The Suburbs

[Texsox]

Actually, we had to come down in price so we can sell the house quick before we lost it to foreclosure. So after paying off the difference in the rest of the mortgage, we were left with only a few grand and we were still left in a bad position where we couldn't afford anything above 150k.

 

That's a s***ty thing to have to go through. I suspect that your parents probably had a couple home equity loans out as well which ate into the equity. But if the values did not skyrocket they would have been forced to sell their home *and* still owed money. Not a silver lining, but not so bad.

 

And you are correct, there are a wide range of people living in manufactured homes. We have many retirees that live here part of the year and they fill hundreds of these parks. I knew a guy who wanted to retire when he was 40, so he lived on 1/3 of his income and saved the rest. He lived in a nice trailer along the Fox River. And Rock is correct also. Some are in a state of ruin with poorly maintained homes and facilities.

[SoxAce]

For a man who lives in Steger now (Crete right here basically) I love it here, but would love to live here when I'm 30.. not as young as myself. But it is really peaceful here.

[bigruss]

LOL, Schaumburg, didnt the guy say he wanted to be CLOSE to work. That is the absolute boonies. And much farther than a 45 min drive in traffic.

 

Try westchester on the west side. Its become somewhat affordable and is a good starter area. Hell for that money you can get a good place in Forest park and still have a good nightlife in your city as well as even an El ride to downtown. Since we are almost the same age, Forest Park would be my choice if I was transitioning to the burbs without children.

Forest Park is definitely were the younger crowd is moving towards. As a native of Oak Park, I love that setting and Forest Park is cheaper and definitely more lively at night. I would move to Forest Park if that was my choice.

[Pants Rowland]

Forest Park is definitely were the younger crowd is moving towards. As a native of Oak Park, I love that setting and Forest Park is cheaper and definitely more lively at night. I would move to Forest Park if that was my choice.

 

As a current Oak Parker, nothing in the vicinity beats a night on the street of dreams, particularly O'Sullivans. I also find the people in FP to be very down to earth. The drawback of FP is the schools, particularly the high school, which I believe is Proviso East, so you are in a tough spot once your kids get older. I have three kids so I am in OP. Otherwise, I would pick FP.

 

Regarding rich towns in the area, I have to confess, while I disagree with SSDon's assessment of some towns as too rich, snobby, etc. he was on target for a few, such as Oak Brook, where I grew up. I was just fortunate my dad instilled some sense of humility in his kids.

 

However, I agree with Rock regarding Downers Grove. I went to high school at North 15-20 years ago and found the kids there that came from Downers to be pretty grounded and genuine.

[Jenksismyhero]

Anyone live in Downers Grove right now? That seems to be the most acceptable area based on our initial search in the west. Lots and lots of decent sized homes in the 250-350k range, lots of green, surrounded by homes that are 3-4 times as expensive, and at least with a couple of these houses, pretty "reasonable" taxes.

 

[RockRaines]

Anyone live in Downers Grove right now? That seems to be the most acceptable area based on our initial search in the west. Lots and lots of decent sized homes in the 250-350k range, lots of green, surrounded by homes that are 3-4 times as expensive, and at least with a couple of these houses, pretty "reasonable" taxes.

Where is it located? Being from DG, there are spots that are good, and spots to avoid. I will tell you that most of the schools are very good and the property values have been very steady.

[Jenksismyhero]

Where is it located? Being from DG, there are spots that are good, and spots to avoid. I will tell you that most of the schools are very good and the property values have been very steady.

 

 

http://www.redfin.com/IL/Downers-Grove/663...6/home/18012532

 

Hopefully that link will work. It's down the street from a few homes going for 750k, 850k, etc.

[Jenksismyhero]

Here's another question for people who have recently gone from renting to buying - how much more does it REALLY cost to own?

 

My original intention in all of this is to take advantage of the free $8,000 check from the government. I want to basically be able to take what we pay now in rent ($1650 for rent/parking, which only includes water), plus maybe a couple hundred more a month. So i'm thinking 2k tops per month on everything associated with living expenses. So that has to include the mortgage, insurance, taxes, maintenance, and then any increase in costs for gas/electricity/water/garbage collection/whatever. It's incredibly difficult to budget out expenses when you just dunno how much all that extra stuff costs. How much extra is it to heat an 1800 square foot house versus a 1100-1200 square foot apartment? Or how much more electricity would we use? Or how often do things REALLY break and require you to fix it?

 

Sigh. This process is much more difficult than I expected.

[Harry Chappas]

Housing slump or not, $300K won't get you into anything worth inhabiting in Beverly. Totally depressng to know I'll never in my life be able to afford a house in the neighborhood I grew up in.

 

Not true. There is plenty to be had for under $300K.

[The Beast]

Anyone live in Downers Grove right now? That seems to be the most acceptable area based on our initial search in the west. Lots and lots of decent sized homes in the 250-350k range, lots of green, surrounded by homes that are 3-4 times as expensive, and at least with a couple of these houses, pretty "reasonable" taxes.

I live in Downers and while I can't speak about what it costs to live where I do, I can tell you that you are better off sending your kids to Montini or Benet than Downers Grove South. It's all relative because I was misplaced in classes at DGS, and other schools heavily promote electives (or classes that aren't useful), but I would say if your kid thrives in smaller classes, send them to the catholic school. If I were to do it all over again, I would have spoke up on how they misplaced me in my math courses and went to Montini. Another plus about the catholic schools is that there seems to be a level of fairness in sports there. I never felt welcomed to football at DGS, and that is why I quit.

 

Great place to live, however.

Edited January 11, 2010 by The Beast

[RockRaines]

I live in Downers and while I can't speak about what it costs to live where I do, I can tell you that you are better off sending your kids to Montini or Benet than Downers Grove South. It's all relative because I was misplaced in classes at DGS, and other schools heavily promote electives (or classes that aren't useful), but I would say if your kid thrives in smaller classes, send them to the catholic school. If I were to do it all over again, I would have spoke up on how they misplaced me in my math courses and went to Montini. Another plus about the catholic schools is that there seems to be a level of fairness in sports there. I never felt welcomed to football at DGS, and that is why I quit.

 

Great place to live, however.

Yeah, south blows. North is still very good and isnt nearly as overpopulated.

[Pants Rowland]

Yeah, south blows. North is still very good and isnt nearly as overpopulated.

 

Did you go to north, Rock?

[GoodAsGould]

LOL, Schaumburg, didnt the guy say he wanted to be CLOSE to work. That is the absolute boonies. And much farther than a 45 min drive in traffic.

 

Try westchester on the west side. Its become somewhat affordable and is a good starter area. Hell for that money you can get a good place in Forest park and still have a good nightlife in your city as well as even an El ride to downtown. Since we are almost the same age, Forest Park would be my choice if I was transitioning to the burbs without children.

 

How the hell is Schaumburg the boonies, most people that live there either work in a corporate office or in the city... there always is the train one can take to the city as well. If I was moving to the suburbs Id either want to live in Naperville or Schaumburg.

Edited January 12, 2010 by GoodAsGould

[RockRaines]

Did you go to north, Rock?

yes sir, grew up right off highland ave.

[RockRaines]

How the hell is Schaumburg the boonies, most people that live there either work in a corporate office or in the city... there always is the train one can take to the city as well. If I was moving to the suburbs Id either want to live in Naperville or Schaumburg.

well, then you dont mind an hour commute. His comment was he wanted to be close to work. And those are fairly different cities, why just those two?

Edited January 12, 2010 by RockRaines

[BFirebird]

yes sir, grew up right off highland ave.

I live close to Highland Ave now off 31st Street in Oak Brook. I was a south subs guy growing up, but I like it over here. I don't know much about the schools around here though outside of their football programs. According to your profile you live in the West Loop now right? My wife and I wanted to move to the city, but with 2 cars and our offices are in the 'burbs...it just didn't make sense.

[BFirebird]

For a man who lives in Steger now (Crete right here basically) I love it here, but would love to live here when I'm 30.. not as young as myself. But it is really peaceful here.

I grew up in Steger. My parents actually still live there...right off Steger Road, nearly in Crete.

[The Beast]

yes sir, grew up right off highland ave.

I drove past there every weekday to pick up my brothers my junior year of high school (they went to Montini). Where'd you go to college and what do you do now? Almost all of my class at DGS either went to COD, ISU or UIllinois.

 

I live close to Highland Ave now off 31st Street in Oak Brook. I was a south subs guy growing up, but I like it over here. I don't know much about the schools around here though outside of their football programs. According to your profile you live in the West Loop now right? My wife and I wanted to move to the city, but with 2 cars and our offices are in the 'burbs...it just didn't make sense.

I really like Oak Park and River Forest area of Chicago. I'd definitely move there if I had a job out that way post graduation. How are the football programs in your area? DGS is decent with Belskis at the helm.

Edited January 12, 2010 by The Beast

[BFirebird]

Here's another question for people who have recently gone from renting to buying - how much more does it REALLY cost to own?

 

My original intention in all of this is to take advantage of the free $8,000 check from the government. I want to basically be able to take what we pay now in rent ($1650 for rent/parking, which only includes water), plus maybe a couple hundred more a month. So i'm thinking 2k tops per month on everything associated with living expenses. So that has to include the mortgage, insurance, taxes, maintenance, and then any increase in costs for gas/electricity/water/garbage collection/whatever. It's incredibly difficult to budget out expenses when you just dunno how much all that extra stuff costs. How much extra is it to heat an 1800 square foot house versus a 1100-1200 square foot apartment? Or how much more electricity would we use? Or how often do things REALLY break and require you to fix it?

 

Sigh. This process is much more difficult than I expected.

I am late to the party here, but I figure I would share my experience. My wife and I looked forever for our 1st home. We started looking in early 2008 (we got married in august '08) and set our budget close to yours and we looked everywhere. We looked everywhere from the city at condos to homes in Darien, Downers Grove, Riverside, Brookfield, Hinsdale and Elmhurst, just to name a few. I am sure the prices have come down since '08 but thing we found is that even in the 'burbs your money doesn't go far. Lots of the homes in these areas are older and need work. We were mostly looking for places to renovate, but something was wrong with everything we found and we are probably really picky. (Leaking water in the basement, no storage space, etc.) We had to look at over 100 places. After I was ready to give up, we started to look at townhomes. I know that you said you wanted a house, but hear me out. Once we switched to townhomes we could start seeing nicer places that were not falling apart and we could renovate and make it our own. We ended up finding a really nice townhouse in Oak Brook that we completed gutted and made our own. We were lucky and had the resources and the desire to do so, but if you look hard enough you will find the place for you. We didn't end up buying until 2 weeks before the wedding and actually the 1st couple of months lived with my wife's parents because we didn't finish renovating...sad I know.

 

Our current mortgage is at about $240K @ 6.25% (we put down a lot and missed out on the good rates). We are also in the process of re-financing that beast of a %, now fortunately. Our place is in Dupage with 3 bedrooms and our taxes last year were about $3,800. So with that we are looking at about $1,800 a month with taxes included ($1425 mortgage, the rest taxes) Our refinance will be at least at 5.25% which would drop it to about $1225 plus taxes, so about $1,600 a month. We are probably really close to 1800 square feet (probably a little less) and my utilities aren't outrageous at with a mortgage at $1,600 a month....you could probably be right at $2K.

 

You could find a place and be right at $2K a month but it will be close depending on how much you can put down. Sorry for the long answer, but I thought it might help a little. PM if you have any additional questions...I can probably give you a little advice on the process.

[BFirebird]

I drove past there every weekday to pick up my brothers my junior year of high school (they went to Montini). Where'd you go to college and what do you do now? Almost all of my class at DGS either went to COD, ISU or UIllinois.

 

 

I really like Oak Park and River Forest area of Chicago. I'd definitely move there if I had a job out that way post graduation. How are the football programs in your area? DGS is decent with Belskis at the helm.

I have quite a few friends that live in Oak Park. I really like that area as well. DGN is about 5 minutes south of where I live. Wheaton Warrenville and Hinsdale are also really close to Oak Brook as well.

[Jenksismyhero]

Where did everyone find their realtor? Or their mortgage broker (if you used one)?

[BFirebird]

Where did everyone find their realtor? Or their mortgage broker (if you used one)?

My realtor is a family friend. Not to sound biased but he is really good. :-)

[NorthSideSox72]

Where did everyone find their realtor? Or their mortgage broker (if you used one)?

We didn't have one when we started looking at condos in the city back in 2004. We saw a sign on a building with a unit we wanted to see, and she happened to be the listing agent. We called, she showed up in like 15 minutes, and it went from there. We are now listing our condo for sale through her, our family has used her before, and she's fantastic.

 

[Pants Rowland]

Where did everyone find their realtor? Or their mortgage broker (if you used one)?

 

Ours was referred to us by a close friend that already lived in Oak Park and had used her before. Mortgage broker was referred by the realtor.

[Pants Rowland]

yes sir, grew up right off highland ave.

 

No kidding. I grew up a little north of 31th street on Meyers (Fairview).

 

Class of ...?