evanston: Evanston, Illinois ranks in Movoto's top ten most exciting suburbs!!
- 01/29/14 05:17 AM
Evanston, Illinois (the suburb my office is based in, and where I live and practice real estate)...was included in Movoto's top ten most exciting suburbs!!
The 10 Most Exciting Suburbs In America By Movoto Real Estate
They ranked Evanston as the 10th most exciting suburb in all of the united states, which of course made me wonder how they'd arrived at that conclusion. It also made me wonder who 1-9 were?
Here's the full list:
1. Cambridge, MA
2. Quincy, MA
3. Berkeley, CA
4. Miami Beach, FL
5. Santa Monica, CA
6. Lakewood, OH
7. Jacksonville Beach, FL
8. Tempe, … (12 comments)
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evanston: Central Steet, in Evanston, Illinois, Named Top 10 Neighborhood!
- 10/09/13 01:28 AM
The American Planning Association (APA) just designated Evanston’s Central Street neighborhood as one of 10 Great Neighborhoods for 2013. With plenty of independently owned shops, easy parking, and alluring restaurants it’s easy to see why the APA selected this neighborhood.
Why Central Street Evanston Great amenities, active and involved citizens, and a long history of planning are additional reasons why the APA singled out this waterfront neighborhood. While adjacent to Northwestern University, the Central Street area is not a typical college neighborhood. Its eclectic mix of businesses – in terms of size, ownership, and service provided – and the neighborhood’s transportation … (4 comments)
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evanston: Walgreens to bring "Net Zero" to Evanston!
- 03/07/13 07:03 AM
Evanston has always been somewhat cutting edge... having been the second community in the country (second to Ann Arbor Michigan) to put floride in it's water supply.
This time, Evanston stands to be the "first" to have a Walgreen's with a Net Zero Energy Retail store.
What the heck does "Net Zero" mean? Well, it doesn't mean not-for-profit... that's not the Walgreen's philosophy. Walgreen's plans on building a new store that uses solar panels, two wind turbines and geothermal technology which will allow the store to produce its own energy, or possibly more energy than it requires to run.
Walgreens … (12 comments)
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evanston: I Voted!
- 11/27/11 10:40 AM
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)
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evanston: Gargling with Listerine.
- 09/26/10 04:24 AM
My wife was anxious to fill me in on Gus (our Havanese dog) and his adventure during the day.
Gus has this habit... when he has some kind of "goodie" in his mouth (this could be a milk bone, a "real" bone that we get at the pet shop, or one of Amy's socks) he'll wander around the house, giving the treat a tour of his favourite spots... (here's my blankie, here's the corner behind the couch, oh, and here's the closet... nice, huh?), and while he's giving the nickle-tour, he whimpers. Almost as though he's narrating to the "treat"... whine, … (27 comments)
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evanston: If you don't know where you're going...
- 09/16/10 07:06 AM
If you don't know where you're going, then any road will take you there.
Wiser words were never spoken (or typed). Do you know where you're going? I happen to know, that tonight, I'm going to see a music icon... Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks will be appearing at Spaces, here in Evanston... and I (and my family) will be front and center.
Dan is an interesting character, but the consumate musician. I've been listening to his offerings for over 30 years, but have never attended one of his live shows, and tonight will experience him in a small … (9 comments)
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evanston: Dear Mr. Realtor-knowledgey - what's a paraprosdokiam?
- 09/16/10 03:50 AM
Dear Readers. Once again, Mr. Realtor Knowledgey branches out to answer some unusual questions about all sorts of non-real estate subjects. I like to think that people are generally smart and knowledgeable, but my mailbox proves that to be totally wrong. Here are some recent questions that have appeared in my mailbox, and my responses:
Dear Mr. Realtor-knowledgey... What is a Paraprosdokiam?
Dear odd-question asker: Where did you hear such filth? Oh, wait, that's something else... A paraprosdokiam (frp, Greek "παρα-", meaning "beyond" and "προσδοκία", meaning "expectation") is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence … (21 comments)
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evanston: Alan's top 10 things to do to keep busy during this merely temporary "lull".
- 09/15/10 02:36 AM
I keep reading in the media, and in blogs that some Realtors are experiencing a modest downturn in business. (Not me, heavens no... I'm busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger)... and these people are finding themselves with excess time on their hands.
Some have suggested that they dedicate that extra time to calling expireds. Some have mentioned that they should work their farm and send out more advertising flyers. Others tout the value of Buffini-esque methods, of staying in touch with former buyers and sellers, and the value of "drop-bys" and lunches and other types of prospecting in order to build … (92 comments)
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evanston: are you an Outlier?
- 09/07/10 12:11 PM
My daughter (yes, the cute-as-a-button one), and her husband bought me a book a while back, which I read with relish, and then set aside. It was a short book by my standards, only 299 pages long (don't get too excited... it's only a 5x7 book).. called Outliers.
It's a book that explores the reasons behind success and quickly and effectively debunks the theory that you can become a success by "fluke". He's not saying that just anyone can become a success, nor is he denying the fact that sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the … (70 comments)
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evanston: smile for the birdie
- 09/01/10 11:08 AM
In the past, I have complained, sometime bitterly, about real estate agents whose photographs don't look a thing like them due to their antiquity (both the photo and sometimes the agent).
So I was pleased when our office hired a reknowned local photographer to come in and take fresh photos of all of our agents, at a nominal fee. And being a bit of a graphic arteest in a former life, (and a bit of a masochist in THIS one), I agreed to do some of the photoshop touch ups (remove fly-away hair, a blemish or two, soften a couple of … (24 comments)
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evanston: What's this about blogging being dead?
- 08/29/10 03:26 PM
I go away for a couple of days of R&R, with the mum, and I return to Active Rain, only to learn, according to several well-written, well-thought-out, highly commented posts, that blogging has died in my absence? (I knew I shouldn't have gone out of town!)
What the fudge?
C'mon, it just got started... well, at least I just got into it. It can't have died before I've had a chance to be a giant pain in the patootie!
Why, heck... I don't even think it's on life support, let alone dead. Blogging is still in it's infancy. Good content will … (19 comments)
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evanston: What You Need to Know About Credit Scoring
- 08/24/10 04:45 AM
We hear conflicting information about how our credit is affected by different scenarios. Here's an excellent synopsis of how they build those numbers, by Larry Bettag of Cherry Creek Mortgage.
Pay attention, now, it's important stuff.
Credit is one of THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES IN getting a loan today. Time and time again, I'm called by a client who says "I PAY MY BILLS ON TIME, BUT MY PEOPLE SAY MY CREDIT STINKS....
Maybe I'll just pay off my credit cards today..... No, No, No, No Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!" Truthfully, there is more to a credit score than just making your payments on … (2 comments)
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evanston: Open House at 2439 Cowper, Evanston, IL
- 08/22/10 03:58 AM
OPEN HOUSE, EVANSTON, IL
I will be sitting an Open House today at 2439 Cowper, Evanston, IL at this darling... storybook cottage. It's just as charming as it appears, but also larger than it looks. It's located in an area of Evanston where there have been recent tear-downs and sales of homes that are in the high 800's and 900's, and even a couple of low millions.
This home is only a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home... (a great alternative to living in a condo), but it has character and charm to spare. The living room has a fantastic stone … (21 comments)
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evanston: Read first, comment later.
- 08/20/10 11:20 AM
When you read a post, here on Active Rain or elsewhere, one that has bunches o'comments on it... do you bother to read through the comment stream before plopping down a comment? I know, I know... there are some who don't even read the entire post... but this isn't about them.
I have seen several posts, recently, especially some of the featured posts... where many of the comments say the same things that were said just a few comments above them.
Sometimes, I understand that you want to make a comment without reading the comments, so that you don't taint your … (146 comments)
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evanston: let's talk about Ambient Awareness
- 04/20/10 09:11 AM
at Active Rain Camp, Ben Kinney talked a little about "Ambient Awareness"...
"now what the heck does that mean?",
you might ask. Well, it's really about absorbing all of the things around us, and what awareness we have of all the world around us, without actually realizing it.
"Give me a f'rinstance".
Allrighty... I used to have an ad running at the local movie theatre. It was a 15 second ad that filled the screen. Okay, that doesn't really sound like it's "ambient" does it? That sounds kinda direct. But consider that the ad ran a full 20 minutes before … (14 comments)
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evanston: seventy percent complete
- 03/20/09 01:51 AM
As lenders tighten their restrictions on getting loans, we're beginning to see a return to fiscal responsibility in lending. This is a good thing, right?
Okay, here's my current beef.
The rules say, that Fannie Mae will not purchase loans that were made on new developments (new construction or gut rehabs), where the development (or the legal phase, if the paperwork's been properly submitted) isn't at least 70% sold and/or complete.
I have a client who's purchased a condo in a 36 unit development. He will be unit #8 that is sold... but until 70% of the units are either finished … (11 comments)
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evanston: the long and lonely alley
- 03/20/09 01:21 AM
Barack Obama (the 44th President of the United States of America) appeared, last night, on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. An interesting method of "bringing his message to the people".
He didn't play saxophone, nor did he wear dark glasses.
The very first sitting President to appear on any late night talk show. Just a couple of buddies talking about sports (Bowling) and the world.
Apparently the bowling alley that Harry Truman had installed in the White House hasn't helped Barack's game much.. he's averaging 129. He made a self-deprecating joke about his lack of bowling skill, and everyone laughed... … (9 comments)
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evanston: Southwest airlines gets a good "rap".
- 03/19/09 03:09 AM
For those of you who've flown Southwest Airlines before, you know they don't do things quite traditionally. Typically, when the flight attendants stand up at the beginning of the flight to give you instructions, they'll go "off script" a little.
Once when flying, they told us that this was a no-smoking flight, and anyone caught smoking would be asked to sit in the designated smoking area... "out on the wing".
On this particular flight, the flight attendant, Robert, asked the passengers to begin clapping hands to a simple straight-foward beet, and then began "rapping" out the flight instructions... he enthusiastically rapped:
… (22 comments)
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evanston: Nitroglycerin, Guerrillas and Tarantulas, oh my!
- 03/18/09 04:44 AM
A friend of mine used to be in the real estate business. In fact, he was, at one time, a top producer in our office.
Under the best of times, Real Estate can be a demanding mistress, but with our recent downturn, this long-time agent began really feeling the pressure, and it showed. His health deteriorated rapidly, and soon he was admitted to the hospital where they confirmed that he had serious bleeding ulcers.
The doctors told him that he needed to reduce his stress level, and relax. Being a Realtor, he of course had difficulty doing that, since he had … (16 comments)
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evanston: National Corndog Day - a natural extension of March Madness
- 03/18/09 01:54 AM
Ladies and Gentlemen of the rain... it's my privilege to let you know that March 21st, is National Corndog Day. Yeah, I didn't know there was such a thing either. But apparently it's been going on for the past 16 years, as this will be the 17th Annual Celebration of National Corndog day in the United States.
According to Wikipedia: A corn dog, pogo or corny dog is a frankfurter coated in cornbread batter and deep fried in hot oil, although some are baked. Almost all corn dogs are served on wooden sticks, though some early versions were stickless. (aren't you … (13 comments)
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Evanston, Illinois (the suburb my office is based in, and where I live and practice real estate)...was included in Movoto's top ten most exciting suburbs!! 
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