June 2008

Inspecting a Winterized Home for Sale in Aurora

June 30, 2008

I spent a good part of today at a home inspection in Aurora. My buyer is purchasing a home for sale “as-is”. Thus, the seller won’t fix any issues, but my buyer can back out of the deal, if the inspection reveals more issues than the buyer is willing to accept. The house was foreclosed Click to continue...

BairdWarner.com Dynamic Maps Now Searchable

June 26, 2008

Previously BairdWarner.com users could see where a home for sale was located on a map and add amenities such as schools and public transportation to that map. Now powered by Google Maps, BairdWarner.com users can use those maps to search for homes in their price range. As you can see below, a search using price Click to continue...

2 Bedroom 2 Bath Condo Prices Drop 6.6% in Rogers Park

June 20, 2008

Yesterday a developer showed me his Rogers Park 4 flat (shown left) currently under development. The gut rehab will result in 4 2 bedroom 2 bath condos. The top 2 condos will include a garage spot while the bottom 2 units will include an outdoor parking space. Back in December when I compared Evanston and Click to continue...

Life in Chicago’s High Rises May be Getting Friendlier

June 16, 2008

This morning’s SunTimes.com has a good article on LifeAt.com a new social networking site for high-rise dwellers. The site provides social networking within a building. Four Chicago high rises, 340 on the Park, 565 Quincy, Prairie District Lofts and 600 Lake Shore Drive are on LifeAt.com. Superior 110 will be added soon. Each building’s site Click to continue...

ChicagoTribune.com’s Community Intelligence

June 15, 2008

Looking for more information on Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs? After you review my neighborhoods and suburbs‘ posts, check out the ChicagoTribune.com’s Community Intelligence. For each neighborhood and suburb it shows a map with numerous amenities, market stats, demographics, crime data and schools. Community Intelligence also has several articles most recently featuring Andersonville and Wilmette. Click to continue...

How to Avoid Unresolved Home Inspection Issues at Your Final Walkthrough

June 12, 2008

One of the purposes of a final walkthrough is to give home buyers the opportunity to confirm that any home inspection issues the seller agreed to fix are fixed before the closing. Unfortunately, some buyers of mine found several unresolved issues during their final walkthrough in Highland Park last week. Here are a couple of Click to continue...

How to Raise Your Credit Score in 45 Days!

June 9, 2008

Try these five simple steps to improve your credit score…you could see dramatic results! PAY YOUR PAST DUE ACCOUNTS This may sound obvious but understand that credit scoring software severely penalizes you for having accounts with a past due balance. Make sure all of your accounts are current, and pay the amount that shows as Click to continue...

Graciousness in Forest Park

June 6, 2008

This morning I arrived at a final walkthrough in Forest Park a few minutes before my buyers. Not only had the sellers taken care of all the issues from the inspection report, but the colorful plant shown left was in the kitchen. It was a gift with a lovely note from the sellers to my Click to continue...

Looking Beyond a Badly Staged Home

June 3, 2008

About a month ago I showed a house in River Forest to a couple. The house was nicely rehabbed, but the home staging detracted from rather than enhancing the look of the home. The furniture and accessories used to stage the home weren’t of the caliber one would expect for a home priced at just Click to continue...