Bring offers... Hurry!!! - 11/30/11 01:41 PM
This is a screen-shot from our current MLS. The listing agent's first request is
Bring offers ASAP!
The property is reasonably priced, and it's only been on the market a little more than a week... so why the plaintive plea?
I can only assume, based on the photo, that the agent is afraid that if you don't bring offers quickly, that the property might just FALL DOWN, it's leaning so heavily to the right.
Must be a sink hole developing beneath the house.  Or perhaps a mine has collapsed.
Now, several people have suggested to me that it's possible, just possible, … (26 comments)

I Voted! - 11/27/11 06:40 PM
Okay, this morning, I performed the most sacred of our civic duties.  I voted. And now I'm on my way to Starbucks, who's offered a free cup of Joe (no, not Joe the Plumber)  for all those who've voted.
My daughter called me early this morning to remind me of the importance of voting... (and since I live in the Chicago area, the sound byte that resonates in my ear is "Vote Early, Vote Often"!).
I could hear, in her voice, her excitement, her fervor for the process.  She was excited, she was invigorated.  My wife is off work, this afternoon, … (51 comments)

The third time's the charm? - 11/27/11 03:27 PM
Okay...
Everybody gets a little worked-up when talking, thinking, dreaming about that little golden Feature star.
Quit obsessing (says Carie Shapiro, who's a newbie to Active Rain with zero Features thus far... who's currently sitting at my desk visiting.), and I agree with her
Now, while Features get you some good exposure, Active Rain has been pretty good about spreading the wealth around (except of course when it comes to yours truly, where they plop a featured-star on me at the drop of a hat... which of course is as it should be).
But here, as you can see, they've deemed … (35 comments)

Lunch is on me! - 11/27/11 02:09 PM
For those of you who didn't know, yesterday was Small Business Saturday.
While I was aware of that, I didn't have any specific plans regarding SBS.  But I have a standing lunch appointment with my sister and our mom, that we meet at Dengeos.
I also use Foursquare, so when I checked in, I saw the coupon that you see to the left, indicating if I spend $25.00, and use my American Express Card (which I do have), I get a $25.00 credit.  How cool is that?
So I did it, and saved $25.00!
 
Lunch is on me (and American … (4 comments)

Post-Thanksgiving Depression. - 11/26/11 10:51 AM
The preparation is over.  The smells of good-things cooking in the house is gone.  We still have some left-overs (gawd, smoked turkey is even better cold, with mashed potatoes, stuffin' and peas)... the guests are gone, the candles are blown out.
The cranberry stain on the table cloth has been removed (thank you Oxy-clean), the centerpiece isn't looking it's best, and all the guests have returned to whence they came, well fed, and sated ... sigh, it's over.  It's over.
I refuse to step on the scale... that's depressing.  The sky is overcast and rainy... and it's cold... haven't seen the … (44 comments)

Requiem for 2 pies, and 4 cakes. - 11/25/11 04:07 PM
This is just how lovely our kitchen table looked, about 30 minutes before we started Thanksgiving dinner.
That's a Costco pumpkin pie at the left.. you can tell by it's resemblance, in size, to the hubcap of a Cadillac.
Hidden just to the left of the pie, is a plate of short-bread cookies baked by Mrs. Elvis... mmmm, delish!
To the right of the pumpkin pie is a fudge pie, also made by the ever-talented Mrs. Elvis.
And in the foreground, to the right, dressed in icing and rainbow sprinkles is a cherry pie, and apple pie, a 2 chocolate cakes … (18 comments)

Black Friday, Black Friday... hot deals on Black Friday! - 11/25/11 11:52 AM
BLACK FRIDAY
It sounds bad, doesn't it? We talk about things in colours - Friday was the blackest of days.  But it doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?  Since Black Friday is one of the very best days for retailers?  You'd think they would call it Golden Friday, or Green Friday (for the colour of money).
So where did the term come from?  Well, it seems to have originated in the early 1960's in Philadelphia, where the day after Thanksgiving turned out to be such a busy day that the police department was called upon to work 12-hour shifts. … (19 comments)

Call me Ishmael... - 11/24/11 04:43 PM

We're hosting Thanksgiving later this evening.  And I just learned that my sister, who's invited over along with her family, is bringing something called a Pumpple Cake.
Now, I didn't know what a Pumpple Cake was, so I looked it up.  Oh-My-Gosh!
This is the great White Whale of cakes.  Now, that doesn't mean it smells like fish, or is difficult to harpoon.  It means it's big.  And loaded with calories.
I'm sure you've heard of Turducken.  That's where they stuff a Chicken inside a Duck, inside a Turkey.  "Tur-Duc-ken".  Sounds decadent, doesn't it.  Well, this Cake takes that kind … (39 comments)

Happy Thanksgiving - 11/24/11 11:28 AM
This is most definitely the time of year to consider those things, for which, we're grateful.
We're having a small group this year (for which I'm grateful).
As you can see the table is set, and Mrs. Elvis is in the kitchen preparing for our dinner.
This year we've purchased a "smoked" turkey.. (a first for us)... we're anxious to see how it's turned out.. I picked it up yesterday, and it smells so good.  Later, we just have to throw it in the oven, and heat it up to 350°.
We have stuffin' muffins.. (stuffing put into muffin tins) that … (20 comments)

Thank you PHH Mortgage - 11/23/11 10:36 AM
Greg Schneider and Linda Franz, of PHH Mortgage, each year around this time, provide pies for the agents in our office.  And they're not 'just' pies, they're pies from Costco.
So they're really BIG pies....  They offer us a choice of Pumpkin or Apple Pie... (I'm a Pumpkin guy)...
Today, they're delivering the pies to our desks, along with some help from their kids.  And of course they take all the "price tags" off the pies before putting them on our desks... (How crass would it be to have a price tag on a gift??).
One of the girls, Morgan, found … (22 comments)

COMMENTS anyone????? Help! My blog's too young to die! CLICK "comment" NOW! Please? - 11/22/11 10:14 PM
Cheryl has put her heart and soul into this post.  Let's not let her plea go unanswered. 
Let's send her some love, and keep her colourful blogging career in action, shall wel?
Via Cheryl Dickson (Affordable Inspections ASAP - Grand Junction Home Inspection):
COMMENTS anyone????? Help!   My BLOG's too young to die!   CLICK "comment" NOW! Please?                             Voila! You've created a Blogging MASTERPIECE!You poured your heart and soul into creating a helpful and informative blog post. Then POOF! In the blink of an eye it disappears into the abyss, never to be viewed, not a comment to be had, unable to … (20 comments)

You're not paranoid if they really ARE out to get you! - 11/22/11 10:06 AM
"They're out to get me!" he said, eyes darting back and forth.
      "They're not out to get you, Tom!  You're so paranoid!"  I answered.
"I can feel it, they're trying to kill me." he ducked down behind his desk, shivering.
     "Oh, you've been saying that for weeks.  C'mon you sound silly, now."
"You don't know... you can't feel it. It's gotten worse lately,  They're out to get me, I see their looks.  Watching me, everywhere I go, their hungry eyes staring at me."
     "Oh, I'm sure you're imagining things."
"No!  No, I'm not.  There are wanted posters with … (20 comments)

I could get used to this - 11/21/11 04:25 PM
We stayed downtown Saturday night, for a wedding.  Some of the views from our hotel room at the Hard Rock Hotel, Michigan and Wacker.

… (18 comments)

A View to Kill - Wordless Monday (what?) - 11/21/11 04:19 PM

… (12 comments)

How to lay a foundation for a good online relationship in 8 easy steps, or 1 really hard one! - 11/21/11 12:39 AM
I gave you some fodder on how to tear-down relationships in the rain, but I didn't really give you any ideas about how to lay the foundations for those relationships in the rain, that will eventually turn into your referral network and ultimately your colleagues and friends.
It's really pretty simple, but in case you haven't been on the right track, yet, I'm going to spell it out.
1) Post consistently.  That doesn't mean you have to be Alan May, J.Philip Faranda, Charlie Buell, or even Larry Bettag (hey, don't say I never mention you Bettag!) and post two to three … (66 comments)

Relationships in the rain. You can build them up, or you can tear them down. - 11/20/11 01:22 PM
I'll grant you... I can be a bit didactic. 
I've spent a fair amount of time, here in the rain, and when I see someone posting "sideways", I like to get in there and drop a piece of advice.  Sometimes I word it carefully, sometimes, if I'm in a hurry, I just throw it out there.
Recently I dropped one such piece of advice, not so carefully crafted, but well-meaning, and the poster reacted like a rabid chihuahua, and bit the hand that offered the advice.  I can see his point, it's never fun to have someone point out that … (89 comments)

It ain't always as cut & dry as you might think. - 11/18/11 04:30 PM
I am a member of the Grievance Committee on our North Shore/Barrington Board of Realtors. I spent the morning (along with our own Margaret Goss, who's been on the professional standards committee for years) at a training session for the Professional Standards committee.
I thought I was pretty sharp, and pretty on top of the Code of Ethics and the rules that regulate our profession.  Boy, these training sessions have a way of making you feel pretty darn stupid.
Let's take a brief example (Keep in mind the ruling is based on transactions in Illinois).
Bob showed his own listing (by … (72 comments)

What we all know... - 11/17/11 11:48 AM
We all know that a toilet flushed north of the Equator will drain in a clockwise direction, and a toilet flushed south of the Equator will drain in a counter-clockwise direction.  (Or is it counter-clockwise in the North, and clockwise in the south...?  I forget)
And some of us are smart enough to know that the reason behind this phenomenon is due to something called the Coriolis effect or Coriolis Force.  It has something to do with the spinning of the earth, and the fact that items near the equator are moving faster than the same items near the poles, and … (24 comments)

What are your Bullet-Points? - 11/13/11 02:04 PM
I had a call, yesterday, that was generated from my on-line presences.
Not solely from my Active Rain blog (although that was certainly part of it), but from looking through what they were able to find when searching for Realtors, and then clicking-through, from link, to link, to link to see what they could find out about me.
I had a lovely conversation with this young lady about the home search that they're beginning.  She and her husband are first-time-buyers and have been searching online for a while, but have finally made that scary, scary leap by actually contacting a Realtor.  … (12 comments)

Active Rain should not be used as a Lead Generating Directory! - 11/13/11 12:00 PM
I received this PRIVATE DIRECT CONTACT, through Active Rain, from a fellow member of the rain.  He is a "newer" member, so I'm not going to blast him (so I'm blurring his Personal information), and I'm going to presume that he just doesn't know any better (although I imagine that he does).
In his first line he references one of my recent posts about "unaccompanied kids" running through a seller's home...  That's a nice touch. Except that I don't remember writing such a post.  So I think this is just generic blather, to make it sound like he follows my blog.
… (82 comments)

Ahh, that Zany Zestimate. - 11/12/11 12:09 PM
I, once again, find myself bumping up against the Zillow Conundrum.
A seller, who is convinced that his property is worth what's listed on Zillow's Zestimate.  No amount of comparable homes, no amount of logic, recent sales etc, can dislodge his belief that Zillow's Zestimate is correct.  Zillow, who has never sold a single property in this area, who has never set foot in this house, nor any of the houses in the area that have sold.
Zillow has determined that the price, is the price, is the price.
This is the same Zestimate that four years ago told me that … (33 comments)

150 Featured Posts!! Get your kicks... on route Active Rain! - 11/11/11 08:44 AM
Here we go again.  This is going to be a long one, so settle in.... it's taken me several days to compile.  Get hip to this timely tip!
Youse goofballs, (yeah, I'm talkin bout you!) have had the audacity to award me so many damn golden stars, that I'm beginning to lose track.  (I'm not complaining, mind you, just losing what's left of my mind).  150 Featured Posts!!  Oh..... my..... goodnesss, I've been so blessed. So I figured if I'm losing track of them, some of y'all might also be losing track too, so I figured it was time to remind … (32 comments)

Featured stars, the truth revealed! - 11/10/11 10:09 AM
A recently featured post debunking Facts and Myths about how to get a feature.... oh, hold on... excuse me a moment... [what??!  are you sure!??  oh, well, don't worry.. it will be shortly]
ahem... sorry about that... my sources tell me that it's not yet featured.... but don't worry, it will be shortly, after all, they've used the magic formula.
Now I have no beef with the renowned L'Biz... [what?!  I said it right, didn't I? the lady always comes first!]  but I gots ta tell ya...  They wrong!  You know that L'Biz had to figure they was gonna get a … (93 comments)

Evanston Real Estate - what can you buy for $400-$500,000? - 11/09/11 12:34 PM
Housing in Evanston is constantly in flux.  Prices go up and down, so it's difficult to tell exactly what kind of buying power you have any given month of the year.  So here's a nice sampling of what you can purchase in Evanston Real Estate in a single-family home for between $400,000 and $500,000.  There are currently 37 properties in that price range.


 This is a home at 1705 Harrison, Evanston, IL.  3 Bedrooms, 1.1 baths currently listed for $409,000.  It has central air, a newer roof, it's close to the Metra, the EL, St. Athanasius, Central street and … (10 comments)

.... for some, no reminder is adequate. - 11/09/11 11:45 AM
We recently received a note from our local board, reminding us that "Unaccompanied Buyers are Not Allowed".  Personally, I find it sad that we need to be reminded of this at all.
Apparently there's been a rash of homeowners finding buyers, unaccompanied by their real estate agent, in their homes.  As you can imagine the sellers were disconcerted to find that the buyer's agents had given the access code to the lock boxes to their buyers and sent them on their own.
The board reminds us that "Under no circumstances are agents allowed to give codes, keys or other access devices … (62 comments)

a rainy day is a lovely day to do your final walk-through - 11/09/11 09:21 AM
One of my properties is scheduled to close shortly.
The buyer is doing the final walk-through today, and it's been dark, overcast and rainy for the last several days, this morning included.  It's a lovely home, lots of windows, bright, open and sunny.
It's a shame that the buyer won't be able to see the house at it's finest... right?
Oh, don't worry, there's plenty of time to enjoy the house with sun streaming through every window.  Today is the perfect day to conduct a walk-through or an inspection.  This, as most of the homes in our area, is a home … (20 comments)

You load fifteen tons, and what do you get? - 11/07/11 02:42 PM
I toured a home today, that's getting ready for resale (and no, it's not my listing).
As part of their preparation for resale they decided to divest themselves of their over 50,000 album jazz collection.
That's right, I said over 50,000 albums.  Now you have no real concept of just how many albums 50,000 is, until you see the substantial shelving that they've set up to contain just "some" of that collection.
The photos are just the shelving in the basement... there's more throughout the house.
Now some of you may be wondering: "What happened to the Jazz Collection?"  Well let … (67 comments)

Blogger, Flogger, or Clogger? - 11/06/11 10:35 AM
You've been doing this "blogging" thing for a while now, and you seem to have the hang of it.
You understand the difference between a blog and a post.  (Good for you!).  You've figured out how to embed a video into your posts.  You've even, thanks to the assistance of Craig Daniels, our resident technology wiz and beneficent trainer, figured out how to center that video!  You've imported photos, colourized text, and changed point sizes.  You're a wiz amongst your peers, and a mogul in your own mind.
But what type of blogger are you? Are you a:
BLOGGER: Someone who … (82 comments)

Don't forget to turn back your clocks. - 11/04/11 01:56 PM
Daylight savings time ends this Sunday, November 6th at 2:00 in the morning. 
Don't forget to "fall back" (turn your clocks back) an hour before you go to bed Saturday night.
My car, my phone and my computer are way smarter than I am... they already knows= about Daylight savings time, and adjusts themselves... (ain't that cool)... but all of the other clocks in the house require manual resetting.
… (19 comments)

 
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Alan May, Coldwell Banker Realtor® Evanston, Illinois & Northern Suburbs

Evanston, IL

More about me…

847.425.3779 almay@aol.com

Address: Attn: Alan May, Realtor®, 2929 Central Street, Evanston, IL, 60201

Office Phone: (847) 425-3779

Cell Phone: (847) 924-3313

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