Relocating to Elmhurst - better areas than others? (Chicago, Addison: property taxes, housing)

[gsebek]

HI - We are relocating our family from Colorado to Elmhurst, IL for purposes of a new job in Downtown Chicago. We have done extensive research on the Western Subarbs, and have settled on Elmhurst, given it's location, trains, reputation, schools, and proximety to family we have in the area.

Does anyone have any strong opinions of "areas" of Elmhurst being better than others? I understand that there are (2) townships (Addison and York) - is there a preferred "township" to live in as it relates to both value and property taxes?

We were thinking of the area North of North Avenue, which is Addison township, near Berens Park - any strong opinions of this "area" of Elmhurst?

Any veteran assistance is appreciated!

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by gsebek

HI - We are relocating our family from Colorado to Elmhurst, IL for purposes of a new job in Downtown Chicago. We have done extensive research on the Western Subarbs, and have settled on Elmhurst, given it's location, trains, reputation, schools, and proximety to family we have in the area.

Does anyone have any strong opinions of "areas" of Elmhurst being better than others? I understand that there are (2) townships (Addison and York) - is there a preferred "township" to live in as it relates to both value and property taxes?

We were thinking of the area North of North Avenue, which is Addison township, near Berens Park - any strong opinions of this "area" of Elmhurst?

Any veteran assistance is appreciated!

I would certainly shoot for SOUTH of North Ave as that is far more desirable and sought after. North of North ave is considered the 'bad part of town'. Not that there is crime ,.just for resale and schools and location. York township is what most people want. sorry

[gwilson67]

Both areas are pretty nice. I would look more at which county.. Cook or Dupage. Cook has really high property taxes. It was just increased and will probably continue to jump in the future. Cook has one of the highest property taxes in the nation!

[nanannie]

More then Du Page ?? That must be somethng new.

[gardener34]

Cook may have a high multiplier, but dupage pays much more in property taxes cause the homes are worth much more. Is that what you mean? Remember that the farther north in Elmhurst you go, the closer you are to the airport. More plane noise. Something to consider.
North of Lake street you may want to avoid. By behrens park is nice from what I have seen. I don't think there is a "bad" part of Elmhurst. "Bad" to some wealthy suburbanites means people who drive cars that have over 60,000 on the odomter. Something to keep perspective on.
Stay in the york high school district and you will be fine, it is a highly rated school.

[tcs1366]

re- taxes --- I used zillow and looked up my uncles house.... he's been there a long time 20+ yrs, so the taxes havent 'caught up' so to speak ... he's well under 2% [aprox value low 500k, 8400 taxes] the tear down across the street, sold in early 2000's for mid-800k, their taxes are 16k !! yowch!! [according to zillow - approx value of them home being low 900k.] but still just under 2%.

this area is south of North.

I always like Elmhurst .... very nice town, some stunningly gorgeous homes. Great lil downtown area.

[sukwoo]

Originally Posted by gwilson67

Both areas are pretty nice. I would look more at which county.. Cook or Dupage. Cook has really high property taxes. It was just increased and will probably continue to jump in the future. Cook has one of the highest property taxes in the nation!

I think you mean sales tax, not property tax. Cook county has the highest sales tax in the nation. Relative to the surrounding counties, property tax is lower.

[chet everett]

Little bit of a preemptive strike here...

The section of Elmhurst north of North Ave is less desirable for several reasons, as some have mentioned. The homes tend to be of an era that was not known for its desirable design. The lots are bit smaller. The flight paths are bit closer. There are a larger number of rentals.

The biggest concern of some people would center around the school situation. Although ALL of Elmhurst is covered by one large district (known as Unit D205, because it includes several elementary, middle schools and York HS{which serves all the students regardless of township residency}) there are several attendance areas for the various school. Due to the economics of the northern section of the Elmhurst there tends to be a greater percentage of students that arrive under prepared. There is evidence that these students are somewhat 'segregated', but it is real concern.

If one compares the results of standardized testing at York the "excellence" of the school for all students comes into question. Although the percentage of students that go on to college is high there may legitimate questions over how many students truly leave well prepared for future success.

The students who attend Sandburg and Byran Middle Schools in the central and southern portions of Elmhurst respectively tend to do much better. Unfortunately the housing costs tend to much higher in those sections.

On the positive notes, those sections also are quieter, have larger lots, and broader selection of "historic" and newer homes.

You should also be aware that some schools districts outside of Elmhurst that do have somewhat better results on standardized tests may have similar if not worse problems including higher percetages of dropouts...

I like Elmhurst for many reasons, from its very walkable well developed downtown, to the great sense of community involvement, to the fantastic location that is about as central to the overall metro region as one could hope for, but you should be aware that there are those that feel its schools are not exemplary.

BTW -- Though this does NOT effect Elmhurst because all but the odd miszoned property or two is solidly in DuPage, it should be stated that ANYONE who has done any analysis of property taxes in DuPage vs Cook will find that the property tax cap that controls rate increases in DuPage is VERY effective and makes any desirable parts of DuPage a MUCH better value than comparable areas of Cook.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by gardener34

Cook may have a high multiplier, but dupage pays much more in property taxes cause the homes are worth much more. Is that what you mean? Remember that the farther north in Elmhurst you go, the closer you are to the airport. More plane noise. Something to consider.
North of Lake street you may want to avoid. By behrens park is nice from what I have seen. I don't think there is a "bad" part of Elmhurst. "Bad" to some wealthy suburbanites means people who drive cars that have over 60,000 on the odomter. Something to keep perspective on.
Stay in the york high school district and you will be fine, it is a highly rated school.

Ok,, "BAD" was not the right choice of words, as I clearly stated it was more desirable south of there. I think your comment about odometers was a bit off putting .

[gsebek]

Originally Posted by gsebek

HI - We are relocating our family from Colorado to Elmhurst, IL for purposes of a new job in Downtown Chicago. We have done extensive research on the Western Subarbs, and have settled on Elmhurst, given it's location, trains, reputation, schools, and proximety to family we have in the area.

Does anyone have any strong opinions of "areas" of Elmhurst being better than others? I understand that there are (2) townships (Addison and York) - is there a preferred "township" to live in as it relates to both value and property taxes?

We were thinking of the area North of North Avenue, which is Addison township, near Berens Park - any strong opinions of this "area" of Elmhurst?

Any veteran assistance is appreciated!

All -

Thank you so much for your helpful and candid insights -

We are aware of the "northern end" being a bit more reasonable - and as an additional question, with all the tear-downs and new building going on around the Berens Park area (listing prices of new homes generally seem ~$750k-$1M), is there any speculation that over the next decade, the the "north" end of Elmhurst will evolve to "the central and southern desirability" - both in interest and value? The homes we were focused on are new, ~ 1 mile from train station (walkable I assumed), decent lot sizes ~184 sq ft deep, but "north of North Ave", versus ~1 mile or more "south of North Ave"

Some of your thoughtful responses may lead me believe Northern Elmhurst area, albeit 1 mile differential from the division of "North Ave", could be a LT bad decision, rather than a LT good investment?

Also, as a 2nd question - although I realize that a public school system drives resale and value... Does anyone have strong opinions on Immaculate Conception grammer school and high school systems? That was one of our considerations for our 2 young children.

Thoughts are appreciated -