May 2006

Air Conditioning is Part of Staging Your Home in Summer

May 30, 2006

On Sunday I showed 2 and 3 bedroom condos in the Uptown and Rogers Park areas of Chicago. In the afternoon my buyers and I walked 3 blocks from my car to a 3 bedroom condo in 90 degree heat. We looked forward to stepping inside to cool off. Instead we found a condo with Click to continue...

Sellers, Check Your MLS Listings

May 29, 2006

On Saturday I showed 8 homes. 4 of them almost didn’t get on my buyers’ list of homes to view because their information in the Multiple Listing Systems (MLSs) wasn’t complete. One of my buyers’ requirements is a dishwasher. So I made that part of my search criteria. Not finding a lot of condos in Click to continue...

Learning About Lakeview

May 27, 2006

I spent yesterday afternoon helping a couple of out-of-town buyers get familiar with the Lakeview area of Chicago. With all there is in Lakeview, they were on information overload by early evening. They wanted to know where the grocery stores were. Counting only Jewel, Dominick’s and Whole Foods there are 6 grocery stores in Lakeview. Click to continue...

Pick an Agent, Then Start Looking at Homes Part 3

May 25, 2006

In Part 1 and 2 I gave a couple of reasons why home buyers shouldn’t attend any home showings unless they are using a buyer’s agent they chose. Many buyers will say, “But I’m just starting to look. I want to get an idea of what’s on the market. I don’t want to pick a Click to continue...

Pick an Agent, Then Start Looking at Homes Part 2

May 24, 2006

Yesterday I wrote about the couple who found a home they wanted to buy and how I had to decline helping them since another agent showed them the property. When the other agent showed the home another problem arose that home buyers should be aware of. The agent did not inform the couple whether or Click to continue...

Pick an Agent, Then Start Looking at Homes Part 1

May 23, 2006

Sunday I received a call from a couple who had found a home they wanted to buy in Palatine and wanted me to be their buyer’s agent. Unfortunately, I had to decline. The couple had seen the home in an ad and called the broker the property was listed with. One of the broker’s agents Click to continue...

Mortgage Interest Rate Outlook

May 21, 2006

The Federal Reserve performs a tough balancing act. Keep rates to low and the economy over heats creating inflation. Push rates to high and you choke off growth and job creation. So, what is the Fed to do? Well last week the Federal Reserve confirmed its fear of inflation by raising the discount rates again Click to continue...

Don’t Let Peeling Paint Cost You Thousands of Dollars

May 20, 2006

While on the brokers tour in Schaumburg yesterday I came a across a very nice 2 bedroom townhome priced at $334,000. It’s been on the market 3 months now. In my opinion, one of the reasons it hasn’t sold yet, is that the obvious peeling paint at the entrance (shown right) makes a poor impression. Click to continue...

3 Bedroom 2 Bath 1 Garage Space Condos in Lakeview vs. Evanston

May 19, 2006

Last night I searched for 3 bedroom 2 bath condos with a garage space in the Lakeview area of Chicago and in the suburb of Evanston. My out-of-town buyers aren’t sure yet if they want to live in the city or the suburbs. Such condos in Lakeview start around $375,000 and the majority under $400,000 Click to continue...

Is Interest in Chicago Real Estate Waning?

May 16, 2006

Check out Google Trends, a new tool by Google that graphically shows search volumes. Google Trends generated the graph below when I entered “chicago real estate”. It appears that so far this year interest in Chicago real estate is down from last year and the year before at this time. Click to continue...

Home Warranties Benefit Both Buyers and Sellers

May 15, 2006

I received a call this morning from a woman thinking about selling her home in Chicago. She asked about home warranties. A home warranty provides for the repair or replacement of home appliances and mechanical systems that break down due to normal use. Home warranties are used by both home buyers and home sellers. Some Click to continue...

My MarketWatch.Com Debut

May 14, 2006

Last Thursday’s MarketWatch.Com has an article, “Houses need an advantage now” with a couple of quotes from yours truly. The article focuses on how to make your home more appealing to buyers in today’s more competitive market. Click to continue...

Sneak a Peek, But Don’t Put Money on It

May 12, 2006

This morning’s print version of the Daily Herald has an article, “Sneaking a peek”, on Internet sites where you can see what your friends, co-workers and neighbor’s paid for their homes and the homes’ estimated values. Such sites have been around for several years, but recently they have gotten more numerous and more technically sophisticated. Click to continue...

The Ugliest Door in America

May 10, 2006

I always tell my sellers that their home’s front door is a critical area for home staging. It’s part of the first impression buyers have of the home. It also gets closely examined by the buyers while their buyer’s agent is getting the key out of the key box and opening the door. To drive Click to continue...

The Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract is Changing

May 9, 2006

Today I attended a day long forum on residential real estate legal issues. Half of the forum focused on the new version (4.0) of the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract. “Multi-Board” means that the new version has been approved by several real estate boards including the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, REALTOR® Association of Northwest Chicagoland, Click to continue...

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