Hometown Aurora

Please be careful about anything with the Bigelow name attached to it. They do not screen their labor employees very carefully, and most of the homes they build are falling apart just a few years later. Very shotty construction.

I don't live there but have been in the neighborhood a few times visiting and know that the driving in there is a pain in the neck. That's all I can offer. Take a ride through there during rush hour.

Hi M. -

We moved last year from HomeTown. We had one of the first homes that was built and we lived there for seven years. We never had any problems with our home, it seemed like it was well built, but overall I would not really recommend living in that neighborhood.

First of all, the builders were not honest with us when we bought from them. We were told that construction would be completed within a few years of our home being finished -- construction is STILL going on now seven years later! Who knows how much longer it will still be going on, and that greatly affects your resale value.

The homes are very close together and you don't have much yard.

There are speed bumps everywhere; and while it might seem like it's a good idea to have them with so many children in the neighborhood, I think it actually makes it more dangerous. People tend to speed up in between the speed bumps because it takes so long to get around in there.

I know that the fire department has had a hard time maneuvering their trucks because of the very narrow streets, which always made me a little bit nervous in case we needed them.

You have to go to a central mailbox to get your mail; they don't deliver it to your home. It was a pain in the neck in the wintertime and especially once I had my son to have to either walk or drive to go get my mail.

It was hard to sell our home. We were lucky and had a corner lot, so I think that may have helped us a bit, but it still took a long time. Since construction is still ongoing, I think most people would just rather buy completely new. And there are tons of homes for sale in there, so that makes it difficult too.

We bought our first home in there and really didn't know any better. If we could do it over again, we definitely would not have made that choice. I hope that I've been able to help some. Good luck.

K.

Hi,

I used to lived in Hometown Aurora. It is a great place for a starter home. And for families. There are so many activies and event for you to get involved in and meet your neighbors. Everyone there is very friendly. You can drive/walk down the street and everyone will wave to you whether they know you or not. As far as the houses, they are decent quality and size, but they are very close together. And there are some other downfalls to the neighborhood. The school district is terrible, the west side of the neighborhood is on Farnsworth Ave which is known to be shady. I used to live on that side and we had some problems with people across Farnsworth. Nothing major at all, just annoying things like teenagers coming over the burm at all hours making a lot of noise, people shooting off firecrackers all the time, and honestly just low class.
But all in all, I spent 4 years there and loved it. We were just ready for a larger home in a good school district. I think that's why there are so many homes on the market too. The only thing I can tell you is to live on the east side of the neighborhood, off of Serendipity. It borders a nicer area. Good Luck.

I do not know much about their homes in Hometown but I live in their townhomes in N. Aurora and our association is currently in a lawsuit with them for poorly and not up to code decks and porches. The heating system sucks in the winter, the insulation and windows are very drafty. I personally will never buy anything with the Bigilow name attached ever again. I like my house but they are poorly built and not energy efficient as they claim to be. If you can I recommend looking somewhere else.

As a teacher near the school that feeds into Hometown Aurora, I can tell you many people like you thought the houses were cute and figured they fed into Dist 204 and instead fed into Dist 131. This is probably the reason for the number of homes there on the market. As a teacher in Dist 131 I can tell you I would never leave the area and adore the students. The district is primarily low income, 74% Hispanic, 12% African American, and 12% white. As another persons advice mentioned below "the school district is terrible". I take offense to this comment as a teacher. What is terrible is that in low income areas we don't get the money that the school five minutes away gets. As with any low income area you don't get the optimum parental involvement due to work demands. So to say terrible I think is unfair. Believe you me, our students are getting a fine education and ALL of our elementary schools made AYP for the past two years.

There are many people moving out of East Aurora into the Hometown area becuase it is nicer than where they live yet still affordable. I have had a few students in Hometown who seem to like it, yet complain about the rules of the association and the fact that all the houses are the same and not made very well. Take that for what it's worth..they are teenagers.

There is some gang activity going on from you just minutes away that may or may not effect your decision. Good Luck!

I have not had any experience with the builder but Hometown Aurora buts up to a so-so kind of neighborhood.
Good Luck.
J.

We looked at homes there last year and really liked the area and the houses were all nice. We didn't like how close they were to each other but the neighborhood feel seemed nice. We ended up in a different suburb so we didn't buy there. Good luck.