Glen Ellyn vs La Grange - need Lookout Kid, Chet and JJSki's advice (Chicago: cul-de-sac, apartments)

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I love Glen Ellyn and visit often. I'm sure you'll find yourself doing the same with Wheaton.

You almost have to. When you get in to a rut with the same handful of Glen Ellyn restaurants, you will definitely start to branch out to Wheaton and Lombard. And Oak Brook.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

Well said LK. We are house people and GE seems to provide the sweet spot that we're looking for in terms of newest of home, updated features/floorplans, size of community and a nice core downtown. I know I'm doing myself an injustice by ruling out Hinsdale (sorry Chet), La Grange (sorry JJSki) and Wheaton (sorry Holl1ngsworth). I don't need access to the City for work and it's a train ride away for weekend recreation. We've managed to keep our commute footprint and pattern relatively small and seeking to do the same here. I will be back this Thur to look at some homes around the Lake. Hoping more inventory comes to market this spring.

I am sure that folks get mixed messages, but I truly do like when folks "know what they want". The fact is there are LOTS of really nice options in the whole region. I do advocate for folks to consider the "total value" of what each town has to offer, and my own opinion is that almost always makes sense to focus on the nicest town you can and then find the home that best suits your needs while staying "in budget". For people that do the leg work, weigh the schools, understand the taxes, factor in their commute, etc it is entirely understandable that ONE town comes out "on top". Too few do this, and when they base their decisions on faulty assumptions or just flat out wrong conclusions I try to give them info that is correct...

If you don't see the kind of inventory come on the market at the price point you are comfortable with I am sure you'll re-evaluate, and that is a good thing. It sure beats the heck out of making a snap judgement and then regretting it, or worse losing money moving multiple times. The challenge that I have multiple folks run into when they are dealing with relocation is that eventually timing is an issue. If you decide to get a rental in the hope that eventually something will pop-up in your preferred price /neighborhood, but inventory remains tight, then you end up doing multiple moves or staying a in a rental for an extended period -- neither of those is a good option.

I recommend that folks make up a little "rolling short list" of properties and take the time to visit each of them, even in different towns, and give some thought to updating them with the thinking "if I had to pull the trigger TODAY would this be an OK compromise". As you watch what sells and what remains on the market it also helps give you a much better sense of what is realistic. Frankly when I would encounter clients that "were sure" that there would eventually be SOMETHING in their preferred price range that hit "all their wish list" I would send them little updates with what sold and what came on the market in an effort to keep them connected to reality. It can be helpful...

[Zoodle]

[quote=chet everett;42154673]. The challenge that I have multiple folks run nto when they are dealing with relocation is that eventually timing is an issue.

I am facing this timing issue myself. We are moving from CT for my husbands Job in the Loop area and we have to move out of our house here on January 16. The company will give us a couple of months for short term housing to get us time to close, etc. I don't really want to get into the rental situation and hope to find a house next week. I have raked over the listings and cross checked the best I can using google maps to eliminate houses that are on busy roads/far from the train station/etc.
I will be looking at
11 houses in Downers Grove
8 houses in Mt Prospect
9 houses in Arlington Heights
7 houses in Glen Ellyn


We plan to spend Monday driving around those towns to get a feel for them and then start looking at the houses on tuesday. I am concerned that some of the houses have been on the market for quite a while; is something wrong with the location that I am not aware of? I find it hard to find out when looking at so many different areas and being from the East Coast, to be educated about the nuances of those towns and what sections are "desirable" or not.

Any thoughts on other ways to judge if a house will be a good purchase? I want to enjoy living there, but I also realize I will probably need to sell again in 3, 5 or 8 years.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by Zoodle

I am facing this timing issue myself. We are moving from CT for my husbands Job in the Loop area and we have to move out of our house here on January 16. The company will give us a couple of months for short term housing to get us time to close, etc. I don't really want to get into the rental situation and hope to find a house next week. I have raked over the listings and cross checked the best I can using google maps to eliminate houses that are on busy roads/far from the train station/etc.
I will be looking at
11 houses in Downers Grove
8 houses in Mt Prospect
9 houses in Arlington Heights
7 houses in Glen Ellyn


We plan to spend Monday driving around those towns to get a feel for them and then start looking at the houses on tuesday. I am concerned that some of the houses have been on the market for quite a while; is something wrong with the location that I am not aware of? I find it hard to find out when looking at so many different areas and being from the East Coast, to be educated about the nuances of those towns and what sections are "desirable" or not.

Any thoughts on other ways to judge if a house will be a good purchase? I want to enjoy living there, but I also realize I will probably need to sell again in 3, 5 or 8 years.

Wow! 35 houses in a week?

Among the four, I vote Glen Ellyn as most likely to win you over. Swing by Wheaton on your visit! Same train length as Arlington Heights with twice the charm! IMO IMO

[chet everett]

I would probably start by looking at the homes in Arlington Heights. The lay out of many of the nicer neighborhoods there is fairly traditional and you can eliminate lots of homes quickly. In Mt. Prospect things are a little trickier, as some of the neighborhoods have nicer access to things like the municipal golf course while others get lots of O'Hare noise.


I think I would then head to Downers Grove. Again, mostly a very traditional lay out which should make it easy to comb through homes at a quick pace. Then head to Glen Ellyn which has a few factors that while nice, do distort local options. The homes nearest Lake Ellyn are probably not on your list, a their prices would generally push them into the Hinsdale / Clarendon Hills prices (school in D181 / D86 are generally more desirable than those serving Glen Ellyn and you get a quicker Metra commute to the Loop, if your office in the NW burbs it adds probably 15 minutes or so...).

There are some good options in Elmhurst and Wheaton too. if work location is in the NW burbs I would add Barrington to list as well. Maybe Park Ridge too.

[WannaBeinBoston]

Hey Zoodle, just don't put any offers in on Glen Ellyn homes that I'm looking at.

[RJA29]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

Hey Zoodle, just don't put any offers in on Glen Ellyn homes that I'm looking at.

Ditto that to you both! (Although I think you're looking above my price range).

[Zoodle]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

Hey Zoodle, just don't put any offers in on Glen Ellyn homes that I'm looking at.

Are you getting close to making an offer.? We just arrived for a week of shopping.

[WannaBeinBoston]

No, but like you, I am going to look at some homes this week to get a sense of what we may want and which neighborhoods. Should be a nice week to visit Chicago. Best of luck to you and enjoy your house hunting.

[WannaBeinBoston]

Sorry to resurrect this but everyone has been so helpful. I spent a few days this week getting to know Glen Ellyn better. I have a few questions that I would like to get LK's opinion on, Hollingsworth and Chet also.

1. The area around Benjamin Franklin elementary seems to provide us more housing inventory than by the Lake. Is Taylor Ave a busy street? It's the only one that head n/s and bypasses the train if there's one on the track.

2. Chet, could you elaborate on this " Glen Ellyn which has a few factors that while nice, do distort local options"?

3. The realtor we're working with suggested that we consider Naperville as well. It's appealing as there are more housing inventory but it's such a big area and schools are large. It gives us all the things we're looking for except for a smaller school district. I also get a sense of GE being more communal as oppose to a large Naperville? That's just an assumption.

Thanks everyone.