Moving family to Downers Grove Area...please help (Chicago, Naperville: real estate market, houses)

[djstorm1228]

My family is moving to the Downers Grove area from Seattle. We are looking for a 3/4 bedroom home with a minimum of .25 acre. (Closer to .5+ acre would be preferred) Our budget is a max of $350,000. We would love an area with reasonable taxes and great schools. It looks like we could potentially find a home in Downers Grove that would need quite a bit of updating. Ugh! We would prefer a move in ready home.

Which other suburbs should we consider? What would the commute times from St. Charles/Geneva/Batavia to North Downers Grove look like? What about Sugar Grove? We were hoping for no more than a 30 minute commute.

Also, we are curious to know what the real estate market is like out there. Are homes selling quickly? Bidding wars?

Thank you for any information!

[holl1ngsworth]

Where in Downers Grove is work? I'm going to run with the assumption that it's on the north side, along I-88.

With your budget and wish list, your best bets will be Batavia, Wheaton, Warrenville, Glen Ellyn and northern Naperville. You might also get lucky in northern Downers Grove and find something move-in ready or with room in the budget for improvements:

4028 Morton Avenue DOWNERS GROVE, IL 60515 | Redfin (needs work, may work if highway cannot be heard)
4109 Lindley Street DOWNERS GROVE, IL 60515 | Redfin (only 3 beds, but move-in ready)

Schools in all six towns mentioned are excellent and a wash. Geneva, St. Charles and Sugar Grove are all nice towns too, but the commute times would be greater than 30 minutes from each. I'm greatly biased towards Wheaton myself. I moved my young family from Chicago to Wheaton about a year ago. Wheaton has a charming downtown core, amenities like museums and a zoo, a massive library, an active park district, easy access to Chicago via Metra, and a wonderful, picturesque 'small town' feel. The only trouble in Wheaton at $350k is the large lot. Here's an example of what you could shop in Wheaton:

130 S. Blanchard Street WHEATON, IL 60187 | Redfin

Warrenville shares Wheaton's excellent school district, has larger lots and generally carries lower price tags. The trip to Downers Grove would be a breeze. Here's whats available around $350k in Warrenville (with 1/3 acres):

28W473 Main Street WARRENVILLE, IL 60555 | Redfin

If you do end up shopping in Warrenville, I'd recommend filtering for Bower Elementary. The other Warrenville elementary school, Johnson, has lots of ELL students and they tend to hold down overall test scores. In fact, Johnson is probably the most diverse school in all of Wheaton's CUSD 200. Nonetheless, the middle school and high school that follow Johnson are still excellent. If you're ok with all that, you could probably shop a property very close to what you were describing in your original post:

29W112 Morris Court WARRENVILLE, IL 60555 | Redfin

Hope I've given you a good place to start. Homes at your price point in desirable towns tend to go quickly, so it may eventually come down to casting a wide net and acting fast when you find the 'one.'

[Lookout Kid]

Note that you will get a significant break in your taxes in Downers Grove itself. D.G. has some of the most favorable property tax rates in the western suburbs. Downers Grove North is a great school, and all of the elementary/junior high schools that feed in are good as well. Downers Grove South is a step down academically, but the homes are more affordable in south Downers Grove.

You might be able to find a house in unincorporated Glen Ellyn just to the south of the Village of Glen Ellyn. This would be a very quick commute to northern Downers Grove.

If you can find anything in Wheaton, Winfield, or Warrenvile with Wheaton Schools, those may have some options in your price range. You will want to pay close attention to school attendance boundaries.

There may be some options in Naperville that would work.

Lisle and Westmont are not terrible, but the high school options are not as good even in the neighborhoods with great elementary schools.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

With your budget and wish list, your best bets will be Batavia, Wheaton, Warrenville, Glen Ellyn and northern Naperville. You might also get lucky in northern Downers Grove and find something move-in ready or with room in the budget for improvements

I'll be frank. A strong $350k max budget is not going to get you much house in Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, or northern Downers Grove. But they are the nicest towns in the area with the best schools. So if you are willing to sacrifice a little bit and get a fixer upper or small house, these may be good options.

You could also look east in the belt from Clarendon Hills to La Grange, but that area is even more expensive (Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Western Springs, La Grange).

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I'll be frank. A strong $350k max budget is not going to get you much house in Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, or northern Downers Grove. But they are the nicest towns in the area with the best schools. So if you are willing to sacrifice a little bit and get a fixer upper or small house, these may be good options.

You could also look east in the belt from Clarendon Hills to La Grange, but that area is even more expensive (Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Western Springs, La Grange).

I think $350k is a solid budget for a 3-bed in any of the towns that have been mentioned. And certainly with a lot of effort and little luck, the OP might even be able to find a nice 4-bed. I really like the Wheaton 4-bed I linked to previously. Here is a great 3-bed that is walking-distance to downtown Wheaton:

524 Western Avenue WHEATON, IL 60187

But again, the only problem is the need for a half acre lot. However, with the Western address there is a large tot lot and park across the street. Not sure if that kind of situation could alleviate the need for a huge yard. If the OP would be willing to settle for a .20-.25 acre lot, perhaps near some public green space, the process will be much easier.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I think $350k is a solid budget for a 3-bed in any of the towns that have been mentioned. And certainly with a lot of effort and little luck, the OP might even be able to find a nice 4-bed. I really like the Wheaton 4-bed I linked to previously. Here is a great 3-bed that is walking-distance to downtown Wheaton:

524 Western Avenue WHEATON, IL 60187

Technically not a 4-BR since there is a basement bedroom, but I agree it's a nice option for someone who wants vintage. I think they may be fudging the area take offs a bit too.

Of the towns I mentioned, Wheaton has more affordable home options than Glen Ellyn, Naperville, or northern Downers Grove. $350k will go further there. Most of the $350k houses in Naperville or northern Downers Grove will be in "challenging locations" (probably distant from anything in the ginormous sprawl of Naperville, or squeezed between a truck lot and the train tracks in DG). And forget about anything in Glen Ellyn north of Roosevelt that's not a shack or a teardown.

This tiny house was just sold in my neighborhood for $260,000. It was torn down yesterday.

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Glen-Ellyn.../home/18133031

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Technically not a 4-BR since there is a basement bedroom, but I agree it's a nice option for someone who wants vintage. I think they may be fudging the area take offs a bit too.

Of the towns I mentioned, Wheaton has more affordable home options than Glen Ellyn, Naperville, or northern Downers Grove. $350k will go further there. Most of the $350k houses in Naperville or northern Downers Grove will be in "challenging locations" (probably distant from anything in the ginormous sprawl of Naperville, or squeezed between a truck lot and the train tracks in DG). And forget about anything in Glen Ellyn north of Roosevelt that's not a shack or a teardown.

This tiny house was just sold in my neighborhood for $260,000. It was torn down yesterday.

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Glen-Ellyn.../home/18133031

The Western house is listed as 3-bed, and they are all upstairs. There is a basement bedroom as well, but that's just a fun bonus. The Blanchard house is listed as a 4-bed and has 2 bedrooms on the main floor and 2 upstairs. None in the basement/lower level. Both appear to be nicely updated homes with lots of vintage appeal.

[ToriaT]

Some of the houses don't look like much from the outside but are very nice and cozy on the inside. Whoever owns the house on Western in Wheaton did a very good job with inexpensive but artistic decorating.

[djstorm1228]

Wow! Thank you for all of the information! We are loving the Wheaton area. It looks like a small lot is in our future but that's okay. We are willing to be more flexible if the schools and location are desirable. We appreciate the feedback. Thanks!