My other Real Estate Blog - 11/30/08 07:04 PM
During the past 12 months 13,750 new visitors have visited my other real estate blog and I am happy to report this blog has  now  reached a new milestone of 25,000 visitors. I want to thank all of those who have visited the site this year and hope you will visit us in 2009.
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Making Dollars and Sense out of Realtor Magazine December 2008 Issue... - 11/30/08 06:38 PM
I just finished reading an article in the December 2008 issue of Realtor magazine "Making Dollars (and Sense) or Investing in a Downturn" and had to write this blog as my response. The article begins by saying it is a Great Time to Buy Real Estate for the following reasons- lots of inventory, low mortgage rates, and motivated sellers, and more renters because more people are less inclined to qualify for a loan because of poor credit. It then goes on to interview Realtors who are now Investors and buying real estate. I find this article kind of insulting on many … (7 comments)

Its Time For a Turkey Joke? - 11/20/08 03:47 PM

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GO Wait your Turn Ford, GM, Chrysler - 11/19/08 02:39 PM
Yesterday, I watched the "Big Three " CEO's from Ford, GM, and Chrysler ask for a $25 Billion dollar bailout from our Government. As I sat there listening to the questions from our Senators and then listened to the answers from each of the Auto Executives I thought to myself "Why do these guys need a bail out from the Government?" " Why don't they go ask the Oil Industry Giants "Exxon-Mobil", "BP", "Shell"  and "OPEC", who have been making nothing but money from us consumers to bail out the Auto Industry.  I go on to think about this a little … (2 comments)

What is the Real Reason for Selling your Home? - 11/19/08 01:47 PM
I think it is time for all of us to ask our Sellers the important question "What is the real reason for Selling your Home Today?" I think it is important to ask this question because many agents are listing homes that are in pre-foreclosure status and are not disclosing this information to other broker, or buyers who may be interested in purchasing the home. I can only assume the Listing agents are not aware of the true situation with their Sellers or just never asked the important questions when they took the listing.
In order for us to improve our … (3 comments)

Are You Ready for Some Help? - 11/17/08 02:22 PM
Honesty- " Honesty is he best policy". If you honestly do not know how you got in your current situation or how to get out thats ok because that is why I started the Help Program because many of us are in the same situation and it sometimes takes a person from" the outside looking in rather than a person from the inside looking out" to help  guide you through a difficult time. If you find your self needing Help then together we can look at your current situation and begin to map out all the options for your particular situation.
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Short Sales and Bank Owned by the Numbers... - 11/14/08 11:12 AM
As a follow up to the Chicago Crains Report ranking Illinois as the 9th Highest in terms of foreclosures I decided to see how my primary market in Evanston is doing in relation to the State. I decided to see how many Single Family Homes and Attached Family homes are currently being marketed as either Short Sales or Bank owned properties.
In Evanston there are 26 Single Family Homes listed as Short Sales and another 14 listed as Bank Owned.  This  number of both Short Sales and Bank Owned Real Estate represents  14%  (40 out of 289) of all Active Single … (1 comments)

Chicago Crain Reports Illinois is 9th Highest in Foreclosures... - 11/13/08 09:23 AM
According to a new report from Chicago Crain 12,681 homeowners in Illinois have received a foreclosure-notice last month. This represents one (1) foreclosure notice for every 410 homeowner. According to Realty Track figures, Illinois is ranked as the ninth (9) highest among other states. Other states in the top 10 were California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio. The Top three states are -Nevada, Arizona, and Florida.
With Wednesdays news by Treasury Secretary Paulson  stating that the Fed does not intend to use the TARP money to buy risky  mortgage assets it is the opinion of this writer that the … (0 comments)

What Do you Say to A Tenant ... - 11/12/08 12:35 PM
The other day I was doing a BPO and taking the normal picture of the house( Front, Side, Back Yard, Street View) when I noticed some starring at me through some shades. When I was about finished with my pictures, this person came out of the house and asked me what I was doing. I told them I was doing a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) for a bank. I then asked him if he was the owner and he said no he was the tenant. I gave this person my business card and information to verify the information I was giving … (0 comments)

Books that Inspire.. - 11/11/08 10:39 PM
The more I watch the news, read the paper about the financial crisis, the more I realized I need to brush up on my knowledge of Economics. So, I decided to read some books on Economics.
The first book I read was " The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What it Means" by George Soros. I thought this book would be a good start since I needed to understand how we got ourselves into this mess from somone who is from Wallstreet and could enlighten me about how the financial markets actually operate.  I learned alot of economic theory from this … (1 comments)

Are You Upside Down with Your Mortgage? - 11/01/08 12:29 PM
 
Somethings are used to being upside down like
 
Bats
   
Monkeys and

Sloths

 
While other things don't like it
 
like
Homes and

 
People

 
 Are You Upside Down With Your Mortgage? Do you Owe More than Your Home is Worth?
Why be upside down when you should be on your feet? 
A "Short Sale"" is a better alternative than "Foreclosure.
 
 
 
 

 
Why ride the roller coaster when you don't have to.
 
                                                    Find out if a "Short Sale" is right for … (0 comments)