January 2007

Coffee, Books & More Coffee in Oak Park

January 30, 2007

On Saturday I showed houses in Oak Park to my buyers relocating to Chicago from Ithaca, NY and showed them what I consider some of the cool places in Oak Park. We looked at a house by the Buzz Cafe in Oak Park’s Art District and then stopped in for coffee. After looking at houses, Click to continue...

Evanston – Corner of Main & Chicago

January 28, 2007

Friday I showed houses in Evanston and a condo in Rogers Park to a lovely couple relocating to Chicago from Ithaca, NY. We met at the CTA Purple Line Stop at Main in Evanston. I got there early and shot the video below just north of that CTA stop. It starts at Starbucks® to the Click to continue...

Interest Rates Moving Higher

January 26, 2007

Recent strength in the stock market and stabilizing existing home sales (figures released yesterday morning) are contributing to a weakening in the bond markets. Current 30 year fixed rates are 6.125%. However this is only for a 30 day lock, with a 10% or more down payment and a loan amount of between $200,000 & Click to continue...

Paint Wall Repairs

January 25, 2007

On Monday I showed 2 bedroom 2 bath condos in Oak Park and Forest Park. One of the kitchens is shown left. It’s a very nice kitchen for a condo with granite countertops and 42″ cabinets. Unfortunately, the seller is either too cheap or too lazy to paint a wall repair above the cabinets. Does Click to continue...

Featured in Chicago Tribune

January 23, 2007

Yours truly made the front page of the Chicago Tribune’s Business Section yesterday. “Real estate agents hang blogging signs” by Chicago Tribune real estate columnist, Mary Umberger, covered the prediction that the real estate industry is on the cusp of a blogging revolution and featured a few of us in Chicago with real estate blogs. Click to continue...

New Home Inspection Tool – Thermographic Scans

January 22, 2007

This weekend while visiting family, I learned of a new technology used to supplement home inspections. The technology goes by a variety of names including thermographic scan, infrared testing, thermal scan, and thermal image scanning. What all of these have in common is that they produce images identifying temperature differences in surfaces such as walls, Click to continue...

A Mouse in the House

January 18, 2007

This morning I was at the final walkthrough for one of my listings in the Hermosa area of Chicago. A photographer for the Chicago Tribune was also there. Mary Umberger, the Tribune’s real estate columnist interviewed me the other day about this blog. Mary asked for a photo of the seller and I since the Click to continue...

The Difference Professional Quality Home Photography Can Make

January 17, 2007

When I talk with sellers whose previous attempt to sell their house failed, I often notice that their home’s photos were poor. Chicago area home stager, Craig Schiller, in his Home Staging, Rants & Ravings Blog has a couple of recent posts that clearly illustrate the difference professional quality home photography can make. Check out Click to continue...

You Can Buy a Home for Cash, but Don’t Bring it to the Closing

January 13, 2007

I attended the closing yesterday for my buyers who bought a house in the downtown area of Bartlett. The sellers’ real estate attorney shared the story of another closing where the buyer showed up with $20,000 cash to cover his closing costs. The attorney explained to the buyer that the title company wouldn’t accept the Click to continue...

Trulia’s Heat Map for Cook County

January 10, 2007

After I wrote about Zillow’s heat map for the Chicago area the other day, Megan Kamil, a product manager at Trulia.Com sent me a note about their new heat maps. To the left is their heat map for Cook County showing average prices by zip code. Trulia.Com also lets users search for homes for sale Click to continue...

Zillow’s Chicago Real Estate Prices Map

January 8, 2007

While I have often pointed out the poor job that Zillow.Com does when estimating home values, I have always acknowledged some of Zillow’s other technical features. This map of Chicago Metro Area Home Prices is an example. Zillow calls it a heat map since the hotter colors represent higher prices per square foot. For example, Click to continue...

The West Loop

January 5, 2007

The other day I started looking for condos in the West Loop for a buyer trying to decide if he wants to live in the city or the west suburbs. He’ll be working in Downers Grove and was concerned about the commute from the city. A friend of mine also works in a nearby area Click to continue...

Research Study: Paying Points on a Mortgage Rarely Pays Off

January 4, 2007

Abdullah Yavas, professor of business administration at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, and Yan Chang, senior economist at Freddie Mac recently concluded a research study which revealed that paying points on a mortgage rarely pays off. I paid points to bring down my interest rate when I bought my first condo in the late Click to continue...

My New Years Resolution for 2007: Listen More Creatively

January 3, 2007

My New Years Resolution as a Realtor is to listen more creatively this year. What I mean by that is to pay attention to more than just what my clients say. Some things clients want isn’t communicated in words. Sometimes their actions or how something is said tells more than the words do. One couple Click to continue...

Buyers, Bring Proof of Homeowners Insurance to Your Closing

January 1, 2007

Friday I attended the closing for a 4 bedroom house I sold in Arlington Heights. We had a few minutes of uncertainty when the buyers’ attorney asked the buyers for proof of homeowners insurance and they didn’t have it with them. Fortunately, I had stopped by the house just before the closing to remove the Click to continue...