From the monthly archives:

February 2008

Blog Mentioned in Chicago Agent Magazine

February 28, 2008

Yesterday I received a very nice email from Ric Cox, President & CEO, ChicagoCondosOnline.com. Ric informed me that ChicagoMetroAreaRealEstate.com was mentioned in an article, “Blogging: The Basics From a Beginner“, he wrote for the Feb. 25th issue of Chicago Agent Magazine (shown left, yes, that’s Ivanka Trump).
The article mentioned the blogging success of Rubloff’s [...]

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MapMuse.Com – Great for Finding Your Favorite Businesses

February 25, 2008

In my February 6th post, “Chicago Magazine Names BairdWarner.Com Best for Real Estate Search!“, I mentioned that the “nifty Google Maps mash-up” that Chicago Magazine raved about is provided by MapMuse.com. If you’re thinking of relocating to the Chicago metro area or moving to another area of Chicago that you aren’t too familiar with and [...]

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Sharing Driveways in Elmhurst

February 22, 2008

Recently I showed 3 houses in Elmhurst. I’m sure it was just a coincidence, but all 3 houses had a shared driveway! Shown left is the shared driveway for the last house I showed, the Tudor on the right.
If you decide to buy a house with a shared driveway, there are a few items to [...]

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Is it Time to Refinance? – Maybe, That is if You Can

February 20, 2008

All of the news about government rate cuts and lenders working to help borrowers with exotic or “toxic” loans, you would think the mortgage refinance business would be booming. And while mortgage applications did see a very nice spike in late January and early February, the rush to refinance is waning. According to [...]

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How to Find Public Schools for Chicago Homes

February 18, 2008

On Saturday I showed townhouses in the Lakeview and Lincoln Park areas of Chicago to a woman relocating here from Memphis with her two children. The son is in high school and the daughter is in elementary, so schools are an important consideration in her home selection.
School names currently aren’t required for listings in [...]

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Chicago’s Park Millennium Condos

February 15, 2008

On Wednesday I showed condos in the Loop to a woman from Phoenix. The first condo we looked at was a 2 bedroom 2 bath unit in the Park Millennium a high rise at 222 N. Columbus in the Loop’s New Eastside Neighborhood, just north of Millennium Park.
In the southwest corner of the building, the [...]

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Featured with Buyer on First Business Show

February 13, 2008

For those of you who aren’t one of those early risers who watch First Business on TV at 5 a.m., a recent video segment featuring one of my buyers, Laura Kiel, and myself titled, “Homebuyer Psychology“, is now available on the FirstBusinessX.com site.
Laura showed that she’s an educated home buyer who isn’t willing to pass [...]

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Chicago Area High Schools with Top ACT Scores

February 10, 2008

I recently started working with a gentleman relocating with his wife and daughter from Seattle. He was clear that his top criterion in deciding where to buy a home is good schools. Even though his daughter won’t be in high school for several years, he wanted to know where good high schools are located. What [...]

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Tax to Buy a Chicago Home Increases 40% April 1st – No Joke!

February 7, 2008

The Chicago City Council voted yesterday to raise the buyer transfer tax by 40%! The buyer transfer tax is paid by the buyer when purchasing a home. Currently the tax is $7.50 per $1,000 sales price. So the tax on a $300K purchase is $2,250 (7.5 * 300). Starting April 1st, the tax on the [...]

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Chicago Magazine Names BairdWarner.Com Best for Real Estate Search!

February 6, 2008

The February 2008 issue of Chicago Magazine (currently on newsstands) includes BairdWarner.com as one of 171 Great Chicago Web Sites.
Regarding BairdWarner.com, the article states, “Almost every real estate site these days lets visitors search property listings from the Multiple Listing Service. The search tool at BairdWarner.com is the best, with a nifty Google Maps mash-up [...]

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