From the monthly archives:

November 2007

Highland Park – More Contemporary Houses and Refrigerators

November 27, 2007

During the past 2 days I showed over 20 houses in Highland Park. As I mentioned in a post a month ago, Highland Park has more contemporary homes than its neighboring suburbs. Shown left is one of them in east Highland Park which I showed on Sunday.
Contemporary homes are distinguished by large windows (or [...]

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Sellers, Don’t Lock Buyers Out of a Final Walkthrough

November 24, 2007

Last week a couple of my buyers had a closing for a house they bought in Bartlett. We scheduled a final walkthrough the night before so that they could verify that inspection issues had been resolved and that the house was in the same condition as when they last saw it.
I arrived a few minutes [...]

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How to Avoid a Closing Delay for Your Condo

November 13, 2007

I was supposed to have a closing this morning for one of my listings, but it’s delayed a few days. Every time I’ve had a closing delayed, it’s been due to the interaction (or lack thereof) between the buyer’s mortgage company and the seller’s condo association management company. Sometimes it’s the fault of the mortgage [...]

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Evanston House Prices Up 20%!

November 9, 2007

A woman called me the other day from England asking about the real estate market in Evanston. She graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston and is considering taking a job in Chicago.
Unlike the many of suburbs where I’ve worked this year, the median Evanston house price* for the past 3 months (August – October) is [...]

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North & West Suburbs Buyer Transfer Tax Update

November 6, 2007

Last year I wrote about the city of Chicago and 11 north and west Chicago suburbs that tax buyers when they purchase a home (see “Chicago and Suburban Buyer Property Transfer Taxes“). Here are some more north and west suburbs to add to the list. Taxes rates are per $1,000 of sale price (e.g. [...]

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Arlington Heights House Sells After 2 Showings

November 3, 2007

This week I had a closing for a listing near downtown Arlington Heights. As shown left, it’s a modest home, but it sold after only 2 showings “as-is” and with no home staging. How?
The buyer was a creative rehabber who saw how the 3 bedroom house could be expanded and upgraded to create a very [...]

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