Spring Grove · McHenry County · IL
Homes for sale in
Forest Ridge.
- Active listings
- 1
- Median list
- $865K
- Avg time on market
- 29 days
- Sold · last year
- 3
Active listings
1 home on the market
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About the community
Acre-plus custom homes in the far north corner of McHenry County.
Forest Ridge Estates is a low-density custom-home subdivision inside the Village of Spring Grove, just south of Illinois Route 173 off Solon Road and a few miles east of downtown Richmond. KLM Builders, a McHenry County builder founded in 1987, developed it as an estate community of ranch and two-story homes on wooded and open home sites of roughly an acre and up, with buyers choosing from the builder's plan library rather than a tract product line. Homes began going up around 2004 and the core of the neighborhood dates to the mid-2000s, but build-out was never fully completed, so a handful of lots remain and new construction alongside twenty-year-old neighbors is still possible.
At a glance
Acre-plus home sites
Home sites of roughly one acre and up, wooded and open, marketed by the builder as 1+ acre estate lots.
KLM Builders custom homes
Ranch and two-story plans built to order from the builder's library rather than a repeating tract pattern, so the streetscape varies house to house.
Three and four car garages
Oversized garages are the norm here, and they get used for boats, trailers, and lawn equipment as much as for cars.
Private well and septic
No municipal water or sewer bill, but septic pumping and well service belong on every buyer's due diligence list.
Low annual HOA dues
The association's 2026 budget assesses 89 lots at roughly $330 per lot per year, a few hundred dollars annually rather than monthly.
Active architectural review
The ARC reviews exterior changes and new construction under covenants recorded in 2011 and amended in 2022, and it has rejected non-conforming plans.
Chain O'Lakes and Glacial Park nearby
Chain O'Lakes State Park, Glacial Park Conservation Area, and the Nippersink Creek canoe landings are all a short drive.
What’s close
Forest Ridge sits off Solon Road just south of Route 173, close to the Wisconsin line, with Richmond a few minutes west and Spring Grove's village center about five miles southeast.
- Schools
- Nippersink Community Consolidated School District 2 for elementary and middle, Richmond-Burton Community High School District 157 for high school. Confirm the assigned grade school by address.
- Highway
- Illinois Route 173 runs past the north edge, US Route 12 through Richmond heads northwest toward Lake Geneva, and Route 31 runs south toward McHenry. I-94 is roughly a half hour east.
- Train
- No station in Spring Grove. Metra's Milwaukee District North line is reached at Fox Lake, the northern terminus, or at McHenry on the branch, each about a twenty minute drive.
- Hospital
- Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, whose emergency department is a Level II trauma center, is the nearest full-service hospital.
- Shopping
- Everyday errands in Richmond and Spring Grove. Full grocery and big-box retail are along the Route 31 corridor in McHenry, in Antioch, or across the line in Lake Geneva.
- Recreation
- Chain O'Lakes State Park, Glacial Park Conservation Area, Nippersink Creek canoe launches, and the Village of Spring Grove parks including Horse Fair, Hatchery, and Thelen.
What it’s actually like to live here
Forest Ridge is what buyers picture when they say they want land without going fully rural. Homes sit on roughly an acre or more, set back from the street, with mature trees and open sightlines that most collar-county subdivisions cannot offer. The garages are the tell: three and four bays are standard, and they get used for boats, trailers, campers, and equipment. Because KLM built to order rather than to a repeating tract pattern, the streetscape has genuine variety, ranches next to two-stories, different elevations and materials, without the sameness that flattens a lot of mid-2000s neighborhoods.
The association is small, transparent, and financially conservative. Dues run a few hundred dollars a year rather than a few hundred a month, the volunteer board publishes quarterly financials and minutes, and reserves are held in laddered Treasury bills. The architectural committee has kept the original standard intact and has demonstrably rejected plans that did not meet the covenants. For a neighborhood of this size, that level of governance and disclosure is unusually good, and it is a real part of what protects value here.
The tradeoffs are worth hearing before you fall in love with a lot. This is not a walkable place: there is no sidewalk network to a coffee shop and no playground inside the subdivision, and Forest Ridge does not appear on the village's list of neighborhood parks. Homes run on private well and septic, which means no water bill but also periodic pumping, eventual well pump and pressure tank service, and inspections that belong in your due diligence. The nearest Metra platform is a twenty minute drive and a Loop commute is a genuine undertaking, so this location rewards people who work locally or from home. And because the builder never fully sold out the plat, a few vacant parcels remain, which means occasional construction activity and no guarantee that the empty lot next door stays empty.
The questions buyers actually ask
Forest Ridge FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Forest Ridge. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- What does the HOA actually cover?
- Forest Ridge Estates is run by a self-managed, resident-volunteer board. The association's proposed 2026 budget assesses 89 lots at roughly $330 per lot per year, which funds common-area landscaping and irrigation, tree replacement, the Solon Road entrance monument and its lighting, insurance, and administration. It does not cover water, sewer, trash, or snow removal, because homes are on private well and septic and driveways are the owner's responsibility. A transfer fee applies at resale and an Architectural Review Committee must approve exterior changes and new construction. Confirm the current assessment with the association.
- What are property taxes like?
- Roughly $11,000 – $21,000 per year, depending on home size and value. McHenry County assessor records are the source of truth. Happy to pull a specific bill on any home you're considering.
- When was Forest Ridge built?
- KLM Builders built the community between 2004 and 2007.
- What's the typical closing timeline?
- 30 to 60 days from accepted offer to keys. Cash deals can close in two weeks. Conventional financing is usually closer to 60.
- Where exactly is Forest Ridge, and is it really in Spring Grove?
- Yes. Forest Ridge Estates is inside the Village of Spring Grove in McHenry County, with 60081 addresses, just south of Illinois Route 173 off Solon Road. It is roughly two to three miles from downtown Richmond and about five miles from the older Spring Grove village center. Be careful searching online, because there are unrelated Forest Ridge subdivisions in Streamwood and Palos Heights that have nothing to do with this one.
- Is there an HOA, what does it cost, and what does it cover?
- Yes, the Forest Ridge Estates Homeowners Association, self-managed by a volunteer board. Its proposed 2026 budget assesses 89 lots at roughly $330 per lot per year. That funds common-area landscaping and irrigation, tree replacement, the entrance monument and its lighting, insurance, and administration. It does not cover water, sewer, trash, or snow removal. A transfer fee applies at resale, and an Architectural Review Committee must approve exterior changes. Confirm the current assessment before you write an offer.
- Are homes on municipal water and sewer, or well and septic?
- Private well and private septic, which is standard for acreage subdivisions in this part of McHenry County and part of why the lots are as large as they are. Practically that means no monthly water or sewer bill, but you own the maintenance: septic pumping on a regular cycle and eventual service on the well pump, pressure tank, and treatment equipment. Order a well and septic inspection during your due diligence and ask the seller for pumping and service records.
- What schools serve Forest Ridge?
- Elementary and middle school are Nippersink Community Consolidated School District 2, and high school is Richmond-Burton Community High School District 157, whose only school is Richmond-Burton High School a few miles away. Nippersink Middle School in Richmond is the district's only sixth through eighth grade building, so that assignment is structurally certain. The grade school is the open question, because District 2 runs two K-5 buildings, and the Village of Spring Grove tells residents to call the district office to find out which one an address feeds. Confirm by address before you rely on it.
- Can I still buy a lot and build new here?
- Possibly. KLM Builders still maintains an active Forest Ridge community page with a lot map, and the association's June 2025 board minutes record builder-owned lots changing hands that year. Some third-party new-home sites show the community as closed out, so contact the builder directly to confirm what is actually available. If you do build, your plans need Architectural Review Committee approval under the recorded covenants, and the committee has rejected non-conforming plans before.
- What do homes cost here, and how are property taxes?
- Forest Ridge sits at the upper end of the Spring Grove and northern McHenry County range because of the acreage, the square footage, and the custom construction, with real spread between the smaller ranch plans and the largest two-stories. Rather than quote a number that goes stale, look at the Market snapshot on this page, which pulls live from the MLS. On taxes, plan on an effective rate in the neighborhood of 2.1 to 2.5 percent of market value before exemptions, which is typical for McHenry County, and always pull the actual current bill for the specific parcel.
- Who is the real estate agent for Forest Ridge?
- Joe Keegan is the local licensed Illinois real estate broker who covers Forest Ridge in Spring Grove, IL through Subdiview, a neighborhood-first home search for the Chicago suburbs and collar counties. Joe prices and negotiates from the live MRED sold comps for Forest Ridge specifically, not national averages, and can help you buy or sell here. Reach Joe at 224-385-8779 or joe@joekeeganhomes.com.
Your local agent
Joe knows Forest Ridge
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- Spring Grove specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Market snapshot
Forest Ridge, by the numbers
Live MRED data, refreshed daily. The numbers below tell you what this market is doing today, not what Zillow's algorithm thinks it might be doing six weeks from now.
Typical list price
$865,000
Typical sale price · last 90 days
$575,000
Homes for sale right now
1
Avg time on market
29 days
Sold in the last year
3
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC for the period August 17, 2025 through August 17, 2026. Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC does not guarantee nor is it in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
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Schools serving Forest Ridge
Where Forest Ridge homes go to school
Homes in Forest Ridge are most often zoned to Richmond-Burton HS. Open a school to see its area, the district, and every home for sale that feeds it.
School assignment is derived from the school the MRED listing agent entered and is not a guarantee. Always verify current attendance boundaries with the district before writing an offer.
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