We have been homeless for three months now and the real estate search has been in full swing. Selling our condo was the best thing that could have happened as it forced us to re-examine our priorities. The game plan was to find a small condo in a great location. Given the state of the Chicago Public School system, we limited to a handful of neighborhoods. I stayed up until the wee hours, reading about schools, scouring the MLS and mapquesting obscure streets in order to ensure their proximity to desirable playgrounds. Despite our efforts, the results of our initial search were quite underwhelming. It's a buyer's market, but Chicago isn't cheap. In the end, the best option seemed to be a 2 bedroom loft near the corner of Western Avenue and Irving Park Road. The street was relatively cute, the school amazing and the price right. It fit the required criteria, but we weren't even a little bit excited.
On a whim, I decided to look up some house listings in Evanston. There were tons of options at our price point, many of them in clearly sketchy neighborhoods. I eventually found a nearly 100 year old house near the Central Street shopping district. The house was in need of significant repairs, but I fell in love with the neighborhood. The pretty old houses, giant trees and little kids running around parent-free were major selling points. The notion of being closer to family and having a real yard were irresistible. Given the notoriously high taxes, Amiel was reluctant about Evanston but committed to leaving the city. He insisted that Elijah needed a yard and a place to ride a bike. Someone snagged that first property, but we saw a cute little ranch (with a proper yard and greenhouse) last week. Made an offer Friday evening and the final offer was just accepted tonight!! So excited!!
On a whim, I decided to look up some house listings in Evanston. There were tons of options at our price point, many of them in clearly sketchy neighborhoods. I eventually found a nearly 100 year old house near the Central Street shopping district. The house was in need of significant repairs, but I fell in love with the neighborhood. The pretty old houses, giant trees and little kids running around parent-free were major selling points. The notion of being closer to family and having a real yard were irresistible. Given the notoriously high taxes, Amiel was reluctant about Evanston but committed to leaving the city. He insisted that Elijah needed a yard and a place to ride a bike. Someone snagged that first property, but we saw a cute little ranch (with a proper yard and greenhouse) last week. Made an offer Friday evening and the final offer was just accepted tonight!! So excited!!
No comments:
Post a Comment