Priced out of North side housing market & we make good money.... (Naperville: middle-class, insurance)

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by BRU67

There's nothing inaccurate about what I posted. Just four examples with actual 2017 tax bills posted in parenthesis that I was able to quickly find via a google search.

Arguing the tax rate is a red herring. People pay tax bills, not tax rates. And wealthy suburbs in Cook County have long benefited from notoriously lower tax rates than poor suburbs. So I'm not sure that'd be something I'd be running around these parts bragging about, IMO.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/politic...eration-report

We'll see if the new Assessor has the political stones to change that and make the system more equitable. If he does, wealthy suburbs like Evanston will see their taxes go up a bit. That, on top of the new $10k cap on that tax break for the rich know as the real estate property and state tax deduction, should lower desirability of homes in these types of suburbs. We're already seeing it. Evanston certainly is...

https://patch.com/illinois/evanston/...ly-9-5-percent

In Evanston, the 2018 average composite tax rate — which combines all taxing districts for a property — rose to 9.459 percent from 9.054 percent in 2017, an increase of 4.47 percent, according to the clerk's office.

So I don't know where that 2.7% comes from but maybe you should read up further on that, especially if you're about to buy a home there or are encouraging others to do so!

It seems like you've conceded to my point that Evanston does not, in fact, have higher property taxes for similarly priced homes relative to most suburban communities. Nearby municipalities Skokie, Highland Park, and Deerfield have higher rates right off the top of my head.

Look up your effective property tax rate (database)

[via chicago]

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

It seems like you've conceded to my point that Evanston does not, in fact, have higher property taxes for similarly priced homes relative to most suburban communities. Nearby municipalities Skokie, Highland Park, and Deerfield have higher rates right off the top of my head.

Look up your effective property tax rate (database)

The composite property tax rate is more useful as that includes all the taxing bodies (schools, park districts, etc.)

https://www.cookcountyclerk.com/site...20Report_1.pdf

Evanston fell in at 9.5% for 2018. Of your cited municipalities, Skokie (10.4) came in higher and Deerfield (8.6) lower. But I guess if we're just looking at tax rates, Evanston is in the ballpark of wealthy suburbs. And it's long been known that poorer suburbs end up with higher overall property tax rates under our system. Some are outright insane (e.g. Bellwood (19.1), Calumet City (25.4), and Harvey (26.2)) due to greater need for money - in particular, for underfunded schools with major challenges, weaker business bases, and more deadbeat taxpayers and vacant properties.

Regardless, the point is what actual taxes are. On that note, I think the bigger worry is what's going to be done with the assessed values upon which those rates are multiplied. It is there that the Assessor's office will attempt to obtain "equity." It'll be interesting to see what happens with that.

[smegmatite]

Originally Posted by dtcbnd03

I agree. With an HHI of $300k/year an average family can easily pay down debts or invest $100k/year to have a healthy down payment when it comes time to purchasing a home. Invest, buy assets, and avoid debts and "keeping up with the Jones". Given the S&P500 has gone up 471% since 2009 all of us should be sitting on a tidy pile of assets by now.

I also agree with the OP that North Center seems VERY expensive. Sounds like the CPS schools are great in that area but otherwise you're far from downtown, not close to the lake, and not really in a major hood. And the brown line is notoriously slow. I've never understood why people move to places like Lincoln Square, Old Irving Park and North Center. If you're a family moving for space/schools you might as well move to the burbs at that point.

I agree on saving up a down payment, but saving 100k a year on top of that? on a 300k hhi? not likely unless all your benefits and retirement are paid for by the employer (not likely as well)

taxes& benefits& retirement will take on average about 50% of your paychecks so you're left with about 12.5k a month to spend

living in Chicago that won't go super far especially if you have children, and good luck saving 8.3k a month to get to 100k saved

[emathias]

It seems likely to me that if $300,000/yr can't buy you a house in North Center, the limitation isn't the income but either a lack of a down payment or standards higher than typically available in North Center. I personally know people who own homes in North Center who earn less than $300k/yr. I don't know for certain that they didn't get a substantial down payment from family, but I don't think they did.

To the people discussing whether a couple earning $300k/yr could save 1/3 of that, I agree that saving $100k/yr, while likely mathematically possible, would be very difficult from a "maintaining social status" standpoint. However, I do think that $50,000/year should be attainable, and that nets you a quarter million dollars for a down payment in five years. A quarter million dollar down payment should get you a mortgage of around a million dollars, and $1.25 million should get a decent home, even in North Center. It won't be the best in the neighborhood, but it should be very livable and not need significant investments.

And the reality is, if you're going to be buying a $1.25MM home, with a 20% down payment, your mortgage payment will be roughly equivalent to your current rent plus saving $50k/year, so saving that $50k/year gets you used to the financial responsibility necessary to carry that kind of debt (assuming your credit support good rates in today's markets).

I get that 5 years sounds like a long time to wait to buy, but I'm hoping you already have at least a significant portion of that saved - at least half - and 2-3 years isn't that long to wait to buy a good home. And it's not as if Chicago prices are skyrocketing right now.

[andrew61]

Apparently I read the OP's post differently than some on here. Sounds to me like the OP can afford a house for $800K, but all the houses they're seeing in North Center at that price point are "dumps", which is why they're frustrated.

[OKParker]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Apparently I read the OP's post differently than some on here. Sounds to me like the OP can afford a house for $800K, but all the houses they're seeing in North Center at that price point are "dumps", which is why they're frustrated.

300k HHI should easily be able to afford an 800k property so I agree with you. I also agree that a lot of the homes in NoCo aren't nice - i'm not a fan of the housing stock there compared with some other neighborhoods in Chicago.

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

Why are you even looking in the city with kids in school? CPS, aside from the magnet schools, are a disaster. There are a ton of suburbs with superior schools and far more affordable housing.

Perhaps one has City job or for some other reason must live within Chicago City Limits.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

There is something called lifestyle creep. It's ridiculous to expect a HENRY to live like a working-class person for the sake of buying a million-dollar home.

There's certainly an in-between of living like a "working class" person and succumbing to lifestyle creep.

I dunno, I'm not even in 6 figures (including $$ put toward my 401k) and live somewhat comfortably at the moment, but I'm not putting enough away for my kids' college and not fixing up some minor scratches on my car. I can probably put a few thousand toward cosmetic upgrades to my house, but aside from that, I don't need to spend any more than I currently do at the moment. Even if in theory 1/3 of my income at $300k went to taxes, I'd still end up with more than an additional $100k in assets by the end of the year.

I live in Naperville next to a house worth maybe twice as much as mine. It really depends on how people approach their lifestyle.

Sure, I'd maybe move to a slightly more expensive area after a couple years of saving, but most of my major expenses are maxed out (food, utilities (though electric/gas would increase w/larger house), gas for the cars, etc.).

If you're struggling to save on $300k annual income, you should really see if your bank or a financial advisor or someone with authority can implement a monthly spending limit on your credit/debit card.

I spent ~$200 on 12/26 at the outlet mall and bought about 13 new articles of clothing. Perhaps I'll buy a new pair of running shoes in 2020. Aside from that, my clothes shopping is done until 2021.

[hendersj31]

That's what Beverly and Mt. Greenwood are for.

Originally Posted by pvande55

Perhaps one has City job or for some other reason must live within Chicago City Limits.