Moving to Crown Point from Highland, need advice (Merrillville, Schererville: for sale, condominiums)

[bschaffy]

Hi all. New to this forum and couldn't find much info/thread regarding what we are looking for. Here is some background info on us. My wife and I are looking to move from Highland to Crown Point. her family lives in Frankfort,IL,which is a great area with great schools and where would we like to go, but way to expensive for what we are looking for, which is why we ended up in Highland originally since we both worked in Chicago. But now we both work in Indiana so commuting wouldn't be an issue. We have a son with another baby on the way,so schools is a top reason for wanting to move to CP (it appears CP has outstanding schools)We don't know a whole lot about the area yet, but driving around there a number of times now, we can't help but like it more and more. We are looking for a nice family friendly/oriented community. Our price range for a house will be $250k-$300k. The other day while driving around, we just happened to run into a new subdivision, The Regency. Seemed nice. The builders are Providence. But I also was researching and saw Steiner homes is also building there. Wanted to know if anyone has any feedback regarding Regency as well as the builders.
Also saw the Schmidt Farms neighborhood, which also seemed nice. Thoughts? Anywhere else? Or I guess I should ask, anywhere I should stay away from, as just about all of CP has seemed nice? We do know about the 101st boundary for Merrillville school district and plan to stay south. This is about as far as our knowledge goes, so any and all feedback is welcomed.
Also, I would like to keep this about Crown Point. We are not crazy about Munster(though I know they have good schools) and haven't really found what were are looking for in Schererville or St.John. Not sure what it is about Crown Point that is driving us there yet, but it keeps growing on us.

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by bschaffy

Hi all. New to this forum and couldn't find much info/thread regarding what we are looking for. Here is some background info on us. My wife and I are looking to move from Highland to Crown Point. her family lives in Frankfort,IL,which is a great area with great schools and where would we like to go, but way to expensive for what we are looking for, which is why we ended up in Highland originally since we both worked in Chicago. But now we both work in Indiana so commuting wouldn't be an issue. We have a son with another baby on the way,so schools is a top reason for wanting to move to CP (it appears CP has outstanding schools)We don't know a whole lot about the area yet, but driving around there a number of times now, we can't help but like it more and more. We are looking for a nice family friendly/oriented community. Our price range for a house will be $250k-$300k. The other day while driving around, we just happened to run into a new subdivision, The Regency. Seemed nice. The builders are Providence. But I also was researching and saw Steiner homes is also building there. Wanted to know if anyone has any feedback regarding Regency as well as the builders.
Also saw the Schmidt Farms neighborhood, which also seemed nice. Thoughts? Anywhere else? Or I guess I should ask, anywhere I should stay away from, as just about all of CP has seemed nice? We do know about the 101st boundary for Merrillville school district and plan to stay south. This is about as far as our knowledge goes, so any and all feedback is welcomed.
Also, I would like to keep this about Crown Point. We are not crazy about Munster(though I know they have good schools) and haven't really found what were are looking for in Schererville or St.John. Not sure what it is about Crown Point that is driving us there yet, but it keeps growing on us.

At your price point and wanting new construction, your best bet is definitely Crown Point as new construction in Munster will price you out anyway and there are less options to build at your price point in the other towns as opposed to Crown Point.

The subdivisions and builders you mentioned are solid. From what I have seen in general of CP, it seems as though the areas immediately west and southwest of downtown CP are more upscale than the areas southeast of downtown (except for the Morningside gated community). If you want to stay in CP proper, then the two subdivisions you mentioned are a good bet. There is also Ellendale Farms which has a section called "The Highlands" that has new home opportunities that are more in your price range.

To make options easier for you, here is a list of all of the main neighborhoods in CP (mostly newer). I have highlighted the ones that may be of interest to you.

• Downtown
• Briarwood/Briar Creek/Briar Estates - Single family homes between 231 and Indiana Avenue, east of the downtown square.
• Bridgeport
  
• Covington - Single family homes near the intersection of I-65 and 231
  
• Ellendale Farm/Estates of Ellendale Farm/Homestead of Ellendale Farm/The Highlands of Ellendale Farm/The Old Town Village of Ellendale *Farm/The Townhomes of Ellendale Farm - Single Family homes, Estate homes and Townhomes south of the downtown square
• Feather Rock - Single family homes south of the downtown square
• Hamilton Square - Townhomes and Condominiums with living near the intersection of I-65 and 231
• Harvest Ridge - Single Family homes near intersection of Broadway and 93rd Ave. Apart of Ross Township.
• Morningside - Estate homes near the intersection of I-65 and 231
  
• Penn Oak - Single Family homes near the intersection of Broadway and 231
  
• Pentwater - Single Family homes and Single Family Villa homes in a near the intersection of I-65 and 231
  
• Pine Hill - Single Family homes near the intersection of I-65 and 231
• Quail Meadows - Single Family homes on northwest side of town near Timothy Ball Elementary School
  
• Regency - Single Family homes, Single Family Courtyard homes and Paired Villa Manor homes in a golf course community south of the downtown square
  
• Schmidt Farms - Single Family homes near the intersection of I-65 and 231
  
• Stillwater - Single Family homes near the intersection of Broadway and 231
• Summer Tree Estates - Single Family homes and Paired Villa homes in a golf course community mid-way between Route 30 and the downtown square on 101st.
• Stratford Estates - Single Family homes near intersection of Broadway and 93rd Ave. Apart of Ross Township.
• Waterside Crossing/The Village of Waterside/The Settlement of Waterside/The Commonwealth of Waterside/The Colony of Waterside - Single Family homes, Estate homes, Paired Ranch homes and Single Family Patio homes with golf course lots available near the intersection of I-65 and 109th exit
• White Hawk - Single Family homes on the northwest side of town near Timothy Ball Elementary School

Most of these subdivisions either have a website where you can see the type of homes there or you can easily find the builders by googling the subdivision name.

I have also attached a link to a map that has many CP subdivisions platted out. This is a good reference:

CP Subdivisions Map

Let us know if you have any more questions!

[bschaffy]

Thank you for the info. The map of the neighborhoods/subdivisions will be great and really help as we search. We actually went and looked at 2 homes yesterday in Schmidt Farms, they were nice, but ranches. The 2 story homes there seem to be priced closer to $350k . My wife seems to have her mind set on a two story. the idea of being able to build what we want sounds great. But having never built a home, it also sounds a little intimidating. Today we went back out and looked at Regency again. Not much built just yet, but seems like it will be nice built around the golf course. We did get info from the Providence builders. Seems reasonable for new construction and haven't heard or read anything bad about them. Haven't been to the Ellendale Farms yet, but will check it out. Also, not crazy about Olthoff homes as they all seem to look very similar and I haven't heard good things about the homes. I know two people who both hate their homes from Olthoff, as they had issues and Olthoff did nothing.

[bschaffy]

Also, what's about Lake of Four Seasons? I was there a few times as a kid and it seemed really nice then. I passed through a couple years ago but it was dark and couldnt see much. I know it's gated with annual dues (not sure $$), and has golf course, pool, lakes, fishing, tennis. All this would be great for us as this seems like it has everything you could want for raising a family. But, I am a bit skeptical as there seems do be a lot of homes for sale in the area (I know it's a large area), and they are older homes and it seems like home prices should cost more for these amenities especially being on a lake, gated, golf course etc.. Can anyone help and provide any feedback on LOFS? Is it still safe? Is it in decline? What's it like living there? Would we regret moving there? Any other feedback? Again our price range would be $300k, seems like LOFS would be affordable, but worth it or go newer or other subdivision?

Northwest Indiana, we drove through The Highlands of Ellendale Farms and Ellendale Farms. Absolutely beautiful. Ellendale Farms looks for sure well out of our budget, but the Highlands looks closer. However, the lots that I have seen so far start at $60,000!! Our house has only been on the market for a week, but I hope it sells quick so it will force us to make a decision and get settled somewhere. Until then, our search continues.

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by bschaffy

Also, what's about Lake of Four Seasons? I was there a few times as a kid and it seemed really nice then. I passed through a couple years ago but it was dark and couldnt see much. I know it's gated with annual dues (not sure $$), and has golf course, pool, lakes, fishing, tennis. All this would be great for us as this seems like it has everything you could want for raising a family. But, I am a bit skeptical as there seems do be a lot of homes for sale in the area (I know it's a large area), and they are older homes and it seems like home prices should cost more for these amenities especially being on a lake, gated, golf course etc.. Can anyone help and provide any feedback on LOFS? Is it still safe? Is it in decline? What's it like living there? Would we regret moving there? Any other feedback? Again our price range would be $300k, seems like LOFS would be affordable, but worth it or go newer or other subdivision?

Northwest Indiana, we drove through The Highlands of Ellendale Farms and Ellendale Farms. Absolutely beautiful. Ellendale Farms looks for sure well out of our budget, but the Highlands looks closer. However, the lots that I have seen so far start at $60,000!! Our house has only been on the market for a week, but I hope it sells quick so it will force us to make a decision and get settled somewhere. Until then, our search continues.

Good to hear that you like that area! As far as Lakes of the Four Seasons (LOFS), it still appears to be a safe area (most gated communities are) but for the most part, it does not strike me as an upscale neighborhood. $300,000 would definitely be on the higher end of home prices there where you can fetch the vast majority of the single-family homes there for less than $200,000. While it does have great amenities, there are also some things you have to think about (some that applies to Winfield as well). The first is that the county line splits LOFS in half. ALL of LOFS has a Crown Point address, but the eastern half is in Porter County and zoned to Porter Township Schools (I believe) where as the western half is Lake County and zoned to Crown Point schools. One Elementary school, Jerry Ross is adjacent to LOFS off of Randolph St and is from Grades 3-5. Then there is Winfield Elementary School further southwest on Montgomery St that is Grades K-2. Middle School and High School would be in Crown Point proper and would be a pretty far drive (anywhere from 15-30 mins depending on traffic). This is something to consider.

Also, some of the homes in LOFS appear to lack good maintenance and upkeep. I don't know the price of dues but they probably are not too cheap. But I would not be happy if my neighbors didn't keep up their homes (let alone in a gated community). This is just my opinion but I have been through LOFS enough times to know I wouldn't want to live there.

I am glad you like Ellendale Farms! It really is a nice neighborhood. Have you thought about the town home/brownstones there right off of Lake St? The name is The Old Town Village at Ellendale Farms. They have nice brownstone homes that have 3 car garages and a lot of space. Yes, it would be connected to another home but it may be an option to consider.

[bschaffy]

Well we have spent numerous days now exploring crown point and still love what we see. It seems like there is gong to be a lot of new things and homes being built around town. Thought I would share with you that we decided to build in the new subdivision The Regency. There were always kids out when we would come through and the location to the schools and hospital were close, fairly close to I65, close to the downtown. We still haven't gotten to really explore all of crown point and what it has to offer, but so far we love the town and the schools should be great. Our new home is currently scheduled to be completed in december(my guess January). Can't wait to be settled. Thanks Northwest Indiana for the info, map, and feedback. Wasn't crazy about LOFS either.

[jdmorgan20]

What school system do kids residing in the Indian Ridge subdivision in Crown Point across from the courthouse attend?

[artemis]

Originally Posted by jdmorgan20

What school system do kids residing in the Indian Ridge subdivision in Crown Point across from the courthouse attend?

Merrillville.

[CGab]

Originally Posted by artemis

Merrillville.

You probably don't want your kids going to Merrillville schools.