Barrington Village...Bad Areas? (Chicago, Hoffman Estates: short sales, real estate market, house)

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by MCNE

Specifically areas around the high school.

There are a few "party houses" near the High School (i.e. places where teens hang out and get drunk/stoned while parents are away for the weekend - happens in every town especially where there are lots of teens with access to funds). Recently, one of these teen parties was busted by the police and made the local paper. I'd check out the police blotter for the area and drive by at different times in the evening to get a feeling for this. But, wild teen parties are about as bad as it gets around here and the police force and public is very responsive to this (due to several H.S. drug incidents)... Having grown up in the city/poorer burbs, there are really no areas in this town that can even come close to my experiences with "bad areas."

[MCNE]

Originally Posted by GoCUBS1

The "bad areas" in the Village of Barrington could be the "nice areas" in other towns... It's all relative. For example, there are a few apt./townhome complexes (which contain many corporate relos) that may be the lowest price point in town (though I'd hardly call them "bad"). The complexes are near Lake Cook Rd. & Northwest Hwy., near the CVS, and Eastern Ave.

There are also pockets of run-down houses near Grove School, Roslyn Rd., and also the High School but many of these homes sit next to new/renovated multi-million dollar houses. IMO, these "run-down" homes have the greatest potential for appreciation if you can do the work. There are also some great deals now for beautiful, historical homes off of Hillside (a busier street). You may also find deals on houses that sit north of the RR tracks due to the newly increased CNN railroad traffic (google this).

The Village of Barrington is a great place to live and the schools are excellent (have posted statistics on this many times). Let me know if you have any other questions as I do live in the Village and have kids who attend the schools...

Thank you. I've been looking on roads Hager, Raymond and Grant in the Village. Know them?

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by MCNE

Thank you. I've been looking on roads Hager, Raymond and Grant in the Village. Know them?

Yes, they are close to the H.S. and near the "party house" area to which I referred. As I mentioned, the police/community seem to be on top of it. These areas are also closer to train noise which may or may not bother you. There will be a lot of teens in the area (walking to/from H.S., sports, etc.) but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are also some great sports stadiums/fields at the H.S. utilized by kids of all ages (e.g. Little League) and you can also easily walk to town amentities/stores. Raymond is a smaller residential street while Hager has some light commercial/office buildings. Both areas feed into good schools (I believe Hough Elementary which is outstanding)...

[MCNE]

Sounds good. Kids I don't mind I have them myself. I was just more concerned with other things. I'll be back in about a week so I'll drive around again if I can.

Sounds like closer to the High School might be a little less desirable than other areas.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by MCNE

Sounds like closer to the High School might be a little less desirable than other areas.

Possibly... This area may also have more rental houses. A few years back, a parent actually bought a house in this area just so his son would have a parking space for the High School (noone actually lived in the house) LOL...

There may be better appreciating (yet still affordable) areas on the far east-side of the Village (e.g. Glendale St., George St., Barrington Meadows) as well as toward the south (closer to Grove School, Ron Beese Park area). There are also some nice townhome communities that may be in your price range ($300K?).

There are also areas in Hoffman Estates, Fox River Grove, Tower Lakes, and Lake Barrington (may be less expensive) that feed into Barrington Schools.

[middle-aged mom]

There are no bad areas within the Village of Barrington.

There are however, streets that are more or less desirable than others and their homes values reflect this.

Grant and Hager are behind the high school. This used to be the place kids would go and smoke weed. It is predominately rental. There is a private shelter for abused women and their children, on the block. You probably would never notice.

Raymond backs to the Public Works area. This means it's the first street to get plowed in the winter.

Harrison has commerical, rental and owner-occupied housing.

Kainer and Walton are just east of CVS. There are many single family rentals on these two blocks.

There is a small rental complex on Eastern, across the street from Lakeview Mc Mansion Row.

The housing around Roslyn School is inconsistent, Mc Mansions next to tomorrow's tear down.

Crime within the village is overwhelmingly limited to some underage drinking, adult DUI and occasional high school locker stuff. The Barrington Courier reports crime for all the Barringtons and Inverness, each Thursday.

There are party houses in all suburbs. They are short lived because neighbors will not tolerate it or the host kid grows up and out.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

didn't Port Barrington change it's name from something else to gain status? I could be wrong, but I thought there was a town that did that.

The area FKA Fox River Gardens changed it's name to Port Barrington. It has been and continues to share the 60010 zip code. Port Barrington is way out there and feeds into Wauconda Schools and recreation.

Port Barrington is less desirable but that does not make it a bad place. It's as safe as any area within the greater Barrington area.

[NorCal Dude]

bad areas like what carpentersville?

[MCNE]

No way!

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

bad areas like what carpentersville?

A slice of Carpentersville adjoins Barrington Hills and feeds into Barrington Schools.

A slice of Fox River Grove along Rt 22, and small portions of Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Deer Park and Timber Lake also feed into Barrington Schools while the majority in all these towns attend other schools.

If schools are important to someone, pay attention to school boundaries in the greater Chicagoland area. In some cases, sub divisions are split between schools districts. Arlington Heights, for example, feeds into 5 different high schools, Buffalo Grove, Hersey, Prospect, Wheeling, Rolling Meadows.

What makes the 100 square mile greater Barrington area unique is that the overwhelming majority of properties feed into Barrington schools. This tends to create a more cohesive and cooperative sense of community than one might find elsewhere.