General Real Estate

49th anniversary of John Baird urging open occupancy in Chicago

John Baird August 15, 2011

Last week was the 49th anniversary of John Baird’s appearance in front of the Chicago City Council urging them to pass an open occupancy law for housing. Mr. Baird is Chairman of the Board of Baird & Warner Real Estate. His son, Stephen Baird is president and chief executive officer. Click to continue...

Happy 4th of July 2011!

Enjoy your 4th of July! July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July! Celebrate safely! Click to continue...

How to be your own worst enemy when buying or selling a home

Click to learn how to avoid losing 1,000s of dollars! June 13, 2011

If you only read one of my blog posts, this is the one to read. Click to continue...

Get a Free Kitchen Remodel and Be on TV!

Click for details on how to get a free kitchen remodel and be on TV! April 11, 2011

A new TV show where homeowners get their kitchen remodeled for free just contacted me looking for homeowners with ugly kitchens. Click to continue...

Chicago real estate agents, listing agents & buyer agents

Click to learn what a buyer agent is February 25, 2011

I had a phone call from a gentleman this week asking if I was the listing agent for downtown condo. I replied that I wasn’t but that I could help him as a buyer agent to which he replied, “What’s that?” Here’s what a buyer agent is along with explanations of other common real estate titles. Click to continue...

Discrimination against gays barred by National Association of REALTORS®

Realtor Logo November 19, 2010

Last week the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) changed Article 10 of the REALTORS® Code of Ethics. Sexual orientation was added to the classes that shall not be denied equal professional services or discriminated against in any manner including employment. In addition, sexual orientation was added to Standard of Practice 10-3 which now states, “REALTORS® Click to continue...

In the closet, out of the closet, and now…below the closet!

Thumbnail image for In the closet, out of the closet, and now…below the closet! August 16, 2010

You can be in the closet. You can be out of the closet. If you buy a townhouse I recently showed, you can be below the closet! Shown left is a second closet in one of the bedrooms. While I’m all for maximizing space usage, this seems to be a bit over the top (at Click to continue...

Evanston Realtor who changed home buying for African-Americans dies

Thumbnail image for Evanston Realtor who changed home buying for African-Americans dies July 11, 2010

There was a time when African-Americans had a hard time buying a home in Evanston. Albert Gaskin who died last Thursday helped change that with his life partner of 41 years, Robert Bachand. According to the Chicago Tribune, Mr. Gaskin became a Realtor in 1961 after a friend mentioned that the black community in Evanston Click to continue...

Toilet kills $1.2M home sale

Thumbnail image for Toilet kills $1.2M home sale June 23, 2010

Friends of mine called me to share their latest adventure trying to buy a house in the Washington, DC area. At the inspection of a house they had agreed to pay nearly $1.2M for they discovered that the toilet in the basement wasn’t connected to the plumbing in the house! The toilet turned out to Click to continue...

Zillow Zestimates pretty good to way off in Chicago

Thumbnail image for Zillow Zestimates pretty good to way off in Chicago May 21, 2010

I received an email from Zillow.com this morning with a link to their Chicago home values. A nice looking chart of Zillow’s Home Value Index for Chicago appeared. Zillow defines the index as the mid-point of Zestimate valuations for Chicago. Half the Zestimates are above this number and half are below it. A Zestimate is Click to continue...

Interesting Chicago Tribune article on Zillow.com

Thumbnail image for Interesting Chicago Tribune article on Zillow.com March 5, 2010

The Chicago Tribune’s Mary Ellen Podmolik has an interesting article today about a study on the accuracy of Zillow’s Zestimates (estimates of residential property values). Professors at the University of Texas at San Antonio concluded that Zillow overvalues properties. In their study Zillow overestimated home values for 40% of homes by more than 10%. Zillow Click to continue...

Worst exterior home for sale photo I’ve seen!

Thumbnail image for Worst exterior home for sale photo I’ve seen! February 26, 2010

This morning I was searching for a house for sale on the north side of Chicago for some clients who want to move up to a larger home. Shown left is the exterior photo for one of the houses I came across. The home has a nice new sidewalk, but I do think the house Click to continue...

Slightly misleading kitchen photo :)

Thumbnail image for Slightly misleading kitchen photo :) February 4, 2010

A buyer and I were quite surprised when we viewed the kitchen of a house for sale after seeing photos of the home online. Shown left is the photo of the kitchen in the online listing. Below is what we actually found! Click to continue...

12/31/2009 – A vast improvement over 12/31/1999

Thumbnail image for 12/31/2009 – A vast improvement over 12/31/1999 December 31, 2009

As a Realtor, this year wasn’t as fun as others. More times than I care to remember I had to tell would-be sellers that I couldn’t sell their home for anything near what they owed on it – not a fun task. However, when I think about my life today compared to 10 years ago Click to continue...

The master bath was perfect except for…

Thumbnail image for The master bath was perfect except for… December 26, 2009

My buyers, Lisa and John, and I were curious to see a duplex condo that looked great online. The photo of the master bath showed dual sinks and a huge, tiled shower. However, the “spa bathroom” (as the listing agent described it) lost a little of its luster when we spied the toilet paper roll Click to continue...

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