question about home prices in aurora IL (Naperville, Joliet: short sale, foreclosure)

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Unless you are considering condos and townhouses there is nearly nothing safe / in good condition at $50-70k anywhere near Aurora and even the attached / multi-unit housing below about $120k is often not really a wise option...

If you dont mind doing a foreclosure you can probably pick up a place for 60k-70k in the part of Aurora that feeds into District 204. I'd suggest looking near andover off montgomery or foxhill off ogden. They are not Naperville but are safe, maybe some petty crime but I have lived in the area and wouldn't be scared to live there. Heck there's even some SFH in that area selling for maybe not quite 60k but well under 100K. You may also want to look over near New York Street and Commons in those Townhomes. I think a street in the area is called Valley Forge if you are trying to locate the area. There's also some really cheap homes over near west aurora say galena and orchard. Again safe area. This stuff is probably going to run more 70-90 but you may get lucky and find something like 65k on a foreclosure

[mattywo85]

Aurora generally gets a bad wrap and while its not the best place to be it does have a lot of nice areas as well. I would avoid parts of West Aurora and downtown Aurora. If you find a place you like go check it out, don't just rely on others.

[westcoastforme]

Originally Posted by skeach101

I just did some research on West Aurora HS, and it's pretty bad. A quarter of the students never graduate, 56% are low income (that itself doesn't mean anything, but it's an indicator of other problems) and the test scores are significantly below state averages, which is pretty terrible. Maybe this forum just has high expectations, but I would move into a 1bedroom apartment in Naperville before I sent my daughter to Aurora West High School based on what I've seen from their State Report Card.

Agreed

[usagisan]

West Aurora, district 129 is in hard decline - period. People commenting must be running on the memories of what it was in the 80s. Freeman is now a crap school despite it s agreement with AU. Greenman is all Mod cut., Washington is gang recruitment central, West is now unsafe. There is a reason at least 3 major private schools thrive in distinct 129.

[Lou3000]

We have a child going to IMSA, and we're thinking possibly of relocating near there for a couple of years (as empty-nesters) until she graduates. Thinking about foreclosures, and proximity to the Aurora Metra station is a must. Does this sound like a good idea? Are there areas no more than a 5 minute drive to the train and, say, 10 minutes to IMSA that are OK?

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Lou3000

We have a child going to IMSA, and we're thinking possibly of relocating near there for a couple of years (as empty-nesters) until she graduates. Thinking about foreclosures, and proximity to the Aurora Metra station is a must. Does this sound like a good idea? Are there areas no more than a 5 minute drive to the train and, say, 10 minutes to IMSA that are OK?

IMSA is FREE and RESIDENTIAL. Why would you uprooot your own life for the three years your child was at IMSA. You would be a pest...

[almost3am]

If you are looking to live there for 3 years, I would rent.

[Lou3000]

We're just kicking around the idea at this point. We don't see it as uprooting our life, we're thinking of moving anyway. Renting is an option, too. Still seeking thoughts on where in Aurora/Naperville. Needs to be near the train. Thanks.

[usagisan]

It sort of depends on what you mean by near the train. The closest decent area you will find to the route 25 (Broadway) train station in Aurora is the Holy Angels area about 2 miles away. But the area is deteriorating as is most of Aurora. Also there is little on the market in that area and you really have to know the area. A block or two in the wrong direction and you could be in for some unpleasant experiences. So the Route 59 train station would be a more logical, albeit more congested area for Aurora locations. However Aurora's finances because of pension debts are abysmal. So you will be looking at steady tax increases. The tax rate in Aurora is substantially higher than that of Naperville, but property values are higher in Naperville so it tend to even out. Except one home is in a decent community and the other is in Aurora.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Lou3000

We have a child going to IMSA, and we're thinking possibly of relocating near there for a couple of years (as empty-nesters) until she graduates. Thinking about foreclosures, and proximity to the Aurora Metra station is a must. Does this sound like a good idea? Are there areas no more than a 5 minute drive to the train and, say, 10 minutes to IMSA that are OK?

Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Waukegan, all have some similar characteristics... Sure, there are some small signs of "rebound" in all four of these downtown areas and they are not necessarily as dangerous to visit as they were in the 1990's, but none are really places I could recommend living in.

There are some nicer areas of Aurora, but you might be better off in a nearby town. I've always thought that Geneva would be a nice place to be an "empty nester" or retired person, but of course it is quite a bit more expensive than Aurora. Batavia is also nice. Whether or not you would be a "pest" to your kid is none of our business, and is between you and your child.