Finding the Right House - Introduction
Not unlike the My Ride-Chicago Experience series, in the days to come I am going to post articles describing my recent experience in buying my first house. I'm calling this series, "Finding the Right House"
For starters... you need to understand the Real Estate market around here. Buffalo Grove is a place where you can buy a tiny 3 bedroom ranch built in the late 1950's for about $250,000+. That's certainly not as bad as some of the areas I've seen on HGTV's "House Hunters" but it's still pretty damn inflated. Take the Shadow Creek house (in Part II) as an example... if that $174,900 house was in Buffalo Grove, it would easily sell for near $350,000.
If you want a nice House in Buffalo Grove you will spend well over $300,000. If you want it to be a newer house... be prepared to spend over $400,000. It's all location.
There was NO WAY in hell we were going to pay a 1/4 Mill for small, crappy 40+ year house.
In order to get more affordable homes you need to get further away from Chicago. That will mean heading North, way South or more West.
It's amazing what 15 miles can do to prices... but they are ALL on the rise... A couple of years ago you could build a brand new house in Lake in the Hills for $200,000. That ain't gonna happen now.
We looked at homes in Lindenhurst/Gurnee a couple years ago. Those 1980's houses that went for the $175's are now in the $190's.
That should give you a decent idea of the market we're in.
What we are looking for...
Priced from $180,000 to $220,000
No Older than the Mid to Late 1980's
Move in Condition (or close)
At least 3 bedrooms
At least 2 bathrooms (with a Master Bathroom)
Separate Living & Family Rooms
Decent sized Bedrooms
Decent sized Kitchen
Basement - For storage and my Office
Large Back Yard
2 Car Garage
Nice area to live
Low Crime Rate
Great School System
Near to Parks
Near to Major Shopping areas
Pluses...
Fully Fenced in yard
Deck
Formal Dining Room
Walk-in Closets
Fireplace
3 Season room
Pool
Okay... let's begin... Finding the Right House... Part I
