Libertyville or Lake Bluff (Waukegan, Lake Forest: real estate, foreclosure, renting) - Chicago Suburbs - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

cpm314 · 02-17-2011, 01:57 PM

We have offers in on two houses; one older home in Libertyville right near downtown and the other in the north Lake Bluff (larger home than other but not walkable to anything).

It looks like both are going to fall through but we are weighing the pros and cons between renting for 6 months (we just sold our house) or upping the offer on one of them..

Which location is preferrable? Libertyville home is about 2000 sq ft but over 100 years old but updated, the LB home is ~2500 sq ft, updated but built in 1990...

reppin_the_847 · 02-17-2011, 04:59 PM

Where in Lake Bluff are we talking? Closer to Green Bay Road or Sheridan Road? Or are you referring to the Knollwood section by Waukegan Road?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpm314

We have offers in on two houses; one older home in Libertyville right near downtown and the other in the north Lake Bluff (larger home than other but not walkable to anything).

It looks like both are going to fall through but we are weighing the pros and cons between renting for 6 months (we just sold our house) or upping the offer on one of them..

Which location is preferrable? Libertyville home is about 2000 sq ft but over 100 years old but updated, the LB home is ~2500 sq ft, updated but built in 1990...

chet everett · 02-17-2011, 05:03 PM

If the offers are not accepted becuase they are just too low it may be helpful to understand what your goal is ...

Of course you want / need a place to live, but I suspect you, like most buyers, wants to get "the most for your money" as well as having the greatest potential for appreciation.

In such a context if both homes are around $500k I would suspect that the larger / newer home may offer both more right now and the potential to perform better over time.

If your price point is lower the difference in the specific homes may be more important -- does the smaller older home have a master bath? Would you be able to add one? Is the larger newer home so close to the fringes and the updating done so poorly that it is not really attractive???

If your price point is higher the questions are different -- are you so near the top of Libertyvillle pricing thatt others might consider Lake Forest? Is the Lake Bluff home on a larger secluded site?

More details about why you have offers or two houses and feel neither of them will go forward leads me to believe that you may falsely believe that foreclosure and short sellers can still be low balled. That is not generally a successfully strategy in otherwise desireable towns...

chicagojlo · 02-17-2011, 07:26 PM

It depends on what you want and need from your location. Can you give more details?

cpm314 · 02-18-2011, 05:16 AM

The houses are very different. The lake Bluff home is in the city of Lake Bluff, but off Green Bay (about half mile east) just about as north as you can go without hitting the navel base. It's a nice rehabbed home that is about as large as we would want. However, it backs to the train and is not walkable to anything. The latter is the biggest issue, we would have to drive for almost everything.

The libertyville house has been updated but it's smaller, and doesn't have a functional basement except for utilities. It's located in the heart of libertyville, just a few blocks off Milwaukee and everything is walkable, trails, lakes, parks, entertainment, etc.

Both are priced at ~470 but it's hard to decide which would be better resale if we would have to move. One gives you a larger house for your money and the other a better location but both school districts are top notch..

chet everett · 02-18-2011, 06:34 AM

As I suspected you are close to $500k. Much of the "pricing pressure" for homes in the section of Libertyville close to it downtown came from tear downs and folks who wanted the charm of older houses. Recent pricing has shown that builders are not at all interested in buying homes for teardown and even home that could be expanded are only desirable to folks who can live with the limitations. Thee substandard basement would be huge negative and at the piece point you are considering I would recommend against pursuing that option.

The concerns about having to drive to everything are frankly not unusual, but many folks do accept that as a trade off in desirable towns throughout the region. More and more people are turning to hybrid vehicles as a way to address those "need to drive but don't want to feel bad about it" concerns. Of course that does not change the fact that you would not in an area where strolling to Starbucks with other Nike & Yoga pant clad mom is a major part of life, but my gut says that trend is fading...

Choosing a larger house, but still very manageable (there are many behemoths three or four times that size nearby...), would make sense for the vast number of buyers in that price range in those towns.

cpm314 · 02-18-2011, 08:16 AM

Thanks for the feedback Chet. The basement was a huge concern for us as well. Since the garage had a stairwell to the upstairs it made the storage issue less of a problem. However, the idea of not having much a basement really made us wonder about resale.

As far as location, being by Milwaukee Ave is nice...but the idea of walking to church and to summer events, along with being able to walk to Butler lake, parks, etc were more of a turn on than going to starbucks.

chicagojlo · 02-18-2011, 08:37 PM

If you want to be out and about in your local area Lake Bluff is probably going to disappoint, at least if you go that far out of the village center. Lake Bluff is very small, about the best thing it has going for it is the beach. There is also a nice community feel here but again, outside of the village center and the terrace it lessens. The schools however are top notch, I can't recommend them highly enough. During summer we have 'Bluffinia' which is a series of concerts held on the village green which is also nice. And Libertyville is a very short drive away, you could park and still walk around to all the things you want to see and do if that would be something you would consider.

cohdane · 02-20-2011, 08:50 PM

Don't rule out renting.

If you're asking about "resale if we would have to move," you need to factor in realtors' fees in the 6% range, on top of various closing costs. In a declining market-- it may be a looooong time before you hit "break even" money on selling.

I disagree with Chet and think many local markets are still sucking major wind. "Desirable" or not, there is too much stale inventory to make it a seller's market. Check the charts on Redfin.com, Real Estate Statistics | Altos Research and A.L. Wagner Appraisal Group: The Headrick-Wagner Report to see what Libertyville and Lake Bluff look like.

Lastly, compare heating bills for this past month on both properties. That's going to be a major factor going forward and you'll want to know what you're getting into.

Good luck!

idtaken · 02-23-2011, 02:42 PM

I have known people in both areas. The one close to downtown Libertyville loves to walk and go out and about. The friend I had in Lake BLuff worked, rode horses, and was a home body.

So it depends which types you are. Good luck