From the monthly archives:

February 2006

Chicago and Suburban Buyer Property Transfer Taxes

February 28, 2006

Trying to decide whether to buy a home in the city of Chicago or in a suburb? One fact that tips the scales slightly in favor of the suburbs is the city of Chicago’s real estate transfer tax for buyers. Buyers in the city must pay $7.50 per $1000 paid. That means buyers of a [...]

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Home Buying/Selling From Contract to Closing

February 26, 2006

Today’s Chicago Tribune has a good article by Lew Sichelman on the home buying/selling process from signed sales contract to the closing. “Buying a house is a risk-filled road to final sale” is a good overview of all the steps that must be completed to actually close on a home sale. Since real estate laws [...]

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2005 3 Bedroom House Average Sale Prices – Park Ridge out to Barrington

February 25, 2006

Below is a data map of 2005 average sale prices for 3 bedroom houses in Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights, Palatine, and the Barrington area. The darker the green, the higher the price. Park Ridge had the highest average sale price of the group at $501,893. Neighboring Des Plaines has the lowest [...]

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Being a Full Service REALTOR® Can be a Challenge

February 23, 2006

Many of us in the real estate industry are committed to providing full service and even going above and beyond traditional service levels providing additional value-added services. I, for example, provide my sellers home staging assistance. This is a service that most listing agents would refer to a home staging company to be paid by [...]

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And You Thought Chicago Home Prices Were High!

February 22, 2006

Home prices in the Chicago area got you down? A new real estate blog will help make Chicago area prices look like bargains. Today I discovered, “America’s Most Overvalued Real Estate Markets“, a real estate blog that features “million dollar slums” and “crack house classics”. The blog is currently running a contest to find the [...]

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Norwood Park, a Dutch Colonial & Zillow Goes Crazy!

February 21, 2006

Today I worked on a market analysis for a very nice 3 bedroom 2 bath Dutch Colonial in the Norwood Park area of Chicago. Norwood Park is in the far northwest part of Chicago, west of Jefferson Park, south of Edison Park and the suburb of Niles, east of O’ Hare International Airport, and north [...]

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Take a Buyer Agent with You When You Visit New Construction

February 19, 2006

I got a call this morning from a couple wanting me to help them buy a new condo near the city. They were ready to make an offer this week. There’s just one problem, the condo developer won’t pay me a commission since the buyers had made their visit to the sales office without me.
This [...]

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Zillow Case Study – 17W322 Karban Rd., Oakbrook Terrace

February 18, 2006

This morning I was working on some marketing for my new listing at 17W322 Karban Rd in Oakbrook Terrace. I’m marketing it to builders since the lot size is nearly half an acre, one of the largest lots in Oakbrook Terrace. Lots of new large homes are being built in the area since a few [...]

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This is a Blog. A Blog is…

February 17, 2006

Today I was reminded that not everyone knows what a blog is. I was submitting this website to several search engines. One search engine initially rejected my submission because the website description contained the word “blog” which its dictionary didn’t recognize. So here’s a definition of a blog and a little bit about what I’m [...]

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It’s All In The Details

February 16, 2006

Don’t like keeping track of a million details? Then don’t go into real estate. Having previously worked in information technology, I’m used to making sure that all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed. And yes, many of my friends would describe me as anal. Yet, listing a property even tests my [...]

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