Required to live in Cook County (Chicago, Arlington Heights: appointed, real estate, apartment)

[twodoor2]

I am looking for a home up to $500K. We just sold our home and are living in a short term lease apartment, so we have time to look around. My husband works in Stickney, and is required to live in Cook County. I have lived in the Chicago area my whole life, but now that we have this opportunity to take our time looking for a home, we're very picky. We just sold our home in the u46 school district. It was a gorgeous home, but buying in the u46 school district made our property value go down + higher taxes, so we don't want to make the same mistake twice. It was in Hoffman Estates.

We want good schools of course since my son is special needs (high functioning autistic), and my daughter has a disease which requires a lot of nurse involvement (type 1 diabetes), although she is normal otherwise. Our three kids are elementary and Jr High school age, so good schools and a great high school are a must. My husband, on the other hand, is really disappointed at the meager homes for our price range in some of the best school districts, and is highly considering Lemont for the low taxes, and getting more for your money. The high school rates a 10 on greatschools.org, but I'm not sure how accurate that website is. Any thoughts on Lemont?

I have also been looking at Arlington Heights, Northbrook, Glenview, Mt. Prospect, Buffalo Grove (Cook County side - Buffalo Grove High), Barrington, and I'm staying away from anything in Palatine Township, as the taxes are crazy from my research. However, for what we can afford, he doesn't care much for the homes in those areas. Our home, which we purchased as new construction in 2000, was 3000 square feet, plus an additional 1500 square foot basement, so it's hard to downsize.

BTW, he retires in four years, so I'm also wondering if we should just rent in that time since Illinois is in financial crisis, and then bolt out of here. Any thoughts on that as well?

What areas do you advise? I wish we could live outside of Cook County, as it limits our choices greatly.

[holl1ngsworth]

Wow, Hoffman Estates to Stickney! Ouch!

There's really nothing to write home about regarding Lemont. The schools seriously underperform given their low minority and low-income enrollment. Public transit options are nil. It's further down 55 than most folks probably want. And it's rather removed from the types of local white collar employment that might support a bevy of expensive homes.

I'd focus on the more desirable towns closer to your husband's work -- towns that check all the "resale" boxes. Metra and highway access, local employment centers, active downtown core, walkable streets, outstanding schools, etc.

Don't throw away money on rent. Buy in an area of historically high demand and ensure yourself minimal days-on-market and maximum price upon resale. La Grange, La Grange Park, Brookfield, Riverside, Park Ridge, and Western Springs are good bets with a Stickney commute.

[twodoor2]

Thank you! The traffic going to Stickney wasn't too bad for him as it was against traffic. I had a more horrible commute each morning when I worked closer, and in Northbrook. It took me longer to go and come from work.

I just wanted to note that there are a lot of multi-million dollar homes in Lemont and a bazillion golf courses. It's really pretty, but I agree about the lack of infrastructure there. The high school rates highly on greatschools.org, but I'm not sure how accurate that is.

[4122]

I wouldn't look at northern cook county, it will be a terrible commute especially since your husband would be driving in the direction of the city in the morning and away from the city in the afternoon-evening just like pretty much every single car is doing at that time. The towns Holl1ngsworth suggested are good places to start. The Cook County side of Burr Ridge would be a great choice for you too and Indian Head Park.

I've always been told, especially in Illinois' housing crisis, "Don't buy a house unless you can make money off of it or just rent." If you might only be in Illinois for a few years, it's probably not the best idea to buy unless you know you can get more money back when you sell the house than the amount of money it cost to buy it. Property taxes here are the second highest in the nation, so a lot of times, the taxes of a home are taken into consideration more than the actual price of a home.

[twodoor2]

Originally Posted by 4122

Property taxes here are the second highest in the nation, so a lot of times, the taxes of a home are taken into consideration more than the actual price of a home.

Thank you for the reply! I know, I have been looking past homes with affordable prices because property taxes were nuts. Would I even be able to sell it in four years if the taxes are already high, and they're not going to go down.

He's actually used to driving from the Northern burbs. He did a commute from Stickney to Northbrook, and he said it wasn't that bad, even better than from Hoffman Estates, so driving isn't a major issue for him, as it was for me when I worked in NB. Going from Hoffman to NB was a nightmare, and worse than his commute. I'll check out Burr Ridge though, thanks again.

The taxes are only 2% in Lemont, and rather low, so I'm not seeing much deterrent there except for the lack of retail. The high school is a 10 on greatschools.org. I just wonder why it's so unpopular, is it the lack of retail? Probably??? It's a ten minute drive on the highway to Bolingbrook for retail. I do worry about resale value there however.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by twodoor2

Thank you! The traffic going to Stickney wasn't too bad for him as it was against traffic. I had a more horrible commute each morning when I worked closer, and in Northbrook. It took me longer to go and come from work.

I just wanted to note that there are a lot of multi-million dollar homes in Lemont and a bazillion golf courses. It's really pretty, but I agree about the lack of infrastructure there. The high school rates highly on greatschools.org, but I'm not sure how accurate that is.

I wouldn't pay attention to GreatSchools. The ratings lag current data significantly, and I've found several instances where the data they are using is downright wrong. Go to the source of information, the ISBE, and decide for yourself: Illinois Report Card

The schools are meh. And while there are "multi-million dollar homes" in Lemont, most are the kind of tasteless housing boom build-out that make people today cringe -- and many are unable to command even half their original price tags. As an example, 4000-5000 square foot behemoths in good condition have sold for <$500k in the past year. The housing crisis wasn't kind to Lemont and the recovery hasn't been either. Trends have moved away from Lemont's nontraditional layout, and buyers tend to favor towns with a more charming mix of homes, wider access to highways and transit (Metra), in-town amenities and services, and nearby corporate employment. The golf in Lemont is good, but without all the other factors it's just not going to be on people's radar as a place to live. All IMO, of course.

Personally, I'd also be hesitant to buy in Burr Ridge or Indian Head Park, but they are certainly better options than Lemont.

[twodoor2]

Thanks Hollingsworth, I'll pay more attention to the Illinois Report card site.

Now, I don't have my mind set on Lemont at all, but I have seen some stunning neighborhoods with custom homes that are far from those awful cookie cutter ones. I sound like I'm defending Lemont, but there are some stunning neighborhoods there, while I do agree, there's some cookie cutter ones.

A lot of my husband's colleagues live there and they love it, as well as the schools, but I just worry about resale. When you see a 3500 square foot brick house that is drop dead gorgeous, surrounded by golf courses (COG hill golf course is there too), and beautiful trees, custom built for only $500K, just sitting and sitting on the market, it gives you pause.

I just sold my home, and even though it was only on the market for 11 days, it was torture getting through all the phases of inspection, and buyer remorse. I don't want to go through that again.

[holl1ngsworth]

The old real estate mantra is truer now than ever before. Trends are clearly beginning to favor established towns that have a more compact and charming mix of old and new, and little touches like sidewalks, which allow residents to walk or bike to stores, schools, tot lots, community centers, downtown districts, transportation, etc. Metra has become an increasingly important staple as well. The Heritage Corridor is generally avoided by serious transit commuters. If there's a chance you might resale in a few years, I'd give serious consideration to current market trends, avoid volatility and buy in a safe, established town. Plus, I think the improvement to your day-to-day life in such a town will far outweigh any reduction in square footage you might have to accept. There is a reason people are buying where there are...

[twodoor2]

Holl1ingsworth,
Thanks again for your insight.

Well, we went to various open houses in Arlington Heights today, in one of the best school districts in Illinois, and my husband thinks they're all too old looking for what we can afford. He really likes new, modern and up-to-date, but I'm about location and schools vs what the home looks like on the inside. I saw a split level in Arlington Heights today for $400K, in Prospect HS neighborhood and top grade and jr. high schools, shopping and parks close by, and it's priced such that we could really afford to make updates (and it needs A LOT of updating), but he's so keen against it. :-(

I don't mind a fixer upper, but he does. *sigh*

However, I adore Arlington Heights and his commute wouldn't be that bad according to him.

[holl1ngsworth]

How about this charmer in Riverside?

300 Addison Road Riverside, IL 60546

Sample the neighborhood on Google Street View, you won't be disappointed. You couldn't pay me enough to move back to Cook from DuPage, but if I had to, Riverside would be one of my top choices. Especially if I couldn't afford La Grange or Western Springs.