We are buying this property, we close on it in about 3 weeks. Annie just sent an update to my parents, which sums it up pretty well. Here it is ...
After 15 years of thinking we would move back out west, down south, or even up north to Lake Geneva, I have finally accepted that we are staying in Illinois at least until the kids graduate from High School. As I've always said, I love this neighborhood and our community and our home has adapted well from 0-3 children over the years. Jeff has been looking at riverfront properties online for awhile now. He found a great one over New Years break, but before we could even look at it, it was under contract. This one, he spotted when he was on a layover in NRT. I asked Diane if she had time to show it and I saw it the next day. The lot and the garage alone are worth the $. The house is not in great shape, although the photos don't look too bad. It will need to be gutted, but because of it's size (715 sqft), it won't take much $. Diane has an architect friend who is going to draw up some plans that could include a second story since we know we already have to replace the roof. It's a 1.5 mile bike ride to Silver Lake which is quite a cute little town. There are a couple of diners (that have fish frys), a Dairy Queen, Italian Restaurant and the Packer Inn. There is also a bike trail system that brings you to the park where Kadi's kids play soccer. There is also a bar/restaurant 1/4 mile north of the house. I think it may only be open on weekends right now. The land across the river is a flood plain, so it will never be built on and has amazing sunsets. It has a deck overlooking the river which Diane said would not be allowed to be built today, but as long as we maintain it, we can keep it. The neighborhood isn't fabulous, but it's not too bad. The immediate neighbor to the south has kids and a nice, well kept, updated home. The house to the north is a tiny abandoned cottage. We hope you'll like it, and we welcome your kayaks, fishing poles and bikes. Our intentions are for it to be a place for family to gather and enjoy the river.
