From the category archives:

New Homes For Sale

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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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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Why New Homes For Sale Should Have Inspections

April 6, 2009

Today my buyers of a new duplex condo in Lakeview had their home inspection. Even though they are buying a new home with a 1 year warranty, they wisely chose to have a home inspection before continuing with the purchase.
1. By getting a home inspection during an inspection review period, buyers have the option [...]

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New Home Inspection Test for Granite Countertops

January 2, 2009

This year I will be recommending that my buyers perform a new test during their home inspection. While I recently visited the new condo of some of my buyers in the South Loop, they shared with me that they discovered after they moved in that their granite countertops weren’t properly sealed. Their kitchen countertops were [...]

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Why Condo Sales Reps Don’t Lookout for Buyers

December 11, 2008

Yesterday I attended the SPARKt Technology Conference. The conference featured a dozen or so speakers on technology and real estate.
One of the speakers was Blagica Bottigliero, the founder of CondoPerks.com, which gives Chicago condo owners a place to shop online, get discounts and earn money for their condo associations. Blagica shared her story of buying [...]

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Call Me Well Before You Visit A New Home Sales Office!

December 2, 2008

Yesterday a woman wrote me looking for help with a condo purchase. Three years ago she signed a contract and put 10% down on a condo in the South Loop. The condo will be ready early next year and she now realizes that she won’t be able to get a mortgage for it. The only [...]

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Delivery Delays Not Uncommon with New Construction

July 11, 2008

Recently I helped a couple of women buy a 3 bedroom condo at Library Tower in the South Loop. Library Tower is just across the street from the main branch of the Chicago Public Library (shown left). When they signed the sales agreement in May, they were told that the condo would be ready around [...]

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Will Your New Home Be In A Special Service Area (SSA)?

April 2, 2008

A week ago one of my buyers said he wanted to take a second look at a townhouse in Aurora. The showing instructions said to call the seller to schedule showings, so when speaking with the seller, I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his home. One of my questions was [...]

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West Loop’s 565 Quincy Condos

March 2, 2008

Yesterday a couple of buyers and I visited new condo development sales offices in Chicago. One of the new developments we visited was 565 Quincy (shown left) in the West Loop neighborhood. The developer is Belgravia Group.
Erin Mandel, the sales representative, gave a good overview of the development which included an impressive multi-media presentation. [...]

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The Ups and Downs of Buying New Construction

December 2, 2007

Last week I compared the prices of resale vs. new homes at an active adult community in Elgin. Every resale home was listed at a higher price than the same new model. Granted, some of the homes had upgrades which were not included in the new model prices, but the price differences were from $20K [...]

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Buyer Agents have the Same Responsibilities for New and Resale Sales

July 12, 2007

Yesterday a buyer and I did a final walkthrough of the condo she is buying in the Prairie District of the South Loop. Towards the end of the walkthrough the builder’s representative commented to me that in her experience many buyer agents don’t attend their clients’ walkthroughs. In fact, she mentioned that many buyer agents [...]

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How to Minimize Your Risk When Buying New Construction

June 27, 2007

One of the differences between buying a resale home and buying new construction is the contract used. The Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract used by Chicago area Realtors for resale properties provides several contingencies for buyers including attorney review, inspection, homeowners insurance and mortgage contingencies.
New home contracts are typically unique to each developer and [...]

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Centex Named Most Admired Home Builder

April 11, 2007

The Daily Herald reported on Sunday that Centex Corporation was recently named most admired home builder by Fortune magazine. Fortune ranked Centex #1 among home builders for: people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, and quality of products/services.
I’ve taken buyers to Centex’s Copper Springs new home [...]

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Pulte’s The Prairies of Winchester Glen in Carpentersville

March 27, 2007

On Sunday and Monday I visited new home developments in Elgin and Carpentersville with a couple relocating from Minneapolis. One of them has a new job with Sears in Hoffman Estates.
Their top two picks were 2 different inventory homes for sale at Pulte’s The Prairies of Winchester Glen in Carpentersville. After I reviewed comparable sales [...]

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How to Avoid Overpaying for a New Home

March 18, 2007

This morning’s print edition of the Daily Herald’s Homes Plus Section includes Jack Guttentag’s column on page two titled, “Unlucky buyer paid more than house worth”. Jack is known as the Mortgage Professor and is a Professor of Finance Emeritus at the Wharton School of Business.
A recent home buyer wrote to Jack, “After being in [...]

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It’s Tough Competing with your Developer

February 17, 2007

I had a call last week from a gentleman considering selling his condo in the South Loop. If you’re not familiar with the South Loop it’s a neighborhood bordered on the east and west by Lake Michigan and the Chicago River and on the north by Congress Parkway. The south border is considered Roosevelt Road [...]

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