Help us decide where to buy a house (Chicago, Peoria: equity, property taxes)

[syrkel2]

Originally Posted by neeshera

Thanks to everyone for sparing your time to help us out.

You can tell from all my posts here, how thoroughly lost and confused we are in the house hunting process. We have told ourselves many times we need to prioritize but, inspite of our best efforts, haven't been very successful. Chet Everett, I like your matter-of-fact, no nonsense reply.

By homogeneity, I mean a house that blends in its surroundings, size-wise and price-wise. The level of education of parents in the neighbourhood is important because it does get reflected in how their kids are raised. Too much disparity can invite isolationism. I am not trying to be elitist, only stating the facts of life.

So you think just because the parents are highly educated they can't raise a small army of kids who are pieces of crap? It happens all the time. Just because somebody doesnt have a lot of money and not as much education as somebody else doesnt mean they can't raise intelligent children. The most highly educated people can be the worst parents in the world. Just some food for thought.

[jessiegirl_98]

Originally Posted by syrkel2

So you think just because the parents are highly educated they can't raise a small army of kids who are pieces of crap? It happens all the time. Just because somebody doesnt have a lot of money and not as much education as somebody else doesnt mean they can't raise intelligent children. The most highly educated people can be the worst parents in the world. Just some food for thought.

Ditto that!!

[MarkPushPin]

I've lived in Naperville and Wheaton, I am a big fan of the Western Suburbs...
With the recent price adjustment you can get high end brick new construction with excellent locations in these great communities for $800K or less. I'm a Realtor I could send you some listings if you want to see what's available

[sgresident]

with those price ranges, there are certainly nice areas to find homes...the above mentioned..Oak Brook, Barrington, Wheaton, Hinsdale and Naperville. there are also exclusive areas of White Eagle(Aurora) Areas of Sugar Grove(Strafford Woods and Hanaford Farms) that all have the price range of homes. However the criteria of being only 20 miles from the medical area in chicago, will be tough. In sugar grove, we are about 50 miles west, just for reference.

[cubssoxfan]

It may not have the sameness? you desire, but I would look into Wilmette, Northfield and possibly Winnetka. Great schools, parks and libraries. Some of the Western Suburbs mentioned like Hinsdale, Wheaton, Western Springs etc. are quite nice. Naperville & west is too far and gets blander (personal opinion) Also look at Park Ridge but be careful of noise from O'Hare. If you are looking for a Master Planned community with community pool and clubhouse close in, I'm not sure they exist except in the farther out suburbs. Be certain to look at property tax rates because the counties outside of Cook typically have higher property taxes. They do however have lower sales tax and gas tax rates.
Arlington Heights has a Master Planned community with a Homeowners Association with pool and clubhouse called Lake Arlington Towne. There is a beautiful 4/5 bedroom brick house with 1/4 acre lot and swimming pool listing for about $750K in the Towne North neighborhood. Parks, library and K-8 schools are excellent. You are walking distance to a 50 acre lake with a hike/bike trail around it & they offer sailing lessons on the lake. HOWEVER, the HS, Wheeling HS, ranks as very average. They offer full complement of honors and AP courses but there is a lower income population from Wheeling which brings the average standardized test scores down. It's not a bad HS, but the other area HS rank better. Schoodigger.com ranked Wheeling 68 out of 609 HS statewide. You do get diversity and I know many kids who go there and then on to good universities.

[bstreit1]

Have you looked into The Glen in Glenview?

[RRConductor76]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I appreciate your frustration. I think many home buyers go through a similar bout of angst. It is a major financial decision that can have a lot of emotions attached to it as well.

You want to move someplace that you will be comfortable and feel that the neighbors share similar values, I completely understand this. While there are no guarantees I do think that most places will reward you in equal measure to your efforts. What I mean is that if you move into any town and expect there to be some "welcoming party" that makes it very easy to meet everyone you will likely be disappointed BUT if you move in and make some effort to get to know your neighbors through simply walking around and getting involved in things like the Park District and simple gatherings you probably will not be disappointed.

Similar maxims hold true for the potential success of your children in the local schools -- if you simply assume they'll be fine because the data on the district is positive it is not as good as becoming involved in the PTA, school board, grade level involvement et cetera. Ultimately the influence you have as a parent is far greater than ANYTHING the school does or does not provide.

In my experience similar research into the local politics and active commitment to the town will have a positive effect on the price appreciation / stability of your home. Whether moving into an area with all new homes or one with a majority of older homes you can judge the level of care that the municipal services, individual home owners and even developers have given to building and maintaining properties. If there are teardowns that are out of character the area may have gone a sudden dramatic change, while if there is a progression of homes that show more attention to detail and subsequent increase in price/quality it is a much better sign. Over the long term the smaller older homes in desirable areas will be replaced or improved/renovated, but this could take a long time and should not be a negative.

I can honestly say that I know of few if any areas where there is not quite a large spread in prices. Even in new condo developments, where one might expect prices to be tightly clustered, there are buildings where the range in prices is rather dramatic 3x, 5x, 7x differences are very common.

In nearly every town that I know of there is also a broad economic/ educational mix of people. I was only joking a little about the situation of a billionaire college drop out like Ty Warner of Beanie Baby fame -- he does live in Oak Brook where some of his neighbors are attorneys, physicians, business leaders with advanced degrees, the occasional owner of a contracting firm with blue collar roots, nice retired empty nester or even a regular public employee or "salary man" working at a 9-to-5 job. These people will not always agree on everything, but I assure you that is not the case in any "planned community" either, where despite restrictive covenants there are HUGE range of opinions as to what ought to be 'acceptable' in/around each owners' "castle"...

In nearly every town there are folks that do not make ideal role models for your kids, whether they are drinkers/substance abusers, simply keep their lawn or patio in shambles, park too many cars in the drive/yard, talk too loudly, have too many pets, too many kids, too little supervision etc, you will find less than ideal neighbors from just about every income/education level.

Do not let these realities get in the way of what you really desire: a house you will be happy with in a town you feel comfortable coming home to every night. The amount you are willing to spend gives you much flexibility in finding many options. Do not be afraid to evaluate all the pluses and all the minuses of many houses simultaneously. Ultimately I feel there is a bit of serendipity and every buyer feels a bit of remorse as there is ALWAYS a compromise. You will never totally escape the "grass is greener" feelings, but by doing exactly what you are doing (looking at multiple potential options) you will avoid making a serious misjudgment. The terrific levels of inventory should be in your favor as this is different than in years past where buyers felt they had to scramble to find ANYTHING in some towns. Now there are many towns that have a great variety of homes to offer.

Wow. That sir was awsome. If only I could have a signed copy.

[RRConductor76]

Originally Posted by neeshera

We are looking for a 4 bdr/4bth all brick new construction in the 800 to 1000000 range. The house has to situated in a neighborhood which has other similar homes and comprises of highly educated professionals. The public schools have to be outstanding too. We are willing to move to the suburbs from the city (although reluctantly) provided the suburb offers everything that we are looking for and has a commute no more than 20 miles away from the illinois medical district.

We have explored many parts of the city as well as some of the nearby suburbs. However, strangely most of the big houses we have seen are standing in humble neighborhoods. We have not come across even one subdivision-like community with homogenous surroundings.

We are at our wits' end and are losing hope of finding our dream home any time soon. Anyone has any suggestons for us?

Orland Park has many of your kind. Too bad. It used to be a humble town.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by Drover

If you can afford to buy a 1 million dollar house, why is the school district even a concern?

A good school district will attract buyers when you want to sell your home. Not everyone who can afford a million dollar home can afford multiple private school tuitions.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by syrkel2

So you think just because the parents are highly educated they can't raise a small army of kids who are pieces of crap? It happens all the time. Just because somebody doesnt have a lot of money and not as much education as somebody else doesnt mean they can't raise intelligent children. The most highly educated people can be the worst parents in the world. Just some food for thought.

Athough I agree that highly educated parent do not necessarily make the best parents, educated parents are more likely to value increased funding for schools, libraries, and other cultural activities. I wouldn't look at residents education though, I'd just look at school funding, libraries, etc. The result is the same.