Buying first home: Which suburb is better? Willow Spring vs La Grange Park (Downers Grove: hardwood floors)

[AnewEarth]

I've been looking for a decent house (brick, finished basement, nice hardwood floors, two bedroom, big backyard, etc..moving ready) with a budget of less than $170.000 You would think that due to the crisis, you could find nice cheap houses in a nice suburb, however I started my search in July. With not so much luck, I found houses in bad condition, mold in basement, not ready to move in.
Our first option was La Grange Park , we just love La Grange downtown, (nice upbeat area, businesses growing, nice people, good vibe) However, we've found a well kept house so far in Willow Springs. We are not really familiar with the area, and so are concern about it. What can you tell me about this place, is it a prosperous area?, what about the people? political views? do you see W.S growing in the future as La Grange?

How would you rate our options? from 1 to 10 being the nicest.

-La grange park (haven't found a house with decent bathrooms and basement (with our budget we found two houses, but owners passed away in them )
-Westchester (houses we saw were ok, however the basements were flooded, and proximity to major cemeteries is a big turn off)
-Brookfield (houses are a little bit old, and most foreclosures are in the area ...is it because Brookfield is not prosperous?)
-Willow Springs (?)
-Westmont (Houses are mostly vinyl, I hate vinyl )
-Downers Grove (a little bit out of my way to work)

Help me to decide! We are frustrated because we haven't found the perfect house, in the perfect area, at the perfect price.

[chet everett]

I am not at surprised that you did not have much luck in LaGrange Park, many homes have sold for prices that MULTIPLES of 4- 5x your target.

Even in Westchester that would be a huge bargain despite situation with Proviso schools.

Brookfield is somewhat more affordable but there have been tear downs at the price point you mention, so again so surprise that you struck out.

Westmont has several current tear down sites listed for DOUBLE your target price... Downers Grove is far more expensive than that. { I have no idea where in Westmont you would have shopped to get the impression the houses are mostly vinyl. For DECADES Westmont has prided itself on high quality homes, lots of masons live there, in fact the Town Logo incorporated BRICKS to spell out Westmont...}

I like Wilow Springs, and if the home you found is not backing up to a canal or freeway / main road it represents a heck of a deal. Of course Willow Springs will never be as convenient / developed as LaGrange, you will never have the terrific BNSF commuter service, and the schools are not in the same highly desirable category as other areas that you've listed.

At $170k I doubt you are getting a palace, but you can probably own for "for about what you'd rent"', maybe fix the place up, make a little nicer and use it to get into something better down the road.


Other side of the coin, if yiu get attached to Willow Springs, especially if you have neighbors you like and your kids play with, it can be hard to move away without hard feelings of " moving up".

Just something to consider depending on where you are in your life...

[prairiestate]

Willow Springs is a nice town, but has a lot of, potential, drawbacks. First, there is traffic. Archer is mostly two lanes with no turn lane and there is only one road connecting the two halves of town over the canal. If Willow Springs Rd. is under construction, there's an accident, etc., it will take forever to get across town. There's no library or any library service. You'll need to buy a card from Justice. There are few amenities. There's a hardware store, bank, a couple gas stations and convenience stores, and a tiny grocery just opened. There is a lot of big box shopping in Hodgkins a short drive away, but there is really only one route there, and traffic, weather and construction can bring traffic to a halt. There is Metra service, but it's lousy. Just a few rush hour trains during the week, often late, and no weekend service. On the plus side, it's quiet, you're literally surrounded by nature, and you're close to the Stevenson and the Tri-State Tollway.

A house in your price range in any of these towns, even with the collapsed housing market, is going to be tough.

Westchester (houses we saw were ok, however the basements were flooded, and proximity to major cemeteries is a big turn off)

This would be one of your better options, but Proviso High School is pretty bad. This is probably the main reason homes are relatively cheaper then neighboring towns.

-Brookfield (houses are a little bit old, and most foreclosures are in the area ...is it because Brookfield is not prosperous?)

No, it's generally not so prosperous, but it is a fairly pleasant town. Another good option, and Riverside-Brookfield is a very good high school.

-Westmont (Houses are mostly vinyl, I hate vinyl )

Nice town, nothing too spectacular, generally a bit cheaper then it's neighbors.

-Downers Grove (a little bit out of my way to work)

Fantastic community, and generally somewhat expensive.

[AuDiBelle]

I really like Willow Springs, but would only consider the portion that feeds to Pleasantdale schools and LT. The other portion of Willow Springs is not nearly as nice. You didn't state if schools are a priority, but the location will affect property values in Willow Springs as those that feed to LT demand more $$. Willow Springs will have less convenient amenities, but the trade-off is a more rural feel with larger backyards and trees, less population density.

LGP is also a great town with a completely different feel to it. Amenities are abundant... the proximity to the zoo, BNSF, downtown LaGrange, shopping, etc. Population density is a little higher, but the location is very convenient.

[AnewEarth]

well..I have no kids so, schools are important to me just for investment. My problem is that I've found the nicest house (in the sense that it needs no TLC or any other fix up) in Willow Springs. It is located down the hill on Hill St, near (but no so near) the train tracks. I like that Lions Park is walking distance from the house, and also there is Willow Springs Elementary school just about two blocks away. Now, I consider that house to have some curb appeal, however, the neighbors curb appeal is not really good. The two houses seem to be completely neglected and they look dirty. So, It is frustrating to know that I found the right house, perfect price, but there are these things that I just don't know what's more important. Whereas in La Grange Park, there is tons of curb appeal, amenities, etc, but houses we have found are not in perfect shape inside, and I just don't have the money to do TLC. Please advice. What would you do in my situation. How can I approach the neighbors situation? and would it affect future selling of the house? What can you tell me about that part of Willow Springs?

Thank you my friends, I love this forum because I feel finally somebody can reply with clarity and honesty.

[chet everett]

The #1 most important factor in real estate is LOCATION. After that, #2 is STILL LOCATIONS. And can you guess what #3 is? Why, surprise, it's LOCATION!


You are not going to be able to do anything about being too close to the train tracks, EVER. You are probably not going to be able to get the neighbors to fix up their mess either. And you cannot single handedly make folks redo your local schools.


You can, however, do a whole lot to make a trashed place in LaGrange Park into a redone gem. If you go slow and shop wise it is almost a dead-on lock that you will make more than your money back. If you do not have the cash to do it today, but you have good credit you might want to consider a 203k loan upfront. Down the road you could also get a HELOC. I am not saying this is a magic bullet, and if you have not done this before it would be foolish to thing that you are going to be a master o renovation overnight,but the absolutel 100% best way to make your properety exceed the normal appreciation is to get a place in poor condition in a desirable area and then fix it up.

An undesirable area may seem cheaper upfront, but if it continues to decree in desirability, especially when it has negatives outside of your control, it is NOT a way to make money. It is a sure bet that you will end uo behind the eight ball.

Do not be penny wise and pound foolish. Get the better location and work to make it better!

[platys]

You'll also be surprised by how much you can live with, updated wise, in a house. We moved into a house that hadn't seen any updating since the 50s. It had been kept up well, though. Sure, there's ugly carpet in the kitchen (why, why, why?), questionable wall paper in the bathroom and bedrooms and only one bathroom. But, it had gorgeous original hardwood floors under old carpet, a stove from 1949 that puts out BTUs like no one's business, and is in the perfect location for us. Plus, the neighborhood is awesome.

Eventually we'll update the kitchen, add a bathroom, fix decorating issues, and get to the roof. But for now, its perfectly livable.

[AuDiBelle]

Honestly, that location in Willow Springs is not the best. You will see much more appreciation of a property in LaGrange Park. I know you get more house for your money in Willow Springs, but that isn't the "desirable" section of WS and it won't appreciate as well. JMO