Mar 6, 2018
Where should you live?
Before you can even begin your process of purchasing a new home, you’ll need to do some thinking! Where do you want to live? How much do you want to spend? What kind of house are you looking for? … etc. This guide is going to help you understand what type of criteria will best help you find a city / community to live in.
Overstreet builds custom homes throughout the suburbs of Chicago. Click here to find some of the locations where we build. If you don’t find the town you’re looking for, please call and inquire – we are very flexible!
Determine your budget. Budget will help dictate where you want to live because properties can vary from $30,000 to $1 million (any beyond). If you don’t know your ability to spend, it becomes very difficult to determine where you can afford to live. Dreaming is great, but your builder’s goal is to help you align your wants AND needs! If you haven’t thought through that yet, talk to your Overstreet sales person and we can get you directed to someone to help you figure out home financing.
Once you have an idea of what you plan to spend, we can help you determine how much will go toward property and how much of that budget will go toward the home itself. There may be other factors, so you’ll need to work with your custom home rep to work through the details.
Check out these locations where we have pre-determined price points:
Ashwood Park – starting in the $500s!
Highland Woods – starting at $292,000!
If you are looking for that truly CUSTOM home or even something a little different in terms of locations, see some of our Offsite locations here!
Determining where you want to live is going to rely heavily on the questions below. Be honest with yourself about where each of these sits on your priority list. Depending on budget, ALL of your wants may not be attainable, so keep in mind that you’ll want to know where you are willing to give to get your best bang for your buck.
So, where DO you want to live?
What type of atmosphere? From communities with a pool and/or clubhouse to the inner workings of a “downtown” area, you’ll need to determine what you want from your neighborhood. Other options include being out in the “country”.. finding wide open spaces with plenty of land, or even living in a highrise condo in a big city, just to point out the extremes.
Where do you work? Most people decide to build a home AFTER they have landed a solid job, which means your work location may already be planted. Determining how far you are willing to drive to and from work each day may give you a radius for locations which you are willing to live in. If you work from home most of the time this is less of an issue. However, many people will eventually have to go in to an office. That may mean driving… or even flying. Whatever that looks like for you, you’ll want to consider your commute and how often you’ll be on the road (or in the air!)
Where you want your kids to go to school? Schools can be a critical part of city / community selection. Are you sending your kids to a public or private school? Will they be bussed or will you have to drop them off and pick them up? These are all questions that will help you determine a general vicinity to live in.
The Ashwood Park community belongs to the coveted Naperville District 204 and the families in Highland Woods send their children to the Burlington School District 301.
Do you have a religious organization that you are a part of? If so, how often do you meet for services, prayer sessions, charity work or group meetings? Sometimes people are comfortable leaving their current worship location, others are not and again it is important to determine how far from that facility you want to be.
What about other clubs / organizations? Sport involvement, music lessons, recreational activities through park districts or private operations can all dictate where you might want to be. Again, it is important to consider how many days you will be traveling back and forth to get to the programs that you and your family are involved in.
What kind of local amenities will you need? With more amenities, comes more cost. The closer your conveniences are, generally you’ll be looking at a higher price tag. Places to think about: grocery store, pharmacy, doctors, other shopping, restaurants, postal services and entertainment (from parks to movie theaters, etc.) Think about how often you will be visiting these types of places and what you are willing to pay to be close or far away.
Do you have other transportation needs? Think about the types of services your family might use. Do you need to go into a city often and does that mean driving, taking a train or even a bus service? If you travel out of town often you may want to be close to an airport. Keep in mind that being close to these conveniences may mean a little extra noise. Know what you are comfortable with. Your builder unfortunately cannot control those things, and everyone has a different noise tolerance!
Are you looking for a specific type of property? Homesite selection is extremely important. If you are looking for special properties, you may be limited to certain areas. Things like extra acreage, walk out or look out properties, lake or pond properties or a property with wide open space behind it may take moving further away from other conveniences.
There is A LOT to think about! Make a list of the most important things to you and your family. Rank them from “must haves” to “wants”. When you approach your builder to help you determine your best location, have this list ready to present. It is critical to know that the better the schools, closer to conveniences and more property you want, the cost will most likely go up.
Come talk to your local Overstreet Builders rep and let them help you determine which location makes the most sense!