North Suburbs - Live between Zion and downtown? (Chicago, Waukegan: sale, rent)

[GoingWindy]

We're considering a move from the Phoenix area to Chicago. Here are the assumptions for a home:

* The workplace would be Zion, would like to keep the commute to 30 minutes, 45 minutes tops on most days. Give me an idea of the southern most boundary.

* Kids are in college (we're paying for all 3), so schools not at top of the list, but price of home is important, would like to keep less than $500K. Resale is important.

* We prefer charming mature neighborhoods.

* Prefer older construction redone; open to newer construction as long as charming.

Any idea of where we should be looking? Thanks for your help.

[bulldawg1594]

maybe waukegan or evanston.

[chet everett]

If your ceiling is $500K and you are heading toward Zion for work there are many options that could work depending on how LARGE a home you want, what exactly you mean by "older & charming" and how near to things you want /need to be.

I have to put in a plug for KENOSHA as there are some near to lake places that would be exceellent for you.

Also, with grown kids you could consider a MANSION in Waukegan, but its schools are not desirable and taxes are high so that would KILL resale.

Probably smart to be CLOSER to work than Evanston, which is VERY pricey. If you like mature communities that would fit WELL with MOST of North Shore, and "near north shore" in places like Deerfield, as well place further inland in Lake Co such as Libertyville.

The nicest place in towns like Glencoe, Winnetka, Willmette, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and Highland Park are going to be out of reach, but even stuff a couple of notches off the pinnacle might work for you if you don't mind to do some of the "redoing" yourself. If you get luck you might even find a place that is in the process of being redone and its owners are in financial distress -- might be perfect project to have the kids earn their keep when home from school!

[A_Gazela]

Ditto to north Waukegan and Libertyville!

[dcisive]

If that choice were mine, I'd choose Antioch in Illinois, or better yet a lakefront property in Kenosha or possibly even Paddock Lake. I wouldn't go as far as Libertyville personally. Traffic can be brutal the further south you go during commute times. Antioch would be a fast drive to work as would be Kenosha. I'd go that route.

[chet everett]

Having driven these routes MANY time I can say that the google maps estimate for the trip to Antioch completely discounts the CONGESTION that exists on 173 through Gurnee and Waukegan. The travel time is accurate for the trip on 176 and Green Bay / Sheridan Rds, where traffic is generally so light one needs a radar detector to keep from speeding and getting a ticket (a lesson I learned the hard way...)

from:antioch IL to:Zion, IL to:libertyville Il - Google Maps

I completely agree that you can score some awesome homes in Kenosha for a fraction of what similar properties would fetch in the North Shore region. Income taxes and property taxes MIGHT make this an attractive option too, of course the OP requested living BETWEEN Zion and Chicago, but did not say why...

[cohdane]

Since you don't have kids, I'd suggest Lake Bluff. It's really gorgeous. Trees, lakefront, ravines and neat old houses-- some of them even wonderfully quirky (plus the McMansion craze doesn't seem to have hit as hard there as some places).

Having scoped the north shore suburbs for housing for the last two years, I disagree that you won't be able to find something for $500k. If you want a "smaller" (3 br), older home and don't "need" all the granite, etc, they come on regularly under $500k. Some within walking distance to the lake. In fact, there's even a lakefront property originally priced at $1.5 million two years ago that's now selling for $550k. It even has all the bells and whistles, granite, jacuzzi, etc. Not sure what the story is, but I've watched the price drop since I got here. Come to think of it, other homes with the fancy granite kitchen have also sold for $500 or under.

I also believe if you WAIT prices are headed even lower along the north shore. The high end homes are really suffering and until they find their bottom, the rest of the market-- like mid-tier homes-- can't find their bottom. My guess is when the Option ARMS unfold, there's going to be quite a stench in Lake County.

A good site for research is Redfin.com. If you look on city stats, you can see historical data on inventory, price, list-to-sale ratios, etc. You can also see what properties sold for dating all the way back into the late '90's-- prebubble. There was absolutely a bubble on the north shore. If you get a late 90's sale price and slap it into an inflation calculator, you'll see what homes "should" be selling for. Can't guarantee any of this, but at least it gives you some insight.

PM me if you have questions or want more resources. I'm not a realtor. And despite the hassle, we decided to cut bait and rent till prices here stabilize. We have a hefty down payment waiting and don't need/want a "bargain." We just don't want to be significantly underwater within a year of buying our home.

GOOD LUCK!!