From the monthly archives:

November 2006

Appraisals & Drive-by Appraisals

November 30, 2006

This week I met with appraisers for 2 of my listings in Chicago and Schaumburg. Even though the appraiser works for the buyer’s mortgage company, it’s the responsibility of the listing agent to let the appraiser into the home. I also provide comparable sales to help ensure that the homes appraise high enough. If they [...]

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And They Wonder Why the House Isn’t Selling

November 27, 2006

Yesterday I showed houses in Roselle and Bartlett. The air vent shown right greeted my buyers and me in one of the houses. It’s located in the foyer. You can’t miss it when you walk in the front door.
The house was so dirty my buyers didn’t even bother going upstairs.
It’s a shame the owners didn’t [...]

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An Example of Why You Need Title Insurance

November 22, 2006

I’m spending Thanksgiving in La Jolla, CA with some very close friends. At dinner last night they told me about a situation with their other home that exemplifies why title insurance is needed. In Illinois, property sellers are required to purchase title insurance even if they have a deed that says they own the property.
This [...]

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How to Find Square Footage for a Home

November 21, 2006

On Sunday I showed a very cute house in Oak Park a second time. My buyers saw it the day before and thought they wanted to make an offer. However, they told me yesterday that they want to keep looking. Their main reason was the square footage of the house. By multiplying the dimensions of [...]

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A “Penny’s” for Your Thoughts!

November 19, 2006

The last two days I’ve been showing homes to a couple of buyers in Oak Park, Jefferson Park and Schaumburg. Those might seem like very different areas (they are), but all of them are close to expressways which is important to my buyers.
Yesterday we had lunch at Penny’s Noodle Shop in Oak Park. The Vietnamese [...]

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Looking for Sellers Who Want to be on HGTV and Earn $3,000

November 17, 2006

I got a call the other day from “Buy Me“, a show on HGTV. It’s about what people experience selling their home. They asked if I wanted to pitch them some scenarios for shows. So here’s your chance to be on HGTV and earn $3,000!
I’m looking for sellers who meet the following criteria:

Home is not [...]

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Unique Ways to Sell Your Home

November 14, 2006

Here’s a clip on creative home selling ideas from ABC’s “Good Morning America”. New York Realtor, Barbara Corcoran, shares some unusual marketing tactics she and other Realtors have used to sell homes. I may have to try one or two!

Multiple Offers Can Happen When a Home has Been on the Market for Months

November 12, 2006

I can’t explain it, nor will I take credit for it. One of my listings was on the market for over 3 months when 2 offers came in within 24 hours of each other the week before last. Last week an offer came in on one of my listings that had been on the market [...]

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A Home Warranty Happy Ending

November 10, 2006

This week the inspection for one of my listings revealed that the sump pump wasn’t working. Fortunately, my sellers who list with me for at least 6 months get free home warranty coverage. The seller entered his contract number on the American Home Shield website along with the problem. He was called back within [...]

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Your Master Bath Could be on Oprah!

November 7, 2006

Yesterday I got a call from The Oprah Winfrey Show. I was hoping the woman who called, Julie, was going to say that Oprah reads this blog religiously and is so impressed by my insights on the Chicago real estate market that she wants to have me on her show! But alas, Julie [...]

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