Midcentury Modern

[Soxbadger]

I had my agent call over and tell them I am thinking about that, but I could possible go up a touch more and thats it. We'll see. LIke I said before, the market around here is incredibly nuts right now and I think they are caught up in it with a unit that needs a TON of work.

 

Yeah this is what I would have done. Offer to slightly increase, but that is the "final" offer, and that if it isnt a go, you are going to have to go in a different direction.

 

Problem with sellers is that if they dont need to sell their property, they can be really slow on the trigger.

[RockRaines]

Yeah this is what I would have done. Offer to slightly increase, but that is the "final" offer, and that if it isnt a go, you are going to have to go in a different direction.

 

Problem with sellers is that if they dont need to sell their property, they can be really slow on the trigger.

Thats essentially where we are, posturing for that "final and best" offer. All of my instincts are saying they are full of it so hopefully I am right and I can finally get a place and move out of this one.

 

And I just started really packing my current condo since another in the building went under contract at a much higher price than I would have thought. I packed up exactly 2 shelves and I am out of boxes. LOL.

[Soxbadger]

Hope you dont mind me interjecting my unasked for opinions

[RockRaines]

Hope you dont mind me interjecting my unasked for opinions

Never.

 

I'm letting them sweat it out tonight and then proposing my walk away price. Hopefully tomorrow ill either have a place under contract or ill be looking at open houses.

[iamshack]

Never.

 

I'm letting them sweat it out tonight and then proposing my walk away price. Hopefully tomorrow ill either have a place under contract or ill be looking at open houses.

Good luck, Rock!

 

I hope you have better luck than we did...seller just flat-out rejected our offer. No counter even. And this was the exact offer their listing agent practically begged us to come back and make...which is what I sold my house for...in the end, their agent just told us something that was inaccurate and we relied upon it. I am not happy.

 

Despite that, I wrote a letter to the listing agent yesterday and asked her to pass my thoughts on to the seller. She forwarded the letter I wrote, along with her own note, to the seller, saying we are super people and someone she would be lucky to call her neighbors (the property is her guesthouse located adjacent to her mansion). She asked me to give her another day or so, but I have no expectations that anything will change. She did say that the seller was not against accepting our offer; it was the business manager that is influencing her not to sell it to us. I wouldn't be shocked if this slimeball is waiting for her to die and hoping she leaves the property to him in her will.

 

So now the pressure is on. Have to find a home. Soon.

[RockRaines]

Good luck, Rock!

 

I hope you have better luck than we did...seller just flat-out rejected our offer. No counter even. And this was the exact offer their listing agent practically begged us to come back and make...which is what I sold my house for...in the end, their agent just told us something that was inaccurate and we relied upon it. I am not happy.

 

Despite that, I wrote a letter to the listing agent yesterday and asked her to pass my thoughts on to the seller. She forwarded the letter I wrote, along with her own note, to the seller, saying we are super people and someone she would be lucky to call her neighbors (the property is her guesthouse located adjacent to her mansion). She asked me to give her another day or so, but I have no expectations that anything will change. She did say that the seller was not against accepting our offer; it was the business manager that is influencing her not to sell it to us. I wouldn't be shocked if this slimeball is waiting for her to die and hoping she leaves the property to him in her will.

 

So now the pressure is on. Have to find a home. Soon.

Wow dude, not the news I was expecting. Hopefully your words do some good. Sometimes I just want to have a face to face meeting with these people so they know who you are and know what you want to do with their property. I would rather negotiate face to face but instead I am forced to do it through these agents.

 

 

I have a take it or leave it offer on the table right now which was more than splitting our difference as I added a little extra to put it over the hump.

 

Still kind of on the fence about renting out or selling my place right now, boxing stuff up regardless but the market is so weird.

[bigruss]

Damn Shack, that sucks. So odd that they turned down the offer that they came back to you with.

 

 

[RockRaines]

Damn Shack, that sucks. So odd that they turned down the offer that they came back to you with.

Seems kinda messed up. Sellers are so strange, they become really attached to their property.

[StrangeSox]

We had a series of fights with our seller (really it was his real estate agent) including multiple threats to cancel the contract and re-list if we didn't agree to ever-changing demands.

[iamshack]

From what I understand, the seller used to make large decisions with the help of a close friend/family member who passed away recently. I believe it may have been her sister, who passed away last year. Since then, she has been struggling with major decisions and has for whatever reason begun listening to the advice of this guy who claims to be her "business manager." I met him when we went and viewed the property again a few weeks ago, and I initially mistook him for a landscaper or handyman. He certainly did not look like someone who was adept at handling the finances of a complicated estate. I truly do believe he is a hanger-on that is hoping to get into the good graces of an elderly wealthy woman and reap the benefits when she passes away. It seems that everyone is telling her this was a good offer and yet he has her convinced not to sell. The fact that they didn't even counter makes me believe he is just trying to prohibit her from selling it before she passes away.

 

He told us if we bought the property that we would have to work out a deal so that he could continue to enjoy the figs from a large old fig tree on the property. I really have no doubt he is gunning for the property himself.

[bmags]

Seems this has turned into a real estate thread.

 

We've been following the market for houses pretty intensely past year. Ultimately, our end point will be Oak Park, but for now, we cannot afford a house there plus the property taxes, and we still would prefer living closer to the city. Recently we've been scouring for neighborhoods where we could find a SFH at our price.

 

This past weekend, after checking out portage park and other neighborhoods, we think we are gonna continue renting and saving what we can. While nice, they are not close enough to the city for me, and I don't think we'll end up staying for more than 4-5 years, and I do not want to deal with price volatility on a timeline that short.

 

This approach makes me a little nervous because in specific neighborhoods, prices have gained healthily. But I don't think either of us want to reach on price prematurely.

[iamshack]

Seems this has turned into a real estate thread.

 

We've been following the market for houses pretty intensely past year. Ultimately, our end point will be Oak Park, but for now, we cannot afford a house there plus the property taxes, and we still would prefer living closer to the city. Recently we've been scouring for neighborhoods where we could find a SFH at our price.

 

This past weekend, after checking out portage park and other neighborhoods, we think we are gonna continue renting and saving what we can. While nice, they are not close enough to the city for me, and I don't think we'll end up staying for more than 4-5 years, and I do not want to deal with price volatility on a timeline that short.

 

This approach makes me a little nervous because in specific neighborhoods, prices have gained healthily. But I don't think either of us want to reach on price prematurely.

Yeah, feel free to run with the real estate discussion...i don't think mcm is going to drive much conversation in this forum

 

It's tough, because you feel as though you might pay more down the road if you don't find something decent now...but too many people took that strategy 6-7 years ago and got killed for it.

 

Best thing to do probably is stay where you are unless you really find something you like, at a fair price. Otherwise, you open yourself up to a lot of volatility right now.

 

People out here are starting to go nuts, listing their properties at 2006 prices, trying to get everything they lost back during one little bubble...

[RockRaines]

Seems this has turned into a real estate thread.

 

We've been following the market for houses pretty intensely past year. Ultimately, our end point will be Oak Park, but for now, we cannot afford a house there plus the property taxes, and we still would prefer living closer to the city. Recently we've been scouring for neighborhoods where we could find a SFH at our price.

 

This past weekend, after checking out portage park and other neighborhoods, we think we are gonna continue renting and saving what we can. While nice, they are not close enough to the city for me, and I don't think we'll end up staying for more than 4-5 years, and I do not want to deal with price volatility on a timeline that short.

 

This approach makes me a little nervous because in specific neighborhoods, prices have gained healthily. But I don't think either of us want to reach on price prematurely.

Have you looked into Forest Park as an alternative? its a bit cheaper but still close to the target area. My wife is from Oak Park so she is constantly trying to get me to go back to there or RF.

[bmags]

Yeah, feel free to run with the real estate discussion...i don't think mcm is going to drive much conversation in this forum

 

It's tough, because you feel as though you might pay more down the road if you don't find something decent now...but too many people took that strategy 6-7 years ago and got killed for it.

 

Best thing to do probably is stay where you are unless you really find something you like, at a fair price. Otherwise, you open yourself up to a lot of volatility right now.

 

People out here are starting to go nuts, listing their properties at 2006 prices, trying to get everything they lost back during one little bubble...

 

I've definitely got that impression. There's a number of houses on the market in Portage Park selling for 20-30% over the prices of houses actually selling. I feel for those people, they've been under water for a while and prices are finally growing. But it's still a ways off for a lot of them.

[RockRaines]

Yeah, feel free to run with the real estate discussion...i don't think mcm is going to drive much conversation in this forum

 

It's tough, because you feel as though you might pay more down the road if you don't find something decent now...but too many people took that strategy 6-7 years ago and got killed for it.

 

Best thing to do probably is stay where you are unless you really find something you like, at a fair price. Otherwise, you open yourself up to a lot of volatility right now.

 

People out here are starting to go nuts, listing their properties at 2006 prices, trying to get everything they lost back during one little bubble...

Exactly whats happening here, investors are starting to get out, but at 2005 prices. We are seeing offers 10-20% above list at times for some reason, its a f***ing land grab.

[Jenksismyhero]

Seems this has turned into a real estate thread.

 

We've been following the market for houses pretty intensely past year. Ultimately, our end point will be Oak Park, but for now, we cannot afford a house there plus the property taxes, and we still would prefer living closer to the city. Recently we've been scouring for neighborhoods where we could find a SFH at our price.

 

This past weekend, after checking out portage park and other neighborhoods, we think we are gonna continue renting and saving what we can. While nice, they are not close enough to the city for me, and I don't think we'll end up staying for more than 4-5 years, and I do not want to deal with price volatility on a timeline that short.

 

This approach makes me a little nervous because in specific neighborhoods, prices have gained healthily. But I don't think either of us want to reach on price prematurely.

 

How far were you looking outside of the City? Was it a specific time period on your commute? A lot of the western burbs, even though farther away in distance, are actually faster commutes. Metra express trains are the bomb. I'm out in La Grange and my train takes 20-22 minutes.

[bigruss]

Have you looked into Forest Park as an alternative? its a bit cheaper but still close to the target area. My wife is from Oak Park so she is constantly trying to get me to go back to there or RF.

I grew up in OP and got good friends still living there so I frequent quite a bit.

 

Forest Park is definitely the way to go for the younger crowd, but the schools are a huge difference so if you have older kids then it's worth moving over to OP.

[RockRaines]

I grew up in OP and got good friends still living there so I frequent quite a bit.

 

Forest Park is definitely the way to go for the younger crowd, but the schools are a huge difference so if you have older kids then it's worth moving over to OP.

We looked at one of those "classic" old River Forest homes the other weekend, bright green carpet, tiny kitchen, wood everywhere. It literally smelled like a cats asshole.

[bigruss]

We looked at one of those "classic" old River Forest homes the other weekend, bright green carpet, tiny kitchen, wood everywhere. It literally smelled like a cats asshole.

Haha you wont find any defense for that from me, RF was always the "snobbier" brother to OP in our minds.

[bmags]

Have you looked into Forest Park as an alternative? its a bit cheaper but still close to the target area. My wife is from Oak Park so she is constantly trying to get me to go back to there or RF.

 

We are in the same boat, definitely (fiancee, wife as of next week, is from Oak Park). Oak Park is the end goal because of schools and family. Forest Park is attainable now, and I think they've done a great job revitalizing. Madison features a lot of great restaurants and walkable areas. But the schools are big, but you certainly pay a price for that in OP.

 

I think the main problem is we probably set our eyes on Oak Park earlier than we should have because prices there are interesting right now. And I'm still nervous about pulling the trigger on a comparable neighborhood to Oak Park because I still think medium term we'd be itching to move there.

 

So our conflict now is basically, if we are accelerating our move out of the city in order to own property, is it worth moving to an area 'like' Oak Park when we know we might not feel comfortable committing 8 years to that house.

 

I think FP and Berwyn both offer great value and transport. But I am torn knowing that we aren't going to commit long-term to that area.

 

 

 

 

[bigruss]

Maybe find a reno in OP? Keep the costs lower for now, have plenty of time to make the place yours before kids, etc.

[bmags]

Maybe find a reno in OP? Keep the costs lower for now, have plenty of time to make the place yours before kids, etc.

 

Definitely, difficulty is reno's are going for straight cash in recent cases. We are definitely going into a place that will need work in our preferred price point.

 

Jenks, commute is a concern, but most of it is walkability. Logan Square isn't exactly a dream commute now on the blue line. But I hate driving, have since I first learned to drive. I haven't seen LaGrange, so I wouldn't be speaking from experience on there, however.

[IlliniKrush]

Love that this is turning into a real estate thread. I'll play.

 

Wife and I are going to rent in the city for another year (maybe Rock's place?) before buying a house. She's obsessed with quality of schools in whatever suburb we move to. As such, she's really intent on moving to a Hinsdale area (she also grew up there, which I think is a huge part of it). Jenks is looks like you're in La Grange, she threw that out there as well, and Clarendon Hills. Even Elmhurst maybe? Jenks let me know your thoughts on houses and prices there (and schools).

 

For whatever reason she's against northern suburbs. I'm trying to come up with suburbs with a mix of location (commute on train to city) and good school districts (maybe mix in some NW burbs). Obviously houses in Hinsdale are $$$$$ so we'd have to buy something older and try to do a renovation. Part of me thinks that could work well, part of me watches HGTV shows and sees what can go wrong and how the money going out seemingly never comes to an end and you end up way over your budget.

 

Also trying to figure out if we can make this "the" house and hopefully never move, or leave it open to moving down the road. Just not sure how exactly to play this one moving forward.

Edited April 17, 2013 by IlliniKrush

[iamshack]

Love that this is turning into a real estate thread. I'll play.

 

Wife and I are going to rent in the city for another year (maybe Rock's place?) before buying a house. She's obsessed with quality of schools in whatever suburb we move to. As such, she's really intent on moving to a Hinsdale area (she also grew up there, which I think is a huge part of it). Jenks is looks like you're in La Grange, she threw that out there as well, and Clarendon Hills. Even Elmhurst maybe? Jenks let me know your thoughts on houses and prices there (and schools).

 

For whatever reason she's against northern suburbs. I'm trying to come up with suburbs with a mix of location (commute on train to city) and good school districts (maybe mix in some NW burbs). Obviously houses in Hinsdale are $$$$$ so we'd have to buy something older and try to do a renovation. Part of me thinks that could work well, part of me watches HGTV shows and sees what can go wrong and how the money going out seemingly never comes to an end and you end up way over your budget.

 

Also trying to figure out if we can make this "the" house and hopefully never move, or leave it open to moving down the road. Just not sure how exactly to play this one moving forward.

I lived in Hinsdale from the age of about 13 til I was 18. Didn't appreciate it then as I would now...when we moved in 1995, I remember everything old was getting knocked down for the land value...I am assuming there really isn't much there that is ripe for a reno?

 

In that general area, there is Western Springs, Oakbrook, Clarendon Hills, Lagrange and Lagrange Park, Downers Grove, Burr Ridge, Westmont, Elmhurst, etc...all are pretty decent western suburbs, and a fairly quick commute...I haven't seen the prices in those areas much though. I assume they are pretty strong.

 

One northern suburb I would LOVE if I moved back to the Chicago area is Riverwoods...lots of awesome properties up there.

Edited April 17, 2013 by iamshack

[Jenksismyhero]

Love that this is turning into a real estate thread. I'll play.

 

Wife and I are going to rent in the city for another year (maybe Rock's place?) before buying a house. She's obsessed with quality of schools in whatever suburb we move to. As such, she's really intent on moving to a Hinsdale area (she also grew up there, which I think is a huge part of it). Jenks is looks like you're in La Grange, she threw that out there as well, and Clarendon Hills. Jenks let me know your thoughts on houses and prices there (and schools).

 

For whatever reason she's against northern suburbs. I'm trying to come up with suburbs with a mix of location (commute on train to city) and good school districts (maybe mix in some NW burbs). Obviously houses in Hinsdale are $$$$$ so we'd have to buy something older and try to do a renovation. Part of me thinks that could work well, part of me watches HGTV shows and sees what can go wrong and how the money going out seemingly never comes to an end and you end up way over your budget.

 

Also trying to figure out if we can make this "the" house and hopefully never move, or leave it open to moving down the road. Just not sure how exactly to play this one moving forward.

 

In Hinsdale enjoy your property taxes. That to me seems like a place to move when you're 40-45 with a few kids about ready to go to middle school or high school, not somewhere to start a family. Otherwise you're spending a lot of money on schools that you don't use.

 

La Grange is a great town. We moved there mainly because our friends from college grew up there. My wife and I both grew up down "south" (central/western Illinois) in small towns so we didn't know much about any of the neighborhoods/suburbs in the Chicago area. But the schools are great (from what we read, our first kid is only 10 months old. But my wife really did research and found it to be one of the better school districts in the state, especially for the relative cost) and the home prices range from your multi-million dollar mansions to your 250-350k ranches/georgians. For each town you go west (Western Springs, Hinsdale) expect your property taxes and home prices to go up as well.

 

The best part of La Grange is the downtown area. Tons of high quality restaurants and shops. And the commute is great. There are a couple of express trains in the morning that get you into Union Station under 25 minutes. Same on the commute home. If you can find a place within walking distance obviously that's great, but you can also get parking permits for like $25 and no wait list (other communities like Hinsdale or Downers Grove have wait lists that take several years to get). And it's definitely a family-oriented town. With one or two exceptions, everyone in my neighborhood is probably 30-45 with a couple of kids.