: buying a home, buying)

[damba]

I saw more ‘move in ready’ options in DG than GE.

[CPANerd]

The midpoint between Joliet and Lombard is roughly Bolingbrook. I'd stay away from it; it is fine in some areas and not so fine in others. The schools are not good. You could do much better with your budget.


In my opinion, with your budget, Naperville is a logical choice and also as far south as I would go. Great schools, lots to do, however, not a quick train ride downtown. If you want to be closer to the city in case the Joliet person gets a Chicago job, I would recommend Wheaton or Glen Ellyn. And if the Lombard person gets a city job, Wheaton/Glen Ellyn is probably the new midpoint between Joliet and Chicago.


I have lived in Wheaton the last 2 years, Lombard the prior 4, Naperville for 2 before that, and grew up in Orland Park/Tinley Park area. I love Wheaton. Naperville is very busy and congested; good luck on Route 59 around Christmas. You will go 2 miles in 20 minutes during rush hour. Lombard is fine, but a step down from Wheaton in my opinion.


Just depends on how much house you want to get for your money. Also look at property taxes, as you know they are crazy in all of these areas, with Bolingbrook being the lowest and Lombard probably next lowest.

[RJA29]

Please be sure to give accurate information about tax rates. This link will help give pretty recent rates (I don't know how often the database is updated - https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-co...htmlstory.html).

Downers Grove, 2.14%
Naperville, 2.42%
Wheaton, 2.67%
Glen Ellyn, 2.87%
Lombard, 3.1%
Bolingbrook, 2.93% - 3.66% (DuPage/ Will)

A 1% difference on a $500K house is $5,000 more a year.

[damba]

Yep. This is partially why I listed DG. Exceptional value for the tax dollar.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by CPANerd

The midpoint between Joliet and Lombard is roughly Bolingbrook. I'd stay away from it; it is fine in some areas and not so fine in others. The schools are not good. You could do much better with your budget.


In my opinion, with your budget, Naperville is a logical choice and also as far south as I would go. Great schools, lots to do, however, not a quick train ride downtown. If you want to be closer to the city in case the Joliet person gets a Chicago job, I would recommend Wheaton or Glen Ellyn. And if the Lombard person gets a city job, Wheaton/Glen Ellyn is probably the new midpoint between Joliet and Chicago.


I have lived in Wheaton the last 2 years, Lombard the prior 4, Naperville for 2 before that, and grew up in Orland Park/Tinley Park area. I love Wheaton. Naperville is very busy and congested; good luck on Route 59 around Christmas. You will go 2 miles in 20 minutes during rush hour. Lombard is fine, but a step down from Wheaton in my opinion.


Just depends on how much house you want to get for your money. Also look at property taxes, as you know they are crazy in all of these areas, with Bolingbrook being the lowest and Lombard probably next lowest.

The Naperville train is faster than both Wheaton and Glen Ellyn in the morning. Still faster than most Wheaton trains in the evening, but it’s like a two minute difference when comparing to the once Wheaton train if I remember correctly.

I don’t understand how Wheaton/Glen Ellyn are a midpoint between Chicago and Joliet but Naperville isn’t. Might as well live in Naperville, give the Joliet person a shorter commute and the downtown person a nearly equivalent train ride from either town in this hypothetical.

Agree with RJA about taxes. DG and Naperville tends to have better rates. I’ve looked at some Bolingbrook houses. You can get a ton of house for your money, but taxes aren’t that low.

[Hkapa12]

Thanks all for your insightful responses! Very much appreciated!

It does seem like DG or Naperville would be the best bets to fulfill our wishlist, but as many pointed out - wouldn’t really be able to purchase a home in move in ready condition. It’s just a little tempting for me to peek Bolingbrook knowing it’s the midpoint and seeing what we could get for our money- wowzwers! I understand that taxes aren’t great and school districts are poor so it wouldn’t necessarily be a wise investment.

I’ve been really attracted to Plainfield and Frankfort, but know it’s not the wisest choice strictly from a location standpoint either. Schools seem to be good and you can get a beautiful home with a modest budget. However; it’s really only desirable for the Joliet commuter- and should one of us get jobs downtown we’d be very limited. While I’m confident that the Joliet commuter could find a job around there, the Lombard commuter is in marketing and marketing jobs near Joliet are a “dime a dozen.” I think we will have to sacrifice a “perfect” move in ready home for the sake of practicality.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Hkapa12

Thanks all for your insightful responses! Very much appreciated!

It does seem like DG or Naperville would be the best bets to fulfill our wishlist, but as many pointed out - wouldn’t really be able to purchase a home in move in ready condition. It’s just a little tempting for me to peek Bolingbrook knowing it’s the midpoint and seeing what we could get for our money- wowzwers! I understand that taxes aren’t great and school districts are poor so it wouldn’t necessarily be a wise investment.

I’ve been really attracted to Plainfield and Frankfort, but know it’s not the wisest choice strictly from a location standpoint either. Schools seem to be good and you can get a beautiful home with a modest budget. However; it’s really only desirable for the Joliet commuter- and should one of us get jobs downtown we’d be very limited. While I’m confident that the Joliet commuter could find a job around there, the Lombard commuter is in marketing and marketing jobs near Joliet are a “dime a dozen.” I think we will have to sacrifice a “perfect” move in ready home for the sake of practicality.

I think I disagree that you can’t find move-in ready in DG or Naper for under $500k. You definitely can, and you’d probably find a newer, larger house in Naper than DG. However, I would guess most houses in Naper meeting that criteria are further from the train.

RE: Bolingbrook - don’t forget that a portion feeds into Naperville schools. The question of how close to the Metra can you be exists, but move-in ready are definitely available.

[RJA29]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

I think I disagree that you can’t find move-in ready in DG or Naper for under $500k. You definitely can, and you’d probably find a newer, larger house in Naper than DG. However, I would guess most houses in Naper meeting that criteria are further from the train.

RE: Bolingbrook - don’t forget that a portion feeds into Naperville schools. The question of how close to the Metra can you be exists, but move-in ready are definitely available.

Agreed here - it really depends what "move-in-ready" means to you.

In DG, you'll be harder pressed to find something walking distance to the train, but 500K is still a healthy budget, especially if you stay below 2K square feet, 3-4 beds, and 2 bath.

Inventory is low right now, very low. Many even take their homes off the market during the holidays, and put them back on in Feb for the spring season. That might be your best bet.

Even so, right now - these are both in budget, and the money you save can help you get it "move-in-ready"

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4.../4565679_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7.../4565614_zpid/

[damba]

Originally Posted by Hkapa12

Thanks all for your insightful responses! Very much appreciated!

It does seem like DG or Naperville would be the best bets to fulfill our wishlist, but as many pointed out - wouldn’t really be able to purchase a home in move in ready condition. It’s just a little tempting for me to peek Bolingbrook knowing it’s the midpoint and seeing what we could get for our money- wowzwers! I understand that taxes aren’t great and school districts are poor so it wouldn’t necessarily be a wise investment.

I’ve been really attracted to Plainfield and Frankfort, but know it’s not the wisest choice strictly from a location standpoint either. Schools seem to be good and you can get a beautiful home with a modest budget. However; it’s really only desirable for the Joliet commuter- and should one of us get jobs downtown we’d be very limited. While I’m confident that the Joliet commuter could find a job around there, the Lombard commuter is in marketing and marketing jobs near Joliet are a “dime a dozen.” I think we will have to sacrifice a “perfect” move in ready home for the sake of practicality.

I think the problem is that 'move in ready' means different things to different buyers. If you are searching for this, including only a limited, specific style of home, then no- you won't be finding much at your price point in the better school districts.


If you re-visit the original link I sent, that home is still available. Out of curiosity- what would that listing need for you to simply move in(?)

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by geteasymove

Check our DG, Wheaton, Bartlett.
I will also suggest Naperville, commute to Lombard and Joliet takes around 30 min

Bartlett is a bad commute to Joliet and downtown Chicago (if the Lombard person decides to work downtown instead). Lots of house at that price range in Bartlett but why make the commutes bad? Plenty of better options.