Yesterday I scheduled a showing for a house in Schaumburg. When I called the seller I explained that I’d like to show his home between 3:30 and 4:30 pm Saturday (today). He asked if I could show the home at another time and I explained that I had scheduled all of the other showings for my clients and his house was the last on the list.

He then proceeded to ask why I had chosen to show his home last. That’s an odd question! Before I could answer, he continued with more questions and a lengthy, grandiose, yet inaccurate description of his home. I pointed out that the listing described his home as a 3 bedroom instead of the 4 bedroom he was claiming it to be.

After he went on for a bit more, I was firm explaining that I could show the home between 3:30 and 4:30 pm. Otherwise, I wouldn’t show it today. At that point he finally agreed to a showing. Let me also mention that the home has been on the market almost 11 months and it’s a short sale.

Before we arrived at the home, I forewarned my buyers that the seller might be a bit different. They made it clear that they didn’t want him following them around the house.

As we pulled into the driveway I noticed lots of dead leaves in the yard and a shingle ready to fall off the house. I knocked on the door, introduced myself and handed the man my business card. I then politely asked if he would be kind enough to step outside while my buyers toured the home.

So that you can best visualize the scene, the man looked like Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”, unshaven and hair a mess. Remember his infamous line, “Here’s Johnny!” after he breaks through the bathroom door? This guy would be a shoe-in for the part. The look he gave me when I politely asked him to step outside said it all. His only comment was, “No, I’m the narrator!”

I looked at my buyers to see if they still wanted to see the house. They were both shaking their heads and getting back into my car.

A half hour later there was a call on my cell phone. Suspecting that it was the man, I let it go to voicemail. Indeed it was. He left a scathing message referring to me as “bush league”, “hillbilly” and “loser”. I must say, I’ve been called a few names in my life, but never anything remotely close to those terms! He’s clearly not the kind of person anyone wants to be alone with, especially in his home.

Buyers who visit homes without an agent present put themselves at additional risk. I’m not saying we can always defend buyers from a seller who gets out of line, but there is strength in numbers. Based on my experience scheduling showings, this man’s unusual comments and questions also clued me ahead of time that this was someone to be careful with.

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Today I showed houses in Arlington Heights, Palatine and Schaumburg. The homes for sale weren’t much out of the ordinary with the exception of a house in Palatine featuring a pool table in the dining room and mold in the basement. Needless to say, it’s not on my buyers’ short list!

Home sellers, please reconsider renting to a couple of college kids a home you are trying to sell. Their “furniture” does not help a house show well!

Arlington Heights and Palatine are pretty comparable pricewise. Schaumburg is definitely less expensive. Property taxes also tend to be lower in Schaumburg due to all the taxes generated from the commercial development (e.g. Woodfield Mall, IKEA).

For more information on these northwest suburbs visit my Arlington Heights, Palatine and Schaumburg blog posts.Similar Posts:

• New Homes in Palatine
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• Higher Property Taxes Mean Lower Offers!
• Arlington Heights Market Times Rise, But so do Prices
• Arlington Heights Home Appreciation Mixed

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 of the Whole Foods here.

There are 15 Whole Foods in the Chicago area and another 4 stores in development. The map below shows the stores by red dots and the 4 stores under development with purple dots.

As you can see, Chicago has 6 stores all in the northern part of the city with one more under development. The Whole Foods are in the areas of the Gold Coast, Jefferson Park, Lakeview (2), Lincoln Park, and South Loop. The Near North Side has 1 in development.

There are 5 Whole Foods in the northern suburbs of Deerfield, Evanston (2), Northbrook, and Palatine. Two are in development in Schaumburg and Lake Zurich.

The western suburbs have 4 Whole Foods in Hinsdale, River Forest (across the street from downtown Oak Park), Wheaton, and Willowbrook. Naperville has one under development.

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I was searching for condos along the east side of Schaumburg this morning when I noticed that comparable units in the same development have significantly different property taxes. Even allowing for homeowner and senior exemptions, some condos have property taxes 60% higher than other comparable condos in the same development! Homes with significantly higher property taxes than comparable homes will have a harder time selling.

If you’re thinking of putting your home on the market in the next year, compare your property taxes with those of similar homes in your neighborhood. Some counties provide property tax information by address, but others require a property identification number (PIN) to look up taxes for a property. PINs are available on county assessor websites. Here are the local county assessor property search web pages:

Cook County Assessor
DuPage County Assessors (separate sites for each township)
Kane County Assessors (separate sites for each township)
Kendall County Assessor
Lake County Assessor
McHenry County Assessors (separate sites for each township)
Will County Assessor

Here are the local county treasurer websites:

Cook County Treasurer
DuPage County Treasurer
Kane County Treasurer
Kendall County Treasurer
Lake County Treasurer
McHenry County Treasurer
Will County Treasurer

If your property taxes are significantly above the average for comparable homes, consider filing an appeal with your county’s assessor.

Note: Kendall County Assessor and Treasurer links added 12/18/06Similar Posts:

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• Governor’s Property Tax Assessment Shines a Light on Assessment Confusion Part 2
• Cook County 2008 property tax rates released
• Schaumburg – Shopping & More

Today I completed a market analysis for a high-end 2 bedroom townhome in Schaumburg. The suburb is undoubtedly the retail center of the northwest Chicago suburbs. It’s home to Woodfield Mall, one of the 10 largest shopping malls in the U.S. Even die-hard Chicago city dwellers know the IKEA store in Schaumburg. Drive along Golf Rd. in Schaumburg and you’ll see dealerships for all the major car manufacturers.

Besides the obvious benefit of tremendous nearby shopping choices, Schaumburg homeowners also reap the benefits of all that commercial property in 2 other ways. First, property taxes are lower since the commercial real estate taxes generated are so large. Second, due to all those commercial property taxes, the Village of Schaumburg has the budget to provide fantastic services to its residents.

The Schaumburg Township District Library has a gigantic central library with branches in Hoffman Estates and Hanover Park. The Schaumburg Park District has first class fitness centers at very reasonable rates for residents.Similar Posts:

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