December 2007

Chicago Area Whole Foods Map

December 26, 2007

My partner’s brother’s family is visiting this week and they’re big fans of Whole Foods. For those of you not familiar with Whole Foods, it’s a grocery store chain which sells high quality natural and organic products. For you Whole Foods Fans out there relocating to the Chicago area, I thought I’d create a map Click to continue...

BairdWarner.Com Guided Tours Improved

December 22, 2007

The guided tours on BairdWarner.com were recently updated to provide larger photos, closed captioning, and improved navigation through the tours. The improvements provide home buyers better information and more control over moving through the tours. Listings on BairdWarner.com also have dynamic maps showing amenities such as grocery stores, public transportation and schools in the neighborhood. Click to continue...

Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Sets U.S. Residential Sales Record

December 14, 2007

According to the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, the Trinchera Ranch in Colorado was sold in November for $175 million setting a new U.S. residential sales record. The former record was $165 million paid for a Beverly Hills mansion once owned by William Randolph Hearst. The Trinchera Ranch was purchased by billionaire hedge fund manager Click to continue...

Northern Forest Park – Walking Distance to Downtown Oak Park

December 11, 2007

Want to live within walking distance of Oak Park’s downtown (shown below outlined in red), but can’t afford to buy in Oak Park? Consider the northern part of Forest Park, just west of Oak Park. While the median sale price for houses in Oak Park during the past 12 months was $465K*, the median sale Click to continue...

Ukrainian Village – Walking Distance to Metra & Wicker Park

December 9, 2007

I started working with a gentleman relocating here for a job that will have him working in both the Loop and Elgin. As such, he’d like to live within walking distance of the Metra Milwaukee District West Line which runs between the Loop and Elgin. He also wants to live within walking distance of a Click to continue...

Evanston vs. Rogers Park for 2 Bedroom 2 Bath Condos

December 6, 2007

Recently, I compared prices for condos in Evanston and Rogers Park (just south of Evanston) for a woman in Los Angeles considering accepting a position at Northwestern University in Evanston. The first difference I’ll point out is that buyers in Rogers Park must pay a buyer transfer tax since Rogers Park is in the city Click to continue...

The Ups and Downs of Buying New Construction

December 2, 2007

Last week I compared the prices of resale vs. new homes at an active adult community in Elgin. Every resale home was listed at a higher price than the same new model. Granted, some of the homes had upgrades which were not included in the new model prices, but the price differences were from $20K Click to continue...