From the monthly archives:

June 2009

Case-Shiller Housing Index for Chicago Flat From March to April!

June 30, 2009

Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Housing Index for the Chicago Metro Area for April was just released this morning. The April index of 122.30 remained essentially unchanged from the March index of 122.34. This is the smallest month to month drop in the index since it peaked in September 2006 at 168.60 and remained essentially unchanged [...]

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Basement says “water problem” not “quality & care”

June 27, 2009

This morning I showed houses in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. The remarks in the listing for one of the homes included “quality & care”. Shown below is the “quality & care” we found in the basement. Several floor tiles were missing and the cord in the photo was for a large fan running in the [...]

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The definitive source on whether home buyers need flood insurance!

June 24, 2009

If you’re thinking about buying a home and want to know if you’ll need to purchase flood insurance, the definitive source is:
a. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
b. The county the home is located in
c. The seller
d. Your mortgage company
FEMA – FEMA has lots of great information on flooding, flood insurance [...]

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In search of FHA approved condos in Andersonville and Rogers Park

June 21, 2009

Yesterday I talked with a buyer at Caribou Coffee in Boystown. He’s interested in buying a condo in Andersonville or Rogers Park using Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing. FHA mortgages allow down payments as low as 3.5%.
Unlike houses, not all condos are FHA approved. In Andersonville and Rogers Park most condos aren’t FHA approved. The [...]

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Relocating tougher now for dual income couples

June 19, 2009

Relocating recently got tougher for dual income couples. Chicago’s Daily Herald reported today that Fannie Mae “no longer will permit mortgage applicants to count the income of so-called “trailing spouses” toward the household income needed to qualify for a loan. A trailing spouse is the one who joins his or her spouse or partner in [...]

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Numerous Chicago homes built with split-face concrete block have problems

June 18, 2009

I just listened to a story on WBEZ 91.5 (Chicago Public Radio) about numerous Chicago homeowners facing huge repair bills for their homes constructed with decorative split-face concrete block that wasn’t installed correctly.
Even through City of Chicago inspectors had approved the construction, the homeowners are on the hook for repairs since they now own the [...]

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$16M foreclosure lawsuit in Barrington Hills

June 17, 2009

Even Chicago’s wealthiest aren’t immune to foreclosures! Today ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com reported that Amcore Bank has filed a foreclosure lawsuit for almost $16M on a 400 acre estate and horse farm in Barrington Hills. The couple who own the estate bought it for $19.3 million in December 2006 making it the most expensive Chicago Metro Area home [...]

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Great time to buy a condo in downtown Chicago, if you’re careful

June 15, 2009

Last week at Baird & Warner’s “Out of the Office” networking event in Chicago for gay pride month, I talked with my friend, Scott, who’s been thinking of buying a condo in or near the Loop for a few years now. He asked me if I thought now was a good time to buy. [...]

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Realtor Asleep on the Job

June 12, 2009

First, let me say that there are a lot of professional, hard-working Realtors. Unfortunately, there are also a few Realtors who are asleep on the job.
Such was the case in a recent sale where I represented the seller. A young man attended an open house I hosted. A couple of days later without bothering to [...]

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Des Plaines Bungalow Has Kitchen Cabinets with Built-in Table

June 8, 2009

On Saturday I showed houses in Des Plaines to a woman wanting to take advantage of the $8K first time home buyer tax credit. She’s owned a home before, but not in the past 3 years, so she qualifies as a first time home buyer.
One of the houses, a 1924 bungalow, included the built-in kitchen [...]

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