Cook County Real Estate Blog

Orland Park Townhomes for Sale

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:47:44 -0600

How many Orland Park Townhomes and Condos are up for sale today? Click the link and although the amount might have changed depending on when you read this, today (11-22-09) there are currently 370 attached properties up for sale in Orland Park.

Also, be sure to check out my newest Orland Park townhouse listing located in the popular The Enclave At The Preserves subdivision located at 11556 Lake Shore Dr., Orland Park IL 60462. This was originally a model with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a full finished walk-out basement, water view and much more! View photos, maps and get all the information you'll need by clicking the address link.

If you're a seller and would like your property featured with it's own personal website, call Judy Orr at 708-536-8200. Judy can help you with all of your Orland Park realty needs. Classic Realty Group is located at 15545 S. 71st Ct., Orland Park, IL 60462. We are local REALTORS and know the Orland Park village.

Tinley Park Condominium For Sale

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:38:22 -0600

18001 S. Oak Park Ave.
Tinley Park, IL 60477
Beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom 2nd floor condo

Judy Orr

Office:	708-536-8200
Website:	Visit Website

Price	:	$134,000
Bedrooms	:	2
Bathrooms	:	2
County	:	Cook
Property Type	:	Condo or Townhouse
MLS Number	:	07367124

click for more information and pictures

Property Description

This super sharp Oak Village condominium will surprise you! When you enter the door you'll be amazed at the open floorplan and the gorgeous Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors.

The kitchen had structural changes made to open it up to the living and dining areas and a snack bar was added. The cabinets were refaced and there are other new trim details.

The dining room is open to the kitchen and living room and there is plenty of room for a larger dining room table and hutch. Off this area is a real walk-in pantry for even more storage. There is also a guest/coat closet and a laundry room with a full sized washer and dryer.

The living room opens up to the balcony that faces some of the expansive courtyard area. Grilling is allowed.

The master bedroom suite has been configured to offer more space and includes a walk-in closet. The private master bathroom features ceramic tile, as does the updated hall bath. The 2nd bedroom is a nice size and could be used as a den or office if you don't need another sleeping area.

Out in the hallway on the same level is a conveniently located private storage closet. These buildings are very well taken care of, including the grounds. As you drive up you'll notice the nice berm created to buffer any traffic from the street. This unit faces away from Oak Park Ave. (facing East).

This is also in a wonderful location close to the train and charming downtown Tinley Park. I-80 is close by to get where ever you need to go.

Other features include: pets are allowed, there is a pool and a party room, all appliances stay and a Home Warranty is included! You'll love coming home to this super sharp Tinley Park condo.

Features List

2 bedrooms	2 full bathrooms	Open floor plan
Hardwood floors	Updated kitchen	Refaced cabinets
Custom snack bar	Formal dining room	Pantry closet
Balcony	Walk-in closet	Ceramic bathrooms
Extra storage	2nd level unit	Central air
All appliances stay	In-unit laundry	Great location
Close to trains	Near downtown Tinley	Close to I-80

Equal Housing Opportunity.

Classic Realty Group : 15545 S. 71st Ct. - Orland Park IL 60462 : 708-536-8200

ePropertySites Review

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:17:15 -0600

Disclaimer - I do not work for ePropertySites.com - I am just a client. I know many agents have multiple websites and I do, too. But I wanted something else, I wanted to streamline everything so it worked better and wasted less time and I wanted to control expenses better.

Click the photo to view the site

My First Website

I got my first website using a free Point2 Agent site many years ago. It was a love-hate relationship. I loved how it showcased my listings. Nothing was close. But I hated the huge code that made pages load slowly. I also hated that Point2 insisted I put my listings in a "neighborhood" or "subdivision", even if one truly didn't exist, so they could then turn around and try to sell it back to me. I was never happy with the full-page layout and even though I have completely customized a few Wordpress blogs, I didn't have enough css knowledge to make changes to my P2 site.

However, my first site, which is what I consider a niche site because it covered only one of several main villages I work in (I work in 40+ different towns but many are very small), made it to top Google position on a free Point2 site. It wasn't overnight and took work on my part, but it happened.

I have since converted that site to a Real Estate Webmasters site, one of two I currently have through REW. Yet I kept my Point2 site and generalized it to a larger area, encompassing all of the Chicago suburbs I work in. I even upgraded it last year so I could use up to 30 photos because it was still the best listing site I've seen and sellers liked it. It also provided me with an unbranded "virtual tour slideshow" for the MLS.

For all those years I kept a free site and only upgraded a year ago. I just canceled my Point2 website completely. I've been searching for something else, something better suited for what I want - just a way to showcase my listings better online that I can use on my REW sites if I want (and my blogs, etc.).

Active Rain Helped Me Find What I Was Looking For

I was reading an Active Rain post and there was a quick mention of ePropertySites in one of the comments. I checked it out and compared it with another similar provider. But I chose to sign up with ePropertySites because of one item - the fact that they syndicated the listings and the other provider did not.

I've looked at and tried other single property sites such as Realbird, Classified Flyer Ads and many more. I liked Realbird and was almost going to go with that exclusively since I do like it. But I wanted something more.

I Was Down To My Last Two Choices

It was between ePropertySites and VOBRE. They each have somewhat different offerings. I was leaning toward VOBRE because I could have used their e-fax services and get rid of my current one. But at the time they did not syndicate the listings and all of a sudden my sellers are expecting this (they didn't before even though I offered it - it didn't seem to impress them in the past).

I even contacted VOBRE to see if syndication was in their future and they said it was coming soon. But the last time I checked their site I did not see any mention of it. So I signed up for ePropertySites instead.

Here's the Deal

If you only have a few listings per year then you'd probably be better off paying $10.00 a listing (for a year). Because I get a lot of listings I chose the $10.00/mo. option which handles up to 10 listings. I only have my 3 newest listings but will need to pull a couple older listings over. Here is my Orland Park townhome listing as an example.

And here's what is offered:

Single property website at $10.00 each or up to 10 at $10.00/mo. - customization of styles and colors available - the photo above is another of the sites I created.
Unlimited photos - high def allowed.
A virtual tour using 20 of those photos.
The virtual tour can be sent to Realtor.com - no cost if you are a Showcase Realtor.com client.
You get a branded and unbranded virtual tour and the entire website unbranded for your MLS - I've been using the entire site.
You can create high-def panoramic tours (I haven't done this yet).
You can create custom pages for your single property websites - add whatever you want! You can upload paperwork such as disclosures, for example.
Certain pages are already created if you want to use them such as a Map Page, WalkScore, Schools & Demographics page pertaining to each property's exact location.
Each property gets a mobile phone number so people can text for more information. Different phone providers offer different info - not all providers will work with this (to use it you'd order riders with the text # and single property url - you don't need to use either).
The text messaging feature gives you call capture.
Widgets are provided for your blogs and sites (mine is in the sidebar to the right).
There is code provided for other websites, blogs and even special code for Active Rain postings!
Flyers can be generated from the site.
You can put your Open Houses on the site and can have text or a "canned person" introduce your website or open house. See my New Lenox home site as an example.
You can add your own voiceover to your tours.
There's a feedback system (for property showings) but I haven't used it.
They syndicate to many other real estate portals and offer easy Craigs List and Backpage postings.
You can get your own domain to re-direct to the site.
The upgraded version ($10.00/month) offers a full agent website (I have no need for that) and more features that I haven't used yet such as one called Broadcast Your Move to give to a buyer after they purchase a house.

It's Blowing Away My Competition

I've attended 3 listing appointments and got all 3. I took my little laptop with me and showed these sellers the single property site and used the examples from the site since I hadn't created my own yet. It's a killer listing presentation and you can actually create a presentation using the listing you're trying to get (of course you won't have interior photos). I haven't tried that yet.

My sellers have been extremely happy with their sites and I've been told I've gone above and beyond. Keep in mind, I've been using Point2 and always send them the url but it just didn't generate the accolades like this has.

There is a forum where you get good help and that's all I've needed so far. I'm not sure what will happen when I get more than 10 listings, but it would be worth it to spend another $10.00/mo. for 10 more. Or I might check out VOBRE again to see if they syndicate and do a side-by-side comparison on each provider.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with ePropertySites and just wanted to put it out there since I haven't seen much written on it and I think it might be a great fit for some of you like it is for me.

Orland Park Real Estate Stats

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:21:01 -0500

How many homes are for sale in Orland Park today? Today, there are 268 Orland Park homes for sale. How does this compare to active listings at other times this year? Are things better or worse?

In January, I wrote a post in my Chicago Suburbs Real Estate Blog that there were 244 homes up for sale in Orland Park. Many listings in January have been sitting over the winter. Although I did have a wonderful January one year (can't remember when that was), the month of January is usually a bit slower. A lot of sellers don't list their properties until the spring. Orland Park had less homes up for sale this past January, 2009, then it does now in October.

In April there were 287 homes on market, up from January. This reflects the spring selling season where many sellers try to get their homes on the market from March through May.

In July, which is towards the end of our summer sales spike, there were 295 single family homes on the market in Orland Park. Compared to that, today's market is lower. Does that mean all of those homes sold? Not necessarily, some sellers take their homes off the market during the fall or winter months knowing that there will be less buyers looking once the school season begins. But there does seem to be a surge towards the end of summer so a lot of inventory could have been sold since then.

The looming expiration of the First-time Buyer's Tax Credit certainly brought a lot of buyers out trying to find a home so they could qualify for the credit. That could also explain the drop in inventory from July to October.

Another reason could be that sellers that had homes sitting on the market finally reduced price enough to generate offers. There are so many price reductions occurring that buyers are getting used to them.

If you're still looking for an Orland Park home for sale give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or use the "e-mail me" link next to my photo.

Orland Park Homes For Sale Under $200,000

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:40:58 -0500

In today's slow Buyer's Market, it is interesting to see how many Orland Park homes for sale under $200,000 exist on any given day. If you click the link you'll see that as of today, there are currently 7 Orland Park homes available now priced under $200,000!

These homes range in price from a low of $170,000 for a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bathroom ranch style home (all on one level) up to a cute little dollhouse offering 2 bedrooms and 1 bath priced at $199,900. Two are short sale listings and the rest seem to be regular owner sales.

Within the past 6 months, there have been 14 closed Orland Park homes for sale under $200,000 and besides the 7 currently available, there are also 3 under contract and 2 that are Deal Pending (closing date set, just waiting to close). The lowest priced sale was a foreclosure property that sold at $98,000 on 6/26/09.

When you consider that the average home price in Orland Park in 2008 was $380,829, to find 7 Orland Park homes for sale under $200,000 is a great value for buyers. In the past, many first-time home buyers were not able to afford living in Orland Park and had to look elsewhwere.

In case you don't know, Orland Park IL has been listed on Money Magazine's top 100 cities to live in. Orland Park offers so much shopping, dining and entertainment that you don't have to leave this popular village to find anything.

If you would like to see any or all of these 7 Orland Park homes for sale under $200,000, give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or contact her by the e-mail link to the right. Judy Orr is an experienced (licensed 26 years), local Orland Park REALTOR and would be happy to show you any Orland Park real estate in any price range. Classic Realty Group is located in Orland Park at 15545 S. 71st Ct. We are your local Orland Park real estate brokerage.

Village of Orland Park buildings and fountain

Tinley Park Townhomes For Sale

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:27:46 -0500

I currently have two beautiful Tinley Park townhomes for sale (click the photos):

7018 Plymouth Ct. - 2 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms with a 2 car garage, fireplace, huge loft, main level laundry room and a full finished basement in Meadow Mews subdivision.

6832 W. 179th St. - SOLD! 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms with a 2 car garage, new gleaming hardwood floors, loft and a basement close to downtown Tinley Park

How many attached Tinley Park properties for sale are there today? Click on Tinley Park townhomes and you'll see that there are 318 attached properties currently available that include condominiums, townhomes, duplexes, etc.

If you're interested in purchasing a Tinley Park townhouse, please give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or use the Contact Form. Judy has shown and sold Tinley Park real estate for 26 years and knows this popular village.

A Good Buy Me Episode

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:47:09 -0500

One of my favorite HGTV shows is "Buy Me," which tells real stories about sellers and their real estate agents. I wrote about a local Chicago real estate episode that told about stubborn sellers that hired their son to be their agent. The episode I'm writing about today was similar in that the seller used her friend to list her house.

The seller had to sell

This seller could no longer afford her home after losing her job. She also took money out of her home to start a business but that failed. The house was too big for her and just the utility bills were too much for her to be able to afford. So she made the decision to sell and rent a place instead.

She hired her friend - and wasn't happy

She didn't like the suggested list price and her friend was honest about the fact that she felt it was too high. The homeowner was quirky and her decorating was over-the-top. Her agent/friend helped her declutter and even helped her paint.

Yet with all of the hands-on help offered by the agent, the seller felt her friend wasn't marketing the home properly. The episode showed that the friend/agent held an open house and held a broker's open where no one showed up. There were some showings and feedback was that more work needed to be done and it was deemed to be too high.

Broker's opens are not popular in the area I work in. I had a fellow agent hold one with a buffet of food offered and I would have stopped by if I wasn't busy showing my own buyers homes. No one came and the seller realized that broker's opens do not sell a home (and that one was overpriced, too - I'm not sure if it ever sold).

Personally, I do not believe in open houses and I rarely hold them. I've tried everything (mailings, expensive print advertising, offering food, getting other area agents to hold simultaneous opens and working together, etc.). In 26 years I have never sold a property because of an open house. Like many sellers, this seller felt that open houses were important and was unhappy that her agent wasn't being more aggresive by holding them more often.

There was only one thing I could fault her friend/agent for and that was taking photos before some of the decluttering and painting was done. The seller happened to view her listing online and was mortified to see this and took her own photos. In my opinion, that was something the agent did that wasn't very professional.

Yet there was an offer

After the new photos were posted it was made to look like more showings occurred. I'm really not sure if it was because of the photos or time of year or what. But there was finally an offer. It was initially low but with negotiating it turned out to be a decent offer. Yet the seller wanted more. She insisted her home was worth more and she should have asked higher. So the deal did not happen.

So she hired a new agent

Once the listing expired with her friend, the seller hired an agent that worked with a "big" brokerage. As usually happens when a new agent comes in, the seller reduced her price. To this agent's credit, he did have a Broker's Open where a bunch of agents came through. Feedback was still that the home was priced too high, even with the reduction.

And the seller lamented not accepting the first offer

Yep, the first offer that she let get away was the best one. It showed her crying that her prior agent was right and she should have listened to her but she was too stubborn.

So agent #2 convinced her to lower her price much lower than the original offer she received and she finally sold it. She lost a lot of money being stubborn and not trusting her friend/agent.

This story just goes to show that some marketing techniques that sellers value don't really sell a property. Only showing your home in it's best light and pricing it correctly will get it to sell.

Many times, the first agent is blamed for not getting a home sold. Even when the seller realizes that the first agent was absolutely on target with the correct price, that is not remembered when the home finally gets sold via the 2nd or 3rd (or more) agent at a much lower price.

Sometimes I don't want to be the first agent with a home where the sellers have a great house that is difficult to value in this market but the property is wonderful. I know where I will draw the line regarding taking the listing or not, but I am willing to work with certain sellers. Will they blame me when it doesn't sell? I'm not worried about it. If they're not willing to reduce when the market has spoken, I'll even let them out of my contract. I'm not going to fight with unreasonable sellers.

Watching shows like Buy Me shows me that these kinds of stubborn sellers are everywhere and you either take the listing and give it a try or you walk away. I do walk away from sellers that are way overpriced where I have comps to prove it, but I seem to attract unique properties that are difficult to comp out. So if sellers seem somewhat reasonable I'll give them a try. But I don't worry about it if it doesn't work out and the listing expires.

It's all part of the cycle and I work with many expired listings where I was the successful agent because I was able to get the sellers to realize that they were priced too high. Sometimes sellers need a second opinion.

If you're a buyer or seller interested in Oak Lawn homes for sale give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or use the e-mail me link to the right.

How Many Orland Park Homes For Sale Are Available Today?

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:15:18 -0500

You can visit the #1 local website for Orland Park Homes (in Google) every day to see how the Orland Park real estate inventory is changing. Today there are 345 single family Orland Park homes for sale.

Prices start at $94,900 for a bank-owned reo 3 bedroom, 1 bath ranch style home up to $2,395,000 for a 5 bedroom, 6 1/2 bathroom 2-story style home. Of course, there is everything in between, meaning there is an Orland Park home for you.

You can view details of the homes, view photos and even virtual tours (if the listing agents provide them) and find out price and address of the properties. This is fine if you're just starting out in your Orland Park home buying search.

If you're ready to start viewing properties, it is a good idea to get an Automated E-mail Search that will send listings in your area(s), price range and with the amenities you want sent directly to your e-mail. Never miss a new listing as it goes on market! It's an easy-to-fill-out form and is well worth the few minutes it will take. You can feel confident that your information will not be sold to or shared with anyone else - we respect your privacy.

Call Judy Orr at 708-536-8200 - Judy is a local Orland Park REALTOR with 26 years experience.

How Many Homes Are Up For Sale in Oak Lawn Today?

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Thu, 07 May 2009 09:50:20 -0500

Today there are 319 Oak Lawn homes for sale ranging in price from $84,900 for a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom ranch style home up to $649,900 for a 6 bedroom, 5 1/2 bathroom 2-story style home. And there's everything in between.

That is a lot of property to choose from and you can see that price ranges in Oak Lawn real estate start low enough for first-time home buyers and offer more expensive, upscale homes. I have written of some great foreclosure deals I've been running into lately in the village.

I currently have a beautiful 2-story Oak Lawn home located on a triple lot priced at $240,000 at 9549 S. Oak Park Ave. There is a virtual tour link on the listing so be sure to view it.

I live in Oak Lawn, Illinois and am an experienced Oak Lawn REALTOR. If you'd like to view any Oak Lawn real estate give me a call at 708-536-8200 or Contact Me.

Orland Park Supply and Demand

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:58:11 -0500

It's interesting how many people do not understand our current market in this recession. When updating my Orland Park home sellers I send them an updated version of the following Orland Park Real Estate Supply and Demand Chart. This particular chart is for Orland Park homes for sale for the past six months.

Seeing data like this really makes your jaw drop. Look at the large amount of inventory compared to homes under contract and homes that have sold and closed. This shows why it is so important to price your Orland Park home properly.

Imagine being a buyer hit with all of this inventory. They have a lot of choices and are only going to choose the cream of the crop. That translates to the property that offers the most for the money. If your home is not at the lower rung of its market value, you won't have a good chance of getting your home sold.

On a bright spot, homes under contract are at a 6 month high in March of '09 and homes sold and closed are pretty good, too, falling only behind November's figures. Hopefully, this lopsided market will start to stabilize at some point, but this proves just how far we have to go. These are facts put together by Market Dynamics using MLS data. And this shows how few buyers are out there right now.

If you're looking for an experienced Orland Park REALTOR give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200. Classic Realty Group is located at 15545 S. 71st Ct. in Orland Park, IL 60462. We are local REALTORS and we know this great village.

Search the Orland Park MLS or fill out my Automated Home Finder Form to get new listings sent directly to your e-mail.

REO Listing Agents Not Listing Oak Lawn Condos Correctly

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:36:51 -0500

I recently wrote another article on this subject here regarding a different Oak Lawn condo for sale. That listing was listed with no mention of the in-unit laundry room it offered. And it was a nice sized laundry room that an owner could use a full-sized washer and dryer in. But the listing agent did not show that this laundry room existed. That is a huge thing!

In-unit laundry rooms bring more money to sellers. They are more desirable by buyers and can sell a property quicker. This unit was priced well, but if the laundry room had been listed it would have been shown to many more buyers and could have garnered more and higher offers. It is under contract but I bet the potential buyer got a terrific deal.

Today, I saw an even better deal (a steal) that was listed incorrectly

I don't want to go into too much detail as I did write up an offer for my buyer. This was a great unit that was priced almost 50% less than what I believe a true market value would be. I had previewed it the other day because it stated that there was no garage.

This is a style of condo building in the area that has 4 units per building and 4 garages. However, the MLS print-out said "no garage." I couldn't understand it because it did say "in-unit laundry" room/hook-up. Knowing these units, I am aware that the laundry rooms are located in the garage.

I called the listing office (they do not answer the phones, ever) and left two messages. They never called me back.

I couldn't get the key to work in any of the garages

I had previewed this property and even though I saw that there wasn't a garage per the MLS listing, my curiosity got the best of me and I tried the keys in each of the 4 garages downstairs. None of them opened.

Today, when I was with my buyers, I handed the key over to one of them and he was able to open the door. Lo and behold, there was the laundry room in the garage, that is heated with an automatic door opener. I'm just hoping other agents don't know better to check the garage or are having trouble getting in, too.

This is the best deal I've seen out there. I hope my buyers get it. If they weren't interested I would be making phone calls trying to find someone else to bid on it or might even bid on it myself, although I just recently purchased a condo in Scottsdale, AZ.

So if you're looking for property for sale in Oak Lawn, IL call me at 708-536-8200 or use the "Email me" link to the right. Search the Oak Lawn MLS to see everything that is currently available for sale.

An Oak Lawn Listing Agent Gives His Listing Away

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:18:26 -0500

I was showing Oak Lawn condos for sale to a family recently and stumbled across a steal! We were surprised to see that the Oak Lawn condominium had a large in-unit laundry room, as it wasn't listed on the MLS print-out. It was priced OK without it, but it was a steal with this feature! This agent made a huge mistake that will cost his seller money.

This was a bank owned foreclosure and although I anticipated other offers, I figured by omitting the in-unit laundry, maybe not too many other bids would come in, if any. But after we sent in our offer, we were informed there was another. Then I received a call that there were now multiple offers.

My seller was not emotional and when the bank came back with a counter-offer, my seller went up only $5,000 from his already low cash offer, knowing there were other offers on the table. I then received a phone call telling me that a mistake was made when entering the listing and pets were not allowed. I believe this 2nd error caused the other offer(s) to pull out, because now the bank came back with a better counter-offer. My seller came up another $5,000 and stayed firm. We were told the bank accepted the offer.

This listing agent didn't do his sellers a favor

This is a well established brokerage and I'm surprised at the mistakes I saw on this one listing. I know it's basically a one-man/family brokerage and he uses assistants, possibly younger family members. Someone did a sloppy job putting this in the MLS. Great for buyers, not so great for the seller.

When I put in a listing I ask my sellers to read it over as it's difficult proofreading your own handiwork. I can understand that no one at a bank would take the time to read over this listing, but in this case someone else in the brokerage office should have double-checked it. I'm certainly not going to point out their error as I'm working for my buyers.

This offer was so good a seller could flip this condo

As far as I could see, only cosmetic work needs to be done and with the price accepted, the most recent lowest priced condo similar to this one that had sold and closed sold for $50,000 more! This is such a good deal it's something I would consider investing in.

But the buyer's attorney is nixing the deal

If anyone has done a short sale, foreclosure or relo company transaction, you know there is a lengthy addendum that needs to be accepted and signed before the contract is fully accepted. The buyer's attorney stated that this was the worst addendum he has ever seen and afforded his buyer no rights. I mentioned this to the listing agent's assistant and she said she's seen much worse addendums than this one.

Of course, it does give the bank protection from anything that can arise, but some of the things my buyer stated (that his attorney supposedly told him) were not how the listing agent and I were reading off the addendum. This is a long-time attorney/friend of the family and there's no way I'm going to convince these buyers to get a second opinion. So they will most likely walk away from this excellent deal and never find anything close to it.

I have handled the sales of many short sale, relo and foreclosure properties and if the buyer wants the property, they sign the addendums. I've never had any problems because of them.

If you'd like to have a chance at this great Oak Lawn condo for sale, give me a call

It is a shame for anyone to walk away from this great value. My husband and I just purchased a Scottsdale AZ condo for sale and are not in the position to buy right now, or I'd be next in line if my current buyer walks, which I have every indication he will.

So if you're considering purchasing a 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath condominium in Oak Lawn, IL with a formal dining room, eat-in kitchen and an in-unit laundry room that will sell for around $50,000 less than similar Oak Lawn condos, call me at 708-536-8200 or use the "Email me" link to the right.

Search Homes and Condos in Chicago and all suburbs of Northern Illinois

Tinley Park Homes for Sale

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:33:05 -0600

Now you can see how many active listings are in Tinley Park at any given time without having to do a search. Today, there are 192 Tinley Park homes for sale. Prices start at $149,900 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath split level styled home and go up to $1,200,000 for a 6 bedroom, 6 bath custom built 2-story home with a 4 car garage.

There are many price ranges for first-time buyers and up. Styles in Tinley Park start with ranch style homes all on one level to cape cods, split levels, raised ranches and 2-stories. There is something for everyone in Tinley Park, IL.

Of course, you can create an Advanced Tinley Park MLS search to get your specific price range and any specific amenities you're interested in.

If you're interested in Tinley Park homes for sale give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or use the Contact Form. Judy has been selling Tinley Park real estate for 26 years and has the experience you need in making such an important financial decision.

Oak Lawn Real Estate Sales Statistics

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:01:30 -0600

I was happy to see that my hometown of Oak Lawn didn't do as badly as many other villages in the nation in the slowdown of 2008. Everything has decreased from amount of properties sold to sale prices, but all in all the figures aren't too bad.

Oak Lawn Single Family Homes for Sale

In 2007 there were 303 homes sold
In 2008 there were 268 homes sold showing a decrease of 11.6%

In 2007 the average sale price of homes in Oak Lawn was $268,994
In 2008 the average sale price was $237,064, showing a decrease of 11.9%

Oak Lawn Attached Properties for Sale - Condominiums, townhomes, duplexes, etc.

In 2007 there were 286 attached properties sold
In 2008 there were 175 attached properties sold showing a large decrease of 38.8%

In 2007 the average sale price of attached properties in Oak Lawn was $142,449
In 2008 the average sale price of attached properties was $142,005, showing a very slight decrease of .3%

Click the link to see Oak Lawn real estate sales statistics from 2005 to 2008.

Search the Oak Lawn MLS or get listings automatically sent to your e-mail by filling out the Automated Home Finder Form. Call Judy Orr, your Oak Lawn specialist, at 708-536-8200 if you'd like to view any properties in Oak Lawn or other southwest suburbs. Feel free to use my Contact Form

Search Orland Park Condos and Townhomes For Sale

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:05:27 -0600

The new custom IDX on www.cook-county-real-estate.net offers a quick glance at a full search for all active Orland Park condominiums and townhomes for sale for any given day. Click on the link to get to the page.

At the time of this post, there are currently 297 attached properties for sale in Orland Park, IL. Prices range from under $100,000 to the high $500,000's. This search combines condominiums, townhouses, duplexes and any other type of attached property.

This is a very general search. If you want a search to fit your exact criteria you have a choice of either doing an Orland Park MLS search or filling out the Automated Home Search form.

Either way you do it, happy searching!

If you want to view any Orland Park real estate give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or use the contact form to the right. Take advantage of today's low prices and interest rates!

Search Orland Park Homes For Sale

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:07:07 -0600

www.cook-county-real-estate.net has a new, custom IDX search. You can see at a glance on the Orland Park homes for sale page how many homes are currently active. Today there are 245 single family homes available and 296 condos/townhomes.

Of course, you can do an advanced MLS search and choose any town, price range and other amenities. You can save your searches, see a map and get directions and figure out your mortgage payments on the calculator.

Some listings have multiple photos and virtual tour links. The main Orland Park page will also give you information on this popular southwest suburb.

With these low interest rates now might be the best time to buy - so start your search today! If you'd like to see any Orland Park homes for sale give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or Contact Her.

The Referral Seller That Won't Budge

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:52:19 -0600

I have a Brighton Park home for sale that I truly thought had a chance when I first listed it. It had been listed by a previous agent that had it priced way too high. I showed my comps and the sellers agreed to lower the price.

This is a solidly built but dated home in an area of Chicago that is showing declining prices just like most Chicago subdivisions. There is still too much inventory.

I have kept these sellers up-to-date with the market and they have continued to reduce their price since we had very little interest. But they've hit their so-called bottom line and will not reduce anymore. And the house sits with no showings.

They have to sell

When we first listed the home it was priced correctly based on sales data. But for whatever reasons buyers were not interested in viewing it. It is on a dead-end street but there is a commercial area right across the street that is blocked by fencing. So you can't really see it but you know it's there. However, most buyers wouldn't know this unless they drove by. We didn't have any appointments.

So the sellers started reducing. We went from $250,000 down to $225,000 in increments. I believe it should now be priced around $200,000, but they won't have it. They live in another home and need this sold. They will not rent it out.

They have been vandalized

Someone damaged their fence in back and they had to repair it. Now someone tried to break in and they had to fix the locks. Someone stole mail and got a credit card in their name. Supposedly, they saw a photo of their neighbor as their identity thief.

Because of all of this any showings we do get can only be done on certain days as the sellers now have to travel over an hour to let buyers in. This was advice given by their attorney because of what has transpired.

Yet they won't reduce their price to get rid of this problem.

I'd love to give them the listing back

This listing was a referral by another client. I have to be careful here. In fact, I already turned down an overpriced listing that was also referred by the same client. Someone else took it and it has been on the market with that person for 113 days (it has been up for sale for 260 days total).

These Brighton Park sellers worked with me as the market started to go downhill so I thought we'd be OK. It did seem like we were just chasing the market and we were a step behind, but I figured we'd find that sweet spot where we'd get some activity and an offer. But the sellers stopped in their tracks before we could get there.

The listing expires in March and I don't want to keep it unless they get real. My "referral" client might just cross my name off his list but I refuse to work with this overpriced listing any longer. And even though it seemed like it was priced correctly in the beginning, it's a reminder that what looks good on paper isn't always true.

Judy Orr Now Editor for Orland Park Topix Page

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:57:40 -0600

I was introduced to Topix here at AR. I joined as an editor for the area I live in, Oak Lawn, Illinois. In fact, one of my Topix posts caused my standalone blog to exceed its bandwidth. Unfortunately, it wasn't a post about real estate. But it did get some views!

My main office is located in Orland Park, so I thought it would be fitting to also be an editor for that village. Being an editor only takes a few minutes a day.

I use my own posts from my multitude of blogs or I'll read through Google Alerts for the towns. I don't like to put police blotter type links up as I like to post more important news. Some of the news is negative such as break-ins, shootings and robberies (there was a bank robbed in my town recently not too far from my house)!

I also like to put local good news stories in. These are stories looked over by many of the big newspapers and they can shed some positive feelings during these negative times. I'll also try to use graphics and photos but it's not always easy depending on the story.

When I joined the Orland Park, IL page there were already two editors listed but neither one was active. When I first joined my photo did not appear as an editor on the main page and I wasn't happy about that. But once I started submitting stories I now appear first.

Not only is it kind of fun posting stories but it also educates me on what's happening in the towns I live and work in. But I also would like to gain some recognition from it in the hopes that when I meet a local buyer or go on a listing appointment a prospect might have seen me on the site.

I'm not sure how many people actually read Topix but some do because there are forums where people can interact. It does seem like some of the forum regulars live on Topix, though! There is some flaming but I stay out of it. I can't control or moderate the forums.

So if you've thought about editing on Topix I recommend you give it a try. You can get links to your own posts, although I don't spam my posts and I mostly add actual local news stories. Also, I make sure any of my own posts I link to are relevant to the town I'm posting it in.

Google Wiki - Is It Really Helpful?

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:38:34 -0600

've read several posts about the new Google Wiki function. In fact, I was introduced to it from a blog post on REW. I've read other posts here on AR.

If you haven't heard about it yet, it is simply a way to organize your search engine results by allowing you to move results up or down, delete or add them and even write notes. In the screenshot below, if you have really good eyes you'll notice there are little icons to the right of each site link, an arrow and an X. To the right of the green url is a comment icon baloon.

You can only access this feature by being logged in to your Google account. Since I use Gmail, I'm always logged in. If you don't have a Google account, I wouldn't bother getting one for this feature.

Can we use this to help our sites in organic search?

Some have suggested that maybe if we and enough searchers like our sites and move them to the top that it would help our organic search in some way. I don't buy this idea.

Imagine webmasters trading having their sites moved up in Google Wiki instead of trading links. Talk about manipulating serps, and we know Google doesn't like that.

On the opposite end, this could lead to competitors deleting your website or at the least, pushing it down. They could also leave negative feedback which is visible to the public. That's just not fair.

Be careful when using it for your own keyword searches

The only repetitive searches I do are to check my serps using my keywords, such as checking for Tinley Park real estate. In the screenshot below, you'll notice I fall behind the big portals of Homes.com, realestate.yahoo, Homegain and Trulia. Those dang portals!

For other keywords I'm not that far down but this is a newer keyword set I've been working on. I'm glad to be where I am but I'm not giving up there!

If I wanted to use the Wiki to bring my website to the top, what good will that do? If I start fooling around with my true organic site position then in order to check the real serps, I'd have to make sure I was logged out.

So unless you truly believe that manipulating your serps on Wiki will help you with natural, organic searches, I don't see any reason to move your own site around. You might forget you've done this and will think you've got the top spot and stop working on it.

Unless you do repetitive searches for certain things and hate having to drudge through the results, I don't see what benefit this is. I bookmark my favorite sites (I've actually created a text list since I don't like the new Firefox Favorites set-up). For me personally, I don't see the need for the Google Wiki.

A Topix Post Made Me Exceed My Bandwidth

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:47:42 -0600

I became an editor of Topix.com for Oak Lawn Illinois because of another Active Rainer, Bill Gassett. It's been fun and I've started to interact with some of the readers in the Topix forum.

It only takes a few minutes a day to find articles to post as I have a Google alert set up for Oak Lawn. Sometimes I use my own blog articles. And it was one article that captured a lot of interest.

I wrote about an Oak Lawn car dealership and how they were offering a Buy One Car, Get Another for $1.00. I even put a real estate twist to the story. It generated a lot of comments on the Topix page. And when I went to check the blog page I got a warning that my bandwidth was exceeded!

I got scared because it also said something about being suspended. So I quickly logged-in to my Bluehost account and couldn't see any problems. So I left it alone and figured I'd just check the next day. Everything was fine.

The Power of a Blog Post

Another curious thing happened. I received a couple of phone calls asking me if I still had any cars left for the "buy one, get one for a dollar" deal. I thought the first call was a joke. I explained that I just wrote an article on the subject and I was not the car dealership. I got another call this afternoon.

This story was heavily covered throughout the Internet on many news portals. Do people call all these other sources or was it just because my phone number was visible and easy to find? I mean, come on, where did anyone get that I was the car dealer from that post?

If they were only looking for a house!

And Yet Another Blog To Post To

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:11:03 -0600

At one point in my life I wanted to be a journalist. I've always had dreams of becoming a renowned author. Yet I didn't study writing and am no where near being a pro, not even a decent amateur.

But I love to write, especially about a subject I know so well, real estate. And it's a good thing I love to write. Because I have plenty of blogs to write in.

Why So Many?

Did I mention I love to write? One of my first domains was for a free Point2 Agent website that I had planned on being like a "Part 2" to another P2 site about the same town. I didn't know about creating one authority site and felt because as a free member I was limited to only 15 pages per site that by having two I'd cover everything I wanted to regarding the village of Oak Lawn.

So I built links to both sites and kept both domains. But then I created one main site for the town and had this other domain that I had built up with links and climbing search engine positions. Then along came Wordpress blogs and this was my first. It's been through many different templates and I'm loving the newest look. This is a hodgepodge South Chicago Real Estate blog that I put all kinds of news and articles on. And I use it mainly for links out to my other sites. This is my one standalone blog. Funny thing is, some locals have actually posted comments on it, and I don't really promote it. The domain has just been around for a while.

Once I created one main website using my original domain, I had a wordpress blog added to my Oak Lawn real estate site. This one is hyper local and is only for Oak Lawn and surrounding suburbs. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have created and put so much into this little niche site. But it was my first baby and I just can't get rid of it. And I've gotten business from it so it's worth keeping.

Next was my favorite Chicago Suburbs real estate news blog that was built into my main Cook County real estate website. This is my biggest authority site that has brought me a lot of business. I don't get many comments but I do get people signing up for it. And I know people read it because they call me with questions about some of my posts.

I think Active Rain was my next blog followed by the South Chicago Area blog I have at Real Estate Webmasters. Both of these blogs are different than my other blogs. On AR I write some Localism posts and more general real estate and website stuff. My REW blog is mainly for other real estate professionals and not so much for the public.

For some reason I joined Blogger (Blogspot, whatever it is) and started one there called Chicago Suburbs Real Estate Resources. This is purely self promotional to get links back to my other sites. I have no idea if anyone reads this but if they do, I hope it gives them a reason to check out one of my many websites.

And now I started another one! After many years as a standard member, I finally upgraded my website at Point2 Agent. And the upgrade gets you a blog (actually multiple blogs, but one's enough for me). So I am now introducing my newest Southwest Chicago Suburb Real Estate blog. I'm just starting with this one and they allow quick posting of listing activity which is nice.

Whew! I'm wearing myself out thinking about all of these blogs!

I actually threw one away

Believe it or not, I had started another hyper-local niche area blog for another large village I work in and the surrounding towns. I loved the look of it and I had created it (with another Wordpress template), to look more like a regular website. At the time I just felt it was too much and ended up "killing" it. And guess what, I kind of regret doing that. It's a popular area combining two of the top towns sales-wise of all the areas I work in. So it would have been nice if I had kept it up. In fact, it held first place position for the main keywords in MSN and Yahoo (didn't have it long enough to get good Google ranking although it started climbing).

Wouldn't one have been sufficient?

Hey, I'm still questioning my multiple websites. Imagine the authority my main site would have if I had put all the same effort into that one site. But I'm always afraid of putting all my eggs in one basket. I already had a Google penalty on one of my sites (we think it was for reciprocal linking) and even though it wasn't my main site, it was a long 3 months when it lost it's top Google positions.

I like trying different things and I know several agents that have multiple websites and blogs. However, they usually have a spouse or assistant helping them. I'm a one-woman show. It's a combination of work and a hobby for me.

I never journaled or wrote in diaries, so I'm making up for it now.

And I'm still being tempted

I have an account on Wordpress.com that I've yet to use (my other blogs are Wordpress.org blogs hosted elsewhere). I joined Zolve which has their own Community Blogs. I just got the invite today from WannaNetwork. But so far I'm resisting. I've got to resist...

Update: I just found out you can get a free Wordpress blog at Bloodhoundblog.net!

Previous Orland Park Short Sale Home Now Condemned

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:17:14 -0600

There was a beautiful Orland Park, Illinois home for sale that had originally been listed at $379,900 in May of 2007. I did not show it at that price and am not sure if the owners still resided in the home when it was first listed. MLS photos showed it fully furnished. It went through many price reductions and I believe when I first showed it, it was listed at $319,900 and was vacant.

This was a very grand looking home from the exterior and when you entered the home you were welcomed with gorgeous Brazilian cherry hardwood floors and an updated kitchen. The house was a very spacious quad level that had a lot to offer. (Note: the photo is clip-art I paid for and is not the actual listing, but reflects the nice brick home this once was).

My buyers did not jump on it and I showed them other homes, but they came back to this one. I told them how short sales worked and they seemed to understand as they had read up on the process. At the time, I thought the home was worth at least $300,000, if not more. I believe the price was reduced again to $314,900 by the time we wrote an offer of $285,000, which I thought might be too low.

The listing agent told us we had the high offer so far so we waited. He promised weekly updates that did not happen. Although my buyers seemed to understand the process they still called me so I would call the agent and hear the same old thing.

After more than 2 months of this I again contacted the listing agent who said, "I was just going to call you!" Yeah, right. The mortgage holder set their selling price at $315,000 and if my buyers wanted the house they'd have to come up to that price. They were not interested.

So the house sat. Obviously, no one else thought the house was worth $315,000. In fact, I showed it to another couple months later and was shocked to see how the once beautiful home had deteriorated. As we pulled up the once lush, green lawn was brown, overgrown and riddled with weeds.

As we stepped inside the floor was dirty with leaves and other dirt (the listing office was not in the area). But the worst thing was the smell that hit us as we walked in. It was mildew, and it wasn't there when I showed it to my first buyer clients.

The buyers I was showing it to didn't even want to see it anymore but I told them I wanted to check the source of the mildew and since we were there they accompanied me. We went into the sub-basement that was once used as a huge master bedroom by the prior owners. The black mold was visible on the drywall and the smell was so bad we had to leave immediately.

My first buyers still haven't purchased anything and I just got a phone call from them. They told me they drove past the house because they still liked it (but were hoping the bank would come down in price) and saw a sign on the door stating that it was now condemned.

I checked the MLS and saw that the listing was canceled by the listing agent. After 7 months at $214,900-$215,000, it was finally reduced to $299,000. No one bought, although some tried.

If the mortgage holder had accepted my buyer's offer maybe the problem that caused the mold would have been caught or maybe something happened simply because no one lived there and something leaked that went undetected.

Personally, I feel it's probably a good thing my buyers did not get the home because something caused that amount of mold and maybe it just wasn't noticeable when we viewed it. I have no idea if it was existing at that time. I don't know if an inspector would have found it.

My buyers called me to see if I knew anything and when I told them about the mold they were shocked. But I still think they had an interest. I told them to forget about this house and continue looking for something else.

It is off the market and condemned. The timing factor makes it seem like it has probably been foreclosed by now. The longer it sits, the worse it will become. I'm not sure how the village of Orland Park will handle a condemned house in foreclosure.

Orland Park is a popular Chicago suburb that was listed as one of the best cities to live in by Money Magazine. This home is situated among other homes worth in the $300,000's. The average price for single family Orland Park real estate in 2007 was $410,033. I'm sure the neighbors aren't too happy having this condemned home that is now an eyesore outside, too, on their block.

Note: Both photos are paid for clip-art and do not depict the property mentioned.

6 Year Old Thought Her Vote Counted

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:31:31 -0600

Covington Grade School located in Oak Lawn, IL, held a mock voting program for their students. My 6 year old granddaughter, Elle, attends the school as a first grader. I wasn't sure if all of the children were allowed to "vote" or if it was for the older students. I posted the article in Topix.com, where I am the editor for Oak Lawn, Illinois.

As I was getting ready to go out and vote today Elle asked me who I was voting for. She told me she voted for "the lady." I explained that the lady wasn't the Presidential nomination but the Vice President. I don't think she understood.

I also told her that her vote won't count because she needs to be 18. She wasn't happy about that and seemed disappointed that the voting held at her school wasn't real.

I thought about the conversation as I drove to the Village of Oak Lawn to cast my ballot. I didn't have to stand in line and it took minutes to vote.

On the drive home I couldn't help but smile at my granddaughter's desire to be heard. I hope she carries that right with her until she is old enough to make a difference. So I gave her the "I voted" sticker I received since in her mind, she voted!

Judy Orr Topix Editor for Oak Lawn, IL

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:01:50 -0500

Thanks to Bill Gassett's post about becoming an editor on Topix, Judy Orr, a long-time resident of Oak Lawn, has become the editor for Oak Lawn, IL. There were no editors for the village so Judy jumped in (even though multiple editors are allowed).

Judy already added one of her local blog posts about a quaint Oak Lawn restaurant called Millie's Ice Cream Shoppe and Deli. She will continue adding local blog posts and articles for the Oak Lawn page.

Judy invites you to view the Oak Lawn Topix page. Just visit Topix.com and put Oak Lawn's zip code in (60453) to view the page. Prior to Judy's involvement, a roboeditor selected news topics, some of which Judy deleted because they weren't really on topic.

Judy looks forward to keeping the village's page up-to-date and hopes to get some local interaction going. There are forums and many other national topics you can read. In fact, you could spend a lot of time on the site because it has so much information.

If you're thinking of buying and/or selling real estate in Oak Lawn or have any real estate related questions just give Judy a call at 708-536-8200 or use the Contact Form. Remember, Judy lives and works in Oak Lawn!

The Sarasota MLS Bites One of the Hands That Feeds It

Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs (Classic Realty Group) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:21:08 -0500

Marc Rasmussen, a successful Sarasota REALTOR®, has been in a fight with his local MLS regarding his own Sarasota MLS website that originally had the domain name "thesarasotamls.com". You can read all the lengthy details about TheSarasotaMLS.com Gone and my take about how The Sarasota MLS Attacks Its Own Member. The story was also picked up by Inman News and I'm glad the word is spreading. There are a few posts already on AR about it so I won't rehash the entire situation.

But what I did notice in reading all the posts and articles already created was some misinformation, and that's the purpose of this post. I'm not going to name individuals but just write about some of the comments made on those other sources. If I am wrong about something please correct me but give us all facts to disprove anything I've written.

One commenter stated that everyone goes through orientation and MLS was never allowed.

I went to orientation in 1983 and we didn't have computers back then. So I don't remember any mention of MLS not being allowed in a domain name. That statement just isn't true. It might not be allowed now, but Marc purchased this domain back in 2003. I do not believe there was any law or rule in 2003 on the subject.

In fact, NAR's own spokesman, Mr. Internet (Michael J. Russer) told people how to choose a good real estate domain name. Read about how Mr. Internet Told Agents to Use MLS in Their Domains. Look at the footer links in that article. Yep, this was published by the National Association of REALTORS®. For all we know, Marc read this article and ran to GoDaddy and tried Sarasota real estate - taken, Sarasotahomes - taken, Sarasotamls - available! Hey, that's one of the suggested domains on the chart Mr. Internet used in the article so it's OK!

Another commenter suggested that Marc should have investigated first.

And that's exactly what he did. He called NAR & FAR and was given the green light. I would have felt pretty confident if those associations told me it was OK. Remember, Mr. Internet suggested it in 2002.

You can't use MLS because NAR and/or the Sarasota MLS have it trademarked.

Oh no they don't. It is trademarked, however, by Major League Soccer!

And yet another commenter basically said that Marc shouldn't have depended on his website for his business.

This poster's comments insinuated that Marc should get down and dirty and go back to door knocking and sending mailers and all that back to basics stuff instead of working on a website where the leads just fell into his lap. In the 25 years I've been in the biz I've done it all - well, I never advertised on a billboard, bench or shopping cart. So I guess I didn't do it all.

My point is, if the only way to get business was to door knock I wouldn't have lasted 25 years. I hated it! And I refuse to do it. I don't like cold calling, either. Yet I've been Agent of the Year many times in my office.

NAR states that 82% of potential buyers start their search on the Internet. Any agent that is not trying to get some of that 82% is facing an uphill battle the way the Internet has been changing real estate over the years.

I don't know what Marc's marketing techniques are, but if all Marc did was have a killer website he should not be put down for it. I'm sure the jealous agents that couldn't catch him in the search engines are doing a happy dance right now. And that's too bad, because I don't think Marc was able to handle all the leads he received and was referring many.

Last year my website sent me over 50% of my business, which was a record year for me. I spent less time and money in marketing than any other year - because of my website. Remember, I hate door knocking so I keep my website as well oiled as possible so it continues working for me. Unlike cold calling, I love working on my sites.

Now I have some questions.

I have read that The Sarasota MLS doesn't technically exist anymore. They merged with another MLS and it is now called the Mid-Florida Regional MLS system. In Northern IL MLSNI (MLS of Northern IL) and CAR (Chicago Association of REALTORS® MLS) merged and the new MLS name is MREDLLC. There is no longer any MLSNI or CAR MLS. So why the fight? Oh, I know, Marc angered some agents.

How can NAR suggest using MLS in a domain name and then change the rules and not grandfather existing sites? I've also read how some agents were forced to give up their "MLS" domains while others in the same board are allowed to continue using their's. Again, seems like the domains that show up at the top of the search engines are the only ones in the witch hunt.

Do other agents realize what this means? That real estate vendors and lead generators can use MLS in their domain names and on their sites - but we can't! Type mls.com into your browser and view the site it takes you to. Click your state and look at the bottom of the page - Home Gain! If they are a licensed real estate broker I don't get how they can use this domain name. I guess they're not a member of NAR or the local associations. So all those Sarasota agents that felt Marc had an unfair advantage, don't you think this is unfair? I do!

For any agent that does not think this is right, please help Marc out.

Make some of your own posts on the subject. Throw Marc some link love. "Sarasota real estate" and "Sarasota homes" are the big keywords to use as anchor text to Marc's new domain, http://www.luxurysarasotarealestate.com/. Other good keywords are Sarasota homes for sale, sarasota florida real estate and sarasota real estate agent. I've sent him some links to different pages on his site.

If you don't care about what is happening to Marc please don't start flaming. I have never met Marc personally but have "met" him online and he comes across as a great person. Help his cause if you can.

Just found song lyrics on this debacle by Cal Carter. Let's all sing the SAR Pokie!

Click the link to get your Sarjacking button.