The best suburbs of Chicago you may not have toured yet: a home buyer's guide to McHenry County

Why the far northwest belongs on a list of the best suburbs of Chicago

McHenry County had 310,229 residents in the 2020 Census. Metra's line from downtown reaches McHenry at about 51 rail miles and Harvard at about 63, which is the trade-off in one sentence: more house, more yard, and more open land than the inner suburbs, in exchange for a longer trip downtown. Buyers who work remotely part of the week, or who work in the northwest suburban job corridor rather than the Loop, often find the math works in their favor.

What you get for the distance is variety. There are lake neighborhoods, a historic town square, river towns, newer subdivisions, a large active-adult community, and farm country, all within a short drive of each other. We are not going to rank these towns. The best one depends on your commute, your budget, and what you want to do on a Saturday.

The commute: Metra's Union Pacific Northwest line and the roads

The Union Pacific Northwest line runs from Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago to Harvard, with McHenry County stops at Cary, Pingree Road, Crystal Lake, and Woodstock along the way. Many trains on the line begin or end at Crystal Lake, which gives Crystal Lake and Cary the most frequent service in the county. A branch to McHenry runs only during weekday rush hours, so check the schedule carefully if you are counting on it.

Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, and Huntley have no train station. Residents there either drive to a station or drive to work, and their advantage is the road network: Randall Road, Route 47, and Interstate 90 along the county's southern edge. If your job is in Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elgin, or Rockford, those towns may give you the shorter commute. Drive the route at rush hour before you make an offer. It is the single most useful hour of research you can do.

Lakes, the Fox River, and the Chain O'Lakes

Water is the reason many people end up here. Crystal Lake itself has public beaches run by the park district. The Fox River runs through McHenry, Cary, and Algonquin, and north of McHenry it connects to the Chain O'Lakes, a system of connected lakes that draws boaters from across the region and is home to Chain O'Lakes State Park. The McHenry County Conservation District adds trails, prairie, and woods across the county.

Waterfront and water-rights homes come with extra homework. Flood zones along the Fox River can require flood insurance, which a lender will confirm with a flood determination early in the process. Older lake cottages that were converted to year-round homes can have septic systems, shared wells, or small lots that need a careful appraisal. None of that is a reason to avoid them. It is a reason to involve your lender before you fall in love.

Living in Crystal Lake, IL and its neighbors: schools and daily life

People moving to Crystal Lake, IL with children usually ask about schools first. We are lenders, not education experts, so we will not rank districts. School district boundaries here do not follow town lines, and two houses in the same town can feed different elementary and high schools. The Illinois Report Card, published by the State Board of Education, lets you look up any school's data by name. Confirm the district for a specific address with the district office before you write an offer.

Daily life differs by town more than the map suggests. Downtown Crystal Lake and the Woodstock Square are places you can walk to dinner. Randall Road in Algonquin and Lake in the Hills is where the county does its big-box shopping. Huntley has grown quickly with newer subdivisions and Sun City, a large community for buyers 55 and older. Cary and McHenry are river towns with their own small downtowns. Spend a Saturday in each before you decide.

The property-tax reality

Here is the part the glossy lists skip. McHenry County property taxes are high relative to home prices, and the tax line can be a large share of your monthly payment. Our payment calculator uses about 2.4% of value as a local planning default. On a $400,000 home that is roughly $800 a month before principal, interest, or insurance, and actual bills vary by town and by taxing districts.

This does not make the county a bad value, but it changes how you shop. Look at the actual tax bill for each listing, not an estimate, and check whether the current owner has exemptions that will not transfer to you. Our guide to McHenry County property taxes and the homestead exemption walks through how the bill is built and what you can do about it.

McHenry County, IL homes and what the housing stock means for financing

Most homes here are straightforward to finance with a conventional, FHA, or VA loan. Subdivision homes in Lake in the Hills, Algonquin, and Huntley tend to appraise without drama because there are plenty of similar recent sales. First-time buyers should also look at the Illinois Housing Development Authority's down payment programs, which we offer.

The edges of the market are where a local portfolio lender earns its keep. Victorians near the Woodstock Square, lake cottages in Wonder Lake and around Crystal Lake, homes on five or ten acres near Marengo or Richmond, condos in associations that do not meet Fannie Mae's requirements, and new construction on your own lot can all be hard for a lender that sells every loan. Because Home State Bank can keep loans on its own books, and approves, closes, and services them in-house, those properties can often still be financed, based on judgment about the property and the borrower.

• Subdivision homes and townhomes: conventional, FHA, VA, and IHDA assistance for eligible buyers
• Acreage and rural properties: USDA may apply in eligible areas, and portfolio loans where the land is unusual
• Lake cottages, non-warrantable condos, and unique homes: portfolio lending
• Building new: a one-close construction-to-permanent loan with local draw inspections
• Selling one home to buy another: a bridge loan may let you buy before you sell