Moving to Northeastern Illinois (Chicago, North Chicago: renting, low crime, house)

[JS612]

We are moving to northeastern IL in a few months for a job relocation in North Chicago. We are not very familiar with the area and we don't want to rely on a Realtor too much. Any comments on very good school districts with homes that are not in developments and have a little acreage? Scenery would be great.

Also, I am trying to find a web site that can help me determine property taxes so we know what we can afford. I have found the Illinois Department of Revenue site, but can't find any specific numbers. Any advice?

JS612

[chet everett]

You are not going to find anything useful at the Illinois Dept. of Revenue, property taxes are handled through the various county offices and the local taxing districts. Simplest thing to do is assume your annual property taxes will be about 2% of the selling price of the home you buy. You may get lucky and find something maybe closer to 1.5%, or unlucky and have to pay about 2.5%, but that is a good enough number for estimation purposes. The actual formula is rather complex.

North Chicago is in Lake Co., much of which is fully developed and quite expensive. To find any significant amount of acreage you will be paying very premium prices. To get to a more affordable area you may want to look west in McHenry Co, or north in Walworth or Kenosha Co WI. Of course commuting could be considerably longer.

Good place to start winnowing out schools is with the USNews high school rankings, unfortunately only Lake Co (of those I listed) have schools that made the cut: Best High Schools Search - US News and World Report

[JS612]

Thanks so much for this info!

[kevenlm]

I live in Mchenry county (22yrs.) looking to sell Lakefront home (GOOD FISHING FROM MY SHORELINE) at a fair price. Mchenry, the city is about 35 minutes away from west chicago. It's a good neighborhood, descent schools. Low crime rate. BUT, nobody that makes a decent buck works in Mchenry. Almost everyone works outside mchenry. Taxes are fair, but that depends on what you are used too. All of IL. has higher than normal property taxes depending on where you come from. My house is on the outskirts of town, it's 3 bedroom 1.5bath, recently remodeled.New furnace and roof fall of 2008. Let me know if you are interested. If you need any help looking around Mchenry area let me know, I will help the best I can.
Keven

[kevenlm]

see my profile for a few pictures of the lake my wife and I are giving up.

[Dr.H]

We live in Lincolnshire and the schools are great. You can still find some acreage in the area too. Regarding your taxes, visit Fight your Lake County, Illinois property taxes with LakeCountyAppeal.com!. They helped to lower my taxes A LOT after I bought my home. I cannot say enough about them. I do not think they would know what the individal taxes will be on a property but they might be able to help if you give them a call.

[ihateillinoisweather]

For a point of reference, we have lived in Lake Villa for 10 years. My husband and I both work in Northbrook which is on the lake county/cook county border. Unfortunately, we had to go 25 miles north to find a home we could afford! (we are both non-degree'd but have worked for the same co. for 18 yrs) I'll give specifics, our house cost us 134,000 10 years ago and is worth about 185,000. It is an older house, but we wanted a big yard and a big garage. Most of the new construction up (less than 10 yrs old) here, single family home, is over 250,000, have tiny yards and small trees. Some new neighborhoods are very nice, but we just like a bit more privacy. We wanted lots of big old oak tree's and room for the kids and dogs to run. Our older neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. The schools are descent but the taxes are high! Our property taxes for our 1960 1600 sq ft house are $4200.

[cohdane]

Here's another site to use to gauge property taxes:

by Address - Lake County, IL (http://www.lakecountyil.gov/Assessments/AssessmentInformation/PropertyTaxAssessmentInfo/byaddress.htm - broken link)

Enter any address you're interested in. Calculate assessed value by multiplying the "Total Amount" by 3. FYI, the assessments are delayed by a year or two. Many homes are selling for less than assessed value, most-- but not all-- then get their assessments lowered to something near their selling price.

Figure out your tolerance for commuting before picking a place to live. And "test drive" it during rush hour while school buses are on the roads.

Last thought: Consider renting? Home prices are dropping in Lake County and in many areas, there is a HUGE overhang of inventory. It's hard to predict where prices, interest rates and inflation may or may not be headed, but at least think it over so you can make an informed decision.

If you private message me, I can send you a document that lists up-to-date inventory, days-on-market and current price declines broken down by city for most of Lake County.

The good news is-- LOTS of terrific school districts to choose from.