***OPEN HOUSE 1:30 to 4:00 -- CREST HILL/JOLIET TOWNHOUSE FOR SALE***
Located moments from restautants, shopping, grocery stores, parks and paths. . .this townhouse is looking for a new owner. It has recently had a facelift. . .new flooring, new bathrooms, new lighting, new A/C, new hot water heater. . .Come and check out the finished product Sunday 7/27 from 1:30 to 4:00.
The Colony West subdivision is a small grouping of maintenance free townhouses nestled along the Rock Run forest preserve in Crest Hill bordering Joliet. Children in the complex attend Troy Elementary schools and Joliet West High school.
Priced at $136,900, it is a great value for the area.
3 Bedrooms
1 1/2 Baths
1 Car Garage
Full Basement
Take a moment on Sunday and swing by. . .I can give you the grand tour and explain the home purchase process.
Directions: Essington to Theodore East to Cedarwood Dr South to Colony West subdivision. . .follow signs!
If you have been considering buying a Crest Hill or Joliet home, now is a great time. Interest rates are low, selection is high, prices are great.
This week I am meeting with a new client who was referred to me by a fellow AR member (Post about this is forthcoming!) This individual has a home to sell in my market area and contacted one of the local "big dog" agents who has tremendous market share.
This agent has name recognition, daily ads in the local paper, billboards throughout the area and routinely carries a lot of listings (89 as of this writing). This agent is legitamately a top producer, not just one who prints it on business cards and literature.
Naturally, my new client knew the name and contacted the agent to sell her Joliet home. An appointment was made.
The home being sold is currently used as a rental and the owner had to travel from her home a distance away in order to meet the agent for their scheduled appointment. To her dissappointment, the agent never showed up. Upon contacting the agent's office she was referred to an assistant. After messages left and conversations with assistant, my clients calls were not returned.
Her comment to me. . ."I think she is just to busy to bother with selling my home."
I must admit that I am happy this top agent didn't show up or return phone calls, because I have the privelege of working with a great new client to get her property sold. But, I began to wonder how many clients feel that their realtor is just too busy.
I aspire to be a top producing agent and am making strides in that directions, but my primary goal is to provide excellent customer service to my clients and build a sterling reputation as a reliable, responsible professional who knows her stuff!
So, I promise to. . .
Show up to appointments on time and prepared.
Answer my phone whenever possible.
Return messages in a timely fashion.
Give you the straight scoop about the market, your home, pricing. . . everything. No B.S.here!
Keep you updated.
Follow up, follow up, follow up.
Negotiate tenaciously on your behalf.
Manage the details of each transaction providing you with the smoothest buying or selling experience I can.
Earn your confidence and trust.
While growing my business, I promise that I will never be too busy to provide excellent customer service!
Lori Gilmore provides full time, professional real estate services in Joliet, Plainfield, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Lockport, New Lenox and througout Will County, Illinios.
Please visit my profile or visit JolietHomesOnline.com to find out more about the services I offer. . . or give me a jingle at 815-207-9703. . . I'd love to chat about your real estate needs.
Copyright(c) 2008 by Lori Gilmore. All Rights Reserved.
If you are looking for something to do in Joliet, IL this weekend, there are some great events to choose from.
The Taste of Joliet is happening and is going to be bigger and better than ever. It's happening Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Memorial Stadium. Come hungry. . .there are going to be 32 food vendors there ready to satisfy the pickiest eaters.
Big name entertainment includes Pat Benetar performing at 9:00pm on Sunday and Jo Dee Messina hitting the stage at 7:30pm on Saturday. Sprinkled throughout the three days will be some great local bands and performers.
Hours: Friday, June 27 5pm to Midnight
Saturday, June 28 12pm to Midnight
Sunday, June 30 1pm to 10:30pm
Admission: $3.00 Friday
$3.00 12pm to 3pm Saturday
$10.00 3pm to 11pm Saturday
$3.00 1pm to 3pm Sunday
$10.00 3pm to 9pm Sunday
If you happen to be there Sunday night, yours truly will be pouring beer at the Park Foundation Tent near the stage. . .stop by and say hello.
Saturday and Sunday in downtown Joliet the Joliet Fine Arts Festival will be open from 10am to 5pm each day. The admission is free and will feature highly talented artists from around the country. Last year's festival was amazing! Booths will line Chicago Street from Jefferson to Clinton and food and wine vendors will be on hand to provide a bit of sustinence to patrons.
In conjunction with the Festival, the Friends of Community Public Art will host and open house and sale from 10am and 4pm Saturday at the gallery located at 310 N. Ottawa street. Over 15 artist will be working in the studio painting, sculpting and creating mosaics. Those who visit will have the opportunity to learn abou the ore than 150 outdoor Joliet artworks than have been created by Friends of Community Public Art in partnership with the City of Joliet.
Set aside some time this weekend to get out and enjoy all the city of Joliet has to offer!
Contact Lori Gilmore, Realtor®, Radcliffe Realty at 815-207-9703 to list your property for sale or to buy a home, condo or investment property in Joliet, Plainfield, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Lockport, New Lenox or elsewhere in Will County, Illinios.
Please visit my profile or visit JolietHomesOnline.com to find out more about the services I offer. . . or give me a jingle. . . I'd love to chat about your real estate needs.
Copyright(c) 2008 by Lori Gilmore. All Rights Reserved.
This great property says "Welcome Home!" Located near shopping, restaurants and golf courses this fabulous ranch home is seeking a new owner.
This light and bright home features and open living area with gleaming hardwood floors and a welcoming fireplace. The spacious kitchen has abundant counter space and plenty of storage. The dining are opens onto the large fenced yard, a private place to enjoy a barbeque with friends.
With three bedrooms, two baths and a full basement, there is plenty of space. Call today for your private showing. . .Lori Gilmore 815-207-9703
One of the things I love about living in Joliet, IL is that for a mere $11.30 ($5 on the weekends) I can jump on the Metra and enjoy the delights of Chicago and come right back home again. There are benefits to living so close to the third largest city in the nation!
A particularly delightful excursion includes a trip to Briar Street Theater to see the Blue Man Group. Tonight, I'm not taking the Metra, instead I will pile on a bus and accompany an excited group of high school students to a show that never fails to entertain, provoke and provide laughs galore.
As a former high school teacher, I love this annual adventure. The students who have been to the show try to explain the performance to the others, with mixed results. If you have never experienced the Blue Man Group live, it is a hard show to describe.
So for an evening, I will not think about real estate, but instead be transported to another world. . .one where a plastic poncho just might be necessary! (If you have been in the front row during a performance, you will understand this reality!)
However, tomorrow, if you are searching for a dream home that is merely a train ride away from the fabulous city of Chicago, consider the Joliet area. . . it is convenient, affordable and offers some terrific real estate choices!
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Contact Lori Gilmore, Realtor®, Radcliffe Realty at 815-207-9703 to list your property for sale or to buy a home, condo or investment property in Joliet, Plainfield, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Lockport, New Lenox or elsewhere in Will County, Illinios.
Please visit my profile or visit JolietHomesOnline.com to find out more about the services I offer. . . or give me a jingle. . . I'd love to chat about your real estate needs.
Copyright(c) 2008 by Lori Gilmore. All Rights Reserved.
For all intents and purposes, the Joliet real estate market is a buyer's paradise. As of this afternoon, there are 937 detached single family homes and 241 attached single family homes on the market. And this is in a city of approximately 110,000 people. Lots of choices out there!
Day after day the news sources, be it print, TV, radio or web, broadcast the fact that the Chicago metro and suburban areas are in the midst of a buyer's market. Gone are the days of quick sales, a dozen offers and closing prices well over asking. . . .or are they?
I am working with a young teacher who is buying her first home. She is being level headed in her approach to home-buying and we have been searching in a price range that is comfortable for her, below what she is able to be approved for. The homes available in her target price range are small single family homes, two or three bedrooms, some on a slab, a few older ones have basements. She wants a nice yard and ideally an attached garage, but overall she is open to the possibilities. We toured approximately 20 homes and selected a few for her parents come and see.
In the week before their arrival a new listing became available in a quiet and conveniently located neighborhood. It was priced extremely well and I thought it was wise for us to go see it. When I scheduled a showing, the home had been on the market 4 days and had 9 showings already.
I am very familiar with the neighborhood and knew this home was priced easily $15-$20,000 below the average for the area. The pictures didn't make it look like a fixer upper, but I wouldn't know until we walked inside. Indeed the opposite was true. This appeared to be a well-maintained home with a number of lovely updates. My client loved it (and so did her folks) preapproval letter in hand, we wrote an offer.
Luckily we were the first offer in, another followed quickly. . .
The moral of the story. . . even in a buyer's market, sellers can compete by pricing their home right!
Contact Lori Gilmore, Realtor®, Radcliffe Realty at 815-207-9703 to list your property for sale or to buy a home, condo or investment property inJoliet, Plainfield, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Lockport, New Lenox or elsewhere in Will County, Illinios.
Please visit JolietHomesOnline.com to find out more about the services I offer. . . or give me a jingle. . . I'd love to chat about your real estate needs.
Copyright(c) 2008 by Lori Gilmore. All Rights Reserved.
Large 4 bedroom home is available for rent. Hardwood floors, eat in kitchen, fireplace, full basement, two and half baths. Conveniently located in West Highlands, the home is in a great family neighborhood and is walking distance to Washington Junior High.
Newly rehabbed, this three bedroom townhouse is ready for a new owner. Ceramic tiled kitchen leads to the light and bright living room overlooking private patio. Newly carpeted bedrooms have plenty of space and the master is complete with two closets. The full bath has been gutted and is all brand new. This fabulous end unit has an attached garage and two additional parking spaces.
Last year was a difficult year for me. I have only been licensed since March of 2006 and caught the tale end of a good market in the Joliet area. During 2007 when the "adjustment" was occuring, I realized that I really had no idea how to operate a real estate business.
I only became licensed at the prodding of my now broker, who was listing some rental property I was selling. Having always been a real estate junkie, she wondered why I had never considered entering the business. Truth be told, I really didn't like the reputation of real estate agents. . . those I had met up until that point where rather stereotypical salesmen who drove cadillacs, wore bad suits and were always wheeling and dealing. Not my idea of a crowd I wanted to be associated with.
Reluctantly, I took the required classes, passed the test and hung my license with the broker who had convinced me to jump through the hoop in the first place. I had my first closing about 3 weeks after being licensed and was off to a busy start.
But I found that I was practicing real estate incognito. . .I wasn't proud to be a part of this profession. I was reluctant to tell people what I was doing and often steered the conversation in a different direction. Despite my attitude I had a great first year.
The second year, however, was trial by fire. . .beginners luck seemed to have worn off and each and every deal was brutal. More contracts fell apart than closed.
I was told I needed to get back to basics, but quite frankly, I had no idea what the basics were. Being affiliated with a small brokerage, there were no training classes. Help is always readily available, but I was never taught to farm, or prospect, of do much of anything other than chase business.
I tried on my own to develop systems. . .I read, I researched, I experimented and somehow in the midst of the struggle, in the midst of the trial and error, I decided to be committed to this business. I decided to be proud of what I was doing. I finally let real estate be a natural part of my life and conversation.
As a result, I am busier than ever. People in my life know what I do and seek me out with real estate related needs. Referrals are coming in and I enjoy the challenge that each day brings.
I still have tons to learn about this industry and the mechanics of daily business, but the identity struggle has ended and I now love being a Realtor (R).
Lori Gilmore is a licensed Realtor in the State of Ilinios and is currently affiliated with Radcliffe Realty.
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Saturday and Sunday in downtown Joliet the 
A particularly delightful excursion includes a trip to Briar Street Theater to see the 
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