Welcome to Hidden Lake Estates

Unique in many ways, Hidden Lake Estates offers fine homes in a wonderful woodland setting. Nestled against the forest preserves, a private lake provides year round beauty.With only 51 units on nearly 25 acres you'll get the feeling of a resort hide-away. A community of caring and involved homeowners is reflected in the appearance of the property.

The top-quality duplex style construction avoids the row house look of many developments while making every unit an end-unit, and three single unit buildings only adds to the attractiveness of the property. The spacious open interiors with fine amenities and truly individual layouts and designs make each unit a unique gem unto itself. Certainly this is the most deluxe community in Palos Hills.

The Hidden Lake Association, with the cooperation of a property management firm, strives to maintain the highest standards in operations and communications. They welcome your interest, and have put together this information to help you learn more about the Hidden Lake Estates community in particular, and home ownership in general.

Townhouse Style Living

Buying a new home is a big decision, and many options exist in both housing styles and ownership styles. A few key points prospective buyers should consider include, the extent of responsibility the home owner takes on, the types of financial and insurance requirements the homeowner must meet, and the manner in which work gets accomplished in the home and on the property. See our frequently asked questions for some additional information. If you want a back yard without worrying about cutting the grass, townhouse style living just might be for you.

Housing communities are governed by various laws in one form or another that form an association of home owners to operate the property. This association is the liaison between the property management company and the home owners, and acts as the governing body to execute and monitor operations, define rules to control the operations, and collect fees to cover the cost of operations on a not-for-profit basis. Some communities may even incorporate themselves on that basis.

At Hidden Lake Estates, the association fees cover a substantial portion of property maintenance. As one might expect, this covers the basic services of garbage and recycling pick-up, seasonal lawn and tree care, leaf clean-up, and snow / ice removal. But in addition, each building is periodically maintained for wood staining and roof cleaning and treatments as well as periodic care for sidewalks, driveways and roads. Homeowners establish their own landscaping and are free to use the land around their home within broad guidelines (under Association review). The only "yard maintenance" required from the home-owner is general care such as watering and feeding. Many lovely flower gardens thrive at Hidden Lake Estates and "curb-appeal" is outstanding.

The Hidden Lake Association meets at least quarterly with a standard Roberts Rules meeting to discuss the details of operations. These are open meetings to all owners with a “new business” portion of the meeting that is open to the floor. This allows owners to hear what issues the Association has at hand and to have a voice in the property operations. Between these meetings, calls and work orders can be submitted directly to the management company to deal with most issues. Although some associations operate without a property management company, this is the typical way a housing association operates.

The establishment of the housing community as a legal entity is a document called a "Declaration" and tends to be written in legal terms making it a difficult read for most people; but it is advisable to clearly understand which set of ownership governing laws prevail. Specifically for Hidden Lake Estates, the "town home style" property is governed by the Condominium Property Act of the State of Illinois .

The "Declaration" empowers, the association to create a set of “rules and regulations” and this should be a simple booklet stating in simple language what responsibilities each homeowner shares, what the association does for the homeowner, and how disputes are resolved. This is usually available to serious prospective buyers prior to completing a purchase. This is one document you'll want to fully read and understand since it will tell you a lot about your prospective home life and educate you on how to be a good neighbor in your new community. You'll find Hidden Lake Estates' rules and regulations are just that and more. In fact we prefer to think of it as our Code of Conduct. Friendly assistance is offered to owners, and simple guidelines are provided regarding day-to-day matters for the comfort and convenience of all residents and visitors.

Each individual's situation is unique and there are many nice homes on many nice properties. Although it could be argued that "community living" gives the home owner less control, it is clear that there is less work for the home owner and many find this arrangement attractive.

Hidden Lake Estates no longer has the property developer building and selling units, so please check with your local real estate agencies for listings.