Moving to Chicago, Need Advice on Des Plaines and Surrounding Chicago Suburbs (Arlington Heights: salon, rent)

[Pete MUFC]

Originally Posted by cpfoutz

I think Mt. Prospect would be your best option. One thing you must consider is that while you may not care about the schools, it affects your resale.

While Des Plaines is a nice town and very similar to those around it, the schools, flood planes and air traffic all have negative impacts on the property value and have caused Des Plaines to be hurt more than other neighboring cities in the crash. You really should be careful in Des Plaines and make sure you buy in an upscale areas. Checking the comps is necessary.

That being said, I think the description you provide lends itself to Mt. Prospect. I think your price is going to be tough to find in Arlington Heights but matches the average price for a house in MP.

Well, MP may have more choices for under $250k, but there are solid homes available in AH too.
Look at this listing:
1700 E Lilac Ter, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60004 | MLS# 07876211
While not newer, it is in good condition, few touch ups here and there and this is great home in great area.
Tree lined streets, lake Arlington couple blocks away, few parks walking distance away, great schools (Elementary SD 23, District 214 John Hersey High School), lots of young families.

If you realy do detailed research and find good realtor there are good values in AH in your price range.

[Logic87]

Originally Posted by Pete MUFC

Well, MP may have more choices for under $250k, but there are solid homes available in AH too.
Look at this listing:
1700 E Lilac Ter, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60004 | MLS# 07876211
While not newer, it is in good condition, few touch ups here and there and this is great home in great area.
Tree lined streets, lake Arlington couple blocks away, few parks walking distance away, great schools (Elementary SD 23, District 214 John Hersey High School), lots of young families.

If you realy do detailed research and find good realtor there are good values in AH in your price range.

I saw the home but it's a short sale and I don't want to deal with those since I'm on a bit of a time constraint.



I feel like I've been going back and forth on looking for places. Right now I'm leaning towards buying a condo/townhouse near downtown Des Plaines. I might be able to get a nice cond under 180k and I won't be paying as much property tax. I understand that the property tax can be itemized on your return but hypothetically it would be to the amount of highest tax bracket. Also the places I've looked at included many of the utilities in the association fees.

Any thoughts on safety and the value of condos near downtown Des Plaines?

[chet everett]

The safety is a slam dunk -- very low crime. Even if you do get some minor domestic disturbance type stuff (which is pretty rare), the relative difference between a rental building and condos (with high percentage of owner occupied units) can be HUGE...

That said there is NOT huge demand for condos, nor does the "long view" seem to be trending up -- I don't know how you plan on staying, but it would be foolish to assume you could make a quick buck.

Demand for single family houses is a little stronger...

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by sbking

I am smoking facts.


Rolling Meadows is not as desireable as neighboring alternatives like John Hersey, Prospect, Stevenson, Buffalo Grove, etc. If I were looking for a home in this area and school performance was priority I would chose any of the aforementioned schools and corresponding districts any day of the week over Rolling Meadows - it is what it is. My statements have nothing to do with race just data but I am sorry this offends you somehow. Out of approximately 650 state high schools Rolling Meadows is typically ranked between 150-250 which isnt bad, just not as good as many other options in the area. The homes reflect this and are 50K + less expensive if you are in the RM district so if school isnt as important then take advantage of the lower home values.

That is all I was saying.

No doubt I would rank Stevenson, Hersey or Prospect as better schools than RM.
But your comment:If you are not concerned about schools is BS. So if one lives in Rolling Meadows or Wheeling or Elk Grove boundaries, we are not concerned about education?!
Or did we perhaps, go beyond test scores and investigate the curriculum, environment and teachers and conclude that these are very good schools but due to demographics, don't have the overall test scores the others have. And by your narrow viewpoint, Buffalo Grove shouldn't be on the list since their teat scores have dropped due to the school becoming more diverse.
And how does RM or Wheeling go from Newsweek Best Schools in America to being schools "those who are not concerned with education" send their kids?
Give Wheeling or RM or Elk Grove, the same demographics as Hersey and Prospect and the overall PSAE test scores will be quite similar.

[cubssoxfan]

Downtown Des Plaines is convenient to Metra. With schools not being a concern, might be good location. Close to Des Plaines river trail for biking, running, hiking & dog walking.

Here is a link to Lake Arlington Towne in Arlington Heights. 10 minute drive to Prospect Heights or Wheeling Metra stop and about 12 minutes to Arlington Heights or Arlington Park Metra stops. There is a bike path that directly links to Prospect Heights Metra stop.
Mixed community of townhomes and single family. Mix of young singles and couples, families and retirees. Indoor/outdoor pool, tennis courts, clubhouse and fitness room. You are also within short walk of Lake Arlington, which is a park with 50 acre lake and 2 mile path around it. Been here for 20 years and have not gotten tired of it.
Grounds are well kept and before I bought a house, the association dues on the town house was reasonable.
Oh, and if you have kids and don't move-Elementary D23 is very good and despite what other poster may say, Wheeling is currently a good HS as well.

[cpfoutz]

The safety of any of these communities is going to be fine (though you may want to stay out of some of the lower rent apartment complexes on the southern side). In this market, you can't expect to even recoup your costs on a purchase.

That being said, I think you have more home value security in a Single Family Home over a townhouse. I also believe you'd have the most home value security in Arlington Heights, followed closely by Mount Prospect. Des Plaines home values are going to be considerably less secure. Desire=price stability.

Regarding Arlington Heights...it's my favorite suburb north of I-90...I'd live there even over most of the North Shore utopias. But the prices are generally considerably higher than Mt. Prospect and at the OPs price point, he will have an easier time finding a place in Mt. Prospect. That's not a knock against AH.

When I was looking, all I could find was a 1400 sf house with a leaky basement, 3 brs, 1 bath and wired with cotton coated wire (i.e. fire hazard) and fuses in the circuit box - and the house appeared as if it hadn't been updated since that cotton coated copper wire was run. In MP, I got a 4 br 1800 sf house and a house needing minimal work (paint and carpet).

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Downtown Des Plaines is convenient to Metra. With schools not being a concern, might be good location. Close to Des Plaines river trail for biking, running, hiking & dog walking.

Here is a link to Lake Arlington Towne in Arlington Heights. 10 minute drive to Prospect Heights or Wheeling Metra stop and about 12 minutes to Arlington Heights or Arlington Park Metra stops. There is a bike path that directly links to Prospect Heights Metra stop.
Mixed community of townhomes and single family. Mix of young singles and couples, families and retirees. Indoor/outdoor pool, tennis courts, clubhouse and fitness room. You are also within short walk of Lake Arlington, which is a park with 50 acre lake and 2 mile path around it. Been here for 20 years and have not gotten tired of it.
Grounds are well kept and before I bought a house, the association dues on the town house was reasonable.
Oh, and if you have kids and don't move-Elementary D23 is very good and despite what other poster may say, Wheeling is currently a good HS as well.

Lake Arlington, Arlington Heights - Homes For Sale in Lake Arlington Arlington Heights, Illinois
Forgot the link. Prices start at $149K

[sbking]

I have never seen someone attempt to justify that moving into a less desireable school district with your children in an area innundated with great schools is somehow a wise option but you can decide for yourself. Bottom line is that you can choose to have your children attend a school that is ranked 10th in the state or you can have them attend a school ranked 200th in the state. It is up to you to decide whether that difference has any merit like many others have done before you which is why you will pay more for a house in the better district.

Back to the matter at hand - before you purchase a home in Des Plaines just understand that you are purchasing in the lesser of the 3 areas we have discussed. I personally cannot recommend Des Plaines to you probably because I live in Des Plaines, a block South of Oakton and West of River Rd. When I woke up this morning to walk out to my car I smelled burnt jet fuel. I just got home and guess what it smelled like outside - burnt jet fuel. This isn't an every day occurence but happens on occasion depending on the direction of the wind. Never smelled burnt jet fuel when I lived in Arlington Heights and I never smell it at work in Mt. Prospect. Another thing dependent on the direction of the wind is the flight path jets take from Ohare. Lets just say when the flight path is over my area it makes the day FAR less enjoyable than days when planes aren't constantly flying overhead.

[xavier xerxes]

I went to highschool in Des Plaines (maine west) and was forced to live there for about seven years. I hated Des Plaines, it was surviveable, but Des Plaines hasnt improved in the intervening years. I graduated in 91. Its not the dumps, but Des Plaines is in a rut and is pretty boring.

[Logic87]

Originally Posted by sbking

Back to the matter at hand - before you purchase a home in Des Plaines just understand that you are purchasing in the lesser of the 3 areas we have discussed. I personally cannot recommend Des Plaines to you probably because I live in Des Plaines, a block South of Oakton and West of River Rd. When I woke up this morning to walk out to my car I smelled burnt jet fuel. I just got home and guess what it smelled like outside - burnt jet fuel. This isn't an every day occurence but happens on occasion depending on the direction of the wind. Never smelled burnt jet fuel when I lived in Arlington Heights and I never smell it at work in Mt. Prospect. Another thing dependent on the direction of the wind is the flight path jets take from Ohare. Lets just say when the flight path is over my area it makes the day FAR less enjoyable than days when planes aren't constantly flying overhead.

I will take this into account. At this point I'm leaning towards buying a condo/townhouse because I'm still relatively young and do not want to go into too much debt owning a house. I've stayed in areas like Schiller Park, Harwood Heights, Elk Grove Village, and other places around O'hare (mainly at hotels) and I have never experienced any jet fuel smell or loud noises from the airplanes. But I have only stayed at these respective areas for short stints and I am worrying that the issues you raised would be bothersome down the road.

Again thanks for the help guys.