Cindy Strahota's Blog

The new River Bend Community Park was previously a youth jail.

River Bend Community Park near Villa Marie and Weber.

Then it sat vacant and abandoned until the St. Charles Park district partnered with the Kane County Forest Preserve, area homeowners, and legislators to transfor this property into  a wonderful park located at Villa  Marie Road and Weber Drive.

The new park consists of  tennis courts, soccer and baseball fields, a dog park, a picnic pavilion, children’s play ground, a fishing pond, a bike path and the newly opened skate park.

An official Grand Opening is scheduled for May 2012.

Read more in this article from the St. Charles Republican.

“Charm” was one of the most repeated adjectives used to describe the appeal of  downtown St. Charles at a recent community meeting that I attended.    The communities along the Fox River can all be described as charming as these downtown areas mainly “grew up” around the turn of the century with the river as their hub.  It is one central reason why we love to call this area home and visitors leave with memorable visions of the beautiful scenery.

If you appreciate the “charming” downtown areas of St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Elgin and the other towns on the river, you will definitely appreciate the efforts of the  Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley .  They work to preserve several  historic sites like the Beith House, the Durant House and the Fabyan Villa and Japanese Gardens.

Please visit their website to see upcoming events and support their efforts to maintain the charm in our surrounding communities.  We have an interesting heritage to preserve  that not only supports our property values but preserves this gift to pass on to the future residents of the Fox Valley.

What do you love most about the charming  Fox River communities?

Realtors, Appraisers, Assessors, Builders all use square footage in determining valuation. But how is square footage determined? Below is a link to a good article that will provide some clarification.

But these  brief highlights  will  give you the basics:

Most appraisers, builders and assessors adhere to the ANSI standards  (American National Standards Institute).

• Outside walls are measured to determine the dimensions–except condos interior walls are measured.
• Any area below grade cannot be included…even if it is partially below grade, it  is not included.
• All included areas must be finished and heated.

Calculating Square Footage

The  square footage of a home is most importantly used as a basis for comparing it to other homes.  Comparable properties within a neighborhood typically sell within a 10% range. The tax assessor is also using square footage to determine the assessed valuation of a property.

If you have specific questions about square footage send me an email or a  text and I will be happy to try to help you.

Schools have a significant influence on property values and I like to provide my clients with as much information as possible to make an informed decision about their homes purchase. Please check out this informative article regarding the schools in this area:

Chicago Magazine article

I attended the first meeting looking for community input in the formation of a new comprehensive plan for the city of St. Charles.  A room full of citizens and business owners created a huge list of suggestions and concerns that will determine the future of  the community of St. Charles.  One of the main concerns for the citizens was to find ways to preserve the charm and character of St. Charles while optimizing the Fox River as the center of the downtown.  

Contribute to and find out more information at the webpage for the Comprehesive Plan for the city of St. Charles, IL

Out here in unincorporated Kane County, Illinois the street addresses have a directional letter in them such as 7N400 Something Road. I often get asked what does this mean?

The “zero” point in Chicago is State Street and Madison Ave. From there all streets are North, South, East or West. The unincorporated areas surrounding the city have continued this system and the numbering is based on how far west, north or south the property is located from the zero point of State and Madison.   (East is limited  because Lake Michigan is east.) Most of the unincorporated areas of each of the counties surrounding Chicago also adhere to this addressing system. So it easy to figure how far you are from the city.

Learn more about the grid  addressing system for Chicago from this Wikipedia article.

If you are buying a home it’s a good idea to check if it is located in a flood zone. You may be required to pay an additional fee in your mortgage for flood insurance if your home is located in the flood zone.http://www.msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

See why St. Charles, IL is a great place to live and was chosen by Family Circle Magazine  as a top ten best town for 2011.

I love this community with it’s beautiful downtown with the Fox River at the center of all the scenery, the wonderful antiquing and restaurants, great schools, beautiful parks and convenient location to all that the major  metropolitan city of  Chicago offers.

Let me find you a great deal  on a home in  St. Charles, IL.

District  #303 high schools; St. Charles  East and St. Charles North have another reason to be proud after making the recently published list  known as the  :  Washington Post High School Challenge

The list measures how effectively a public high school prepares it’s students for college. The simple formula divides the number of AP tests by the number of graduating seniors to get a rating.  

Some local schools that made the list:

Saint Charles North,     St. Charles East,    Wheaton North, Wheaton Warrenville South, Neuqua Valley. See the entire list when you click on the above link.