Looking for the Impossible! (Is Berwyn the answer?) (Chicago, Palatine: real estate, to rent)

[LookingForEden]

Background-- I have 5 children, with the oldest about to enter into 5th grade. We currently live in Lombard and like it, but now need a bigger house. We have a teeny budget (we'll have to rent out our current house, which makes us qualify for less) of $225.

Wants
-4 bedrooms
-Easy access to downtown via Metra (for husband's job)
-Decent schools (esp high school)
-Diversity
-At least a little bigger than typical city lot
-Fairly easy street parking
-A huge plus would be able to walk to school and other places

I grew up in Chicago (Ravenswood, then North Park/Albany Park) and worked in Little Village. I do enjoy the safety of Lombard-- but as I read somewhere on this board it is almost boringly safe. I miss the action/non-chain places of Chicago but not some of the hassles (like parking). I love our big yard!

I have never been to Berwyn but wonder if it would fit the bill. I know the HS is far from the best, but is it THAT bad? My oldest child wants to go to IMSA eventually but obviously we can't count on that. How bad is the crime compared to the places I've grown up? How congested is it?

Any idea for other suburbs? Part of me says to forget about living near Chicago and just go further west, like Geneva. (I love, love, love old homes.) My kids are part Irish/Korean and I don't want to be one of the only non all-white families there. We are considering Chicago (looked at some properties there yesterday) but I don't think I can deal with the parking again . . .

[chet everett]

Really tough choices. Large yards are pretty scarce in Berwyn. The bigger homes in the nicest parts of town are probably going to be out of your budget...

I a not sure that with a whole lot of shopping you would not find something that suits your needs, but budget of $225K could be a real stumbling block in most every spot in the region, including places a lot worse than Berwyn.

I know that there are whole lot of trade offs to expanding your search to include the south suburbs and NW Indiana but given your wish list you may have more to choose from in those area than even Berwyn.

[OakBrookMom]

If Lombard is boringly safe, Geneva will put you to sleep. I have a math and science child too, IMSA is super hard to get into as one of her friends found out who always scores 99% on his ISAT and scored a 700 on the math section of the SAT this past year as an 8th grader plus their team placed 2nd at the IMSA math competition by only one point so only 8 kids out of the hundreds there beat them yet they only accepted 2 out of the 3 top kids on their team. Of course IMSA wants to accept kids from all over the state so being somewhere that you shine vs one of many brillant kids may actually help. But I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket and I'd also worry about the other kids too. This goes for the city too, those top magnet schools have fierce competition. I have a friend who is a guidance counselor for 8th graders and she said it broke her heart this year to see so many hardworking, high achieving children struggling to find a high school despite being straight A students, many having to opt for very expensive private options. Read the newspaper articles that were devoted to this process, it is an eye-opener for anyone with a bright child in the city that assumes that their child will get into a magnet school and hasn't planned to spend 50K on a private high school for just one child. I assume with 6 people in the home you want at least 2 baths and you already stated 4 bedrooms. Older homes are typically in city centers near the train where the towns were first developed unless of course you move closer into the city. Areas by the train run at a premium. You may only have a handful of choices if you are steadfast in the older home preference in any number of towns so I'd keep an open mind and look multiple places. All along both western suburban train lines are options but some like in Downers, Riverside, Brookfield or Oak Park where the express commute will be shorter than what you have now, come sporadically so being patient is definitely a must and you will have to probably put in some sweat equity. Of course that means you have to do your school research multiple times but this is a large investment as you know and not doing your due dilligence will cost you later down the road. People pay large tax bills here so they want something from it, the ratings a school has directly effects real estate values. If you are concerned enough to ask for advice, rent first or maybe add onto your existing home if you aren't totally underwater.

[LookingForEden]

Chet, where do you recommend I look? I am not familiar at all with anything south.

OBM: Thanks for the heads up re: the dullness of Geneva. I get your point. I think those kinds of places are fine if family is nearby, but mine is in Chicago. I also get your point about IMSA. Certainly not something we could count on, even if DD got in. Brookfield has been on my radar as a possibility. Seems like they don't have a lot of housing stock in general, so like you said, patience will be key. We are definitely open about where to move-- looking everywhere from Chicago to Palatine.

I wish we could just add onto our home, but we are more than $100K underwater. If our family hadn't grown so much (we had 2 kids when we bought this place, and originally thought we were done) we would not be looking to move. I am obviously not looking for anything high-end-- just somewhere with a good floor plan and potential.

[chet everett]

Brookfield does not have many large lots and not a huge amount of bigger homes. The values for the homes on the smaller size tend to be better than the bigger homes too -- starter homes vs move up buyers.mthat said if you do find a home that will work the schools rate out very well.

The most widely admired of the classic souther suburbs is probably Flossmoor. Some really nice housing stock,mdecent train service and schools that are well liked togehpther with nice mix for diversity and good purchase affordability are somewhat tempered by property taxes that can be breathtakingly high. Oak Lawn has some similar pluses but tends to have little more of the urban sized lots. Southwest suburbs like Frankfort and Mokena have some fair values, but also a lot of HUGE homes that went up inn"boom times". More mature souther suburbs like Orland Park and Palos are generally less rigidly grid oriented than Oak Lawn but not as prone to the McMansions as Mokena. Trade offs beyond housing selection may include difficultly of find a commuter train that is conconvneient from both a parking and schedule aspect.

[LookingForEden]

Thanks so much, Chet.

Yes, does seem Brookfield has average size lots. Let's take the lot size out of the equation because I know I will have to make many compromises. Would be a plus, but NOT a must. The schools are one of my main attractions to the area, as well as a slightly faster commute for my husband.

I looked up homes in Flossmoor per your recommendation. GORGEOUS! We could actually get a nice home there . . .HS looks great. The downside is that the taxes, as you said, are very high, so it still may be out of our reach. The other issue is that the commute is a little tougher since my husband works closer to Union Station, so the Electric Line/Millennium Station would be a bit more of a hike. That's not so much the dealbreaker, but the taxes may be.

Any other ideas for places with the interesting/older housing of Flossmoor, let's say average size lots, and good schools?

[themag62]

I see SFHs in your price range on redfin in Elmwood Park. While most are 3 bds, I have seen some 4bds. They seem to have at least decent sized yards. Check out this one Real Estate Search | Redfin I know nothing about school quality in Elmwood Park, but can't see why they wouldn't be comparable to where you are now. Elmwood Park has a metra stop and is reasonably close to Oak Park.

[themag62]

Bah, this site won't let me post that link, but the address is 7942 Country Club Ln. Go to redfin and key in Elmwood Park 200k to 300k. Taxes are comparable to Chicago.

[LookingForEden]

Themag, thank you for helping me! Love the house you posted but taxes are over $11K! Ack!

Schools rate a little lower than Lombard's but not terrible.

[themag62]

yeah taxes on that one are higher than I've seen on others. It is a recent construction, so that's probably why. There are other 4bds in EP though. What do you think of the area?