Schaumburg IL Memorial Day Celebration 2011 - 05/31/11 06:45 PM
Schaumburg IL Memorial Day Celebration
Memorial Day was celebrated in one of the oldest areas of Schaumburg this weekend on the grounds of St. Peters Lutheran Church (1847) to honor our fallen veterans.

St. Peters Church is the oldest in the Schaumburg area dating back to 1852.  Many of the older headstones in the cemetery are in German and date back to that time when Schaumburg was just a sleepy farming community. The original school house is still located on the grounds.




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Frank Lloyd Wright - Anything of his design on the market? - 05/27/11 12:10 PM
Frank Lloyd Wright was an exceptional architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 projects, which resulted in more than 500 completed works.  Many of these completed works are located in our Chicago Area. Wright was ahead of his time promoting 'organic architecture' (promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world), was a leader of the Prairie School movement of architecture of which we are all familiar. His work included original and innovative examples of many different building types, including offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, and museums. Wright also often designed many of the interior elements of his … (47 comments)

Hey ..... who are you calling a Ninnyhammer? - 05/26/11 08:20 AM
Brush up on your Rare and Amusing Insults - Amaze your friends, belittle your enemies with your knowledge of the English lauguage! #1: Cockalorum Definition:  a boastful and self-important person; a strutting little fellow   (Oh, Congress!) #2: Lickspittle Definition: a fawning subordinate; a suck-up About the word: lickspittle keeps company with bootlicker ("someone who acts obsequiously"). #3: Smellfungus Definition: an excessively faultfinding person About the word: The original Smelfungus was a character in an 18th century novel. Smelfungus, a traveler, satirized the author of Travels through France and Italy, a hypercritical guidebook of that time. #4: Snollygoster Definition:  an unprincipled but … (41 comments)

Golf Course Living near Schaumburg IL - 05/25/11 08:13 AM
So you'd like to live on or near a Golf Course in the surrounding Schaumburg Area? Well, I've done all the work for you here with all the communities listed.  Each community search will give you an up to date results on what is available currently for sale.  (Alpha order only)12 Oaks at Morningside - Condos, 6 story building, overlooks Hilldale Golf ClubAshton Park - Townhomes, 2 car garage, backs to Schaumburg Golf ClubBright Ridge - Townhomes, 1 car garage, backs to Schaumburg Golf ClubDunbar Lakes - Quads and Townhomes, 1 car garage, backs to Schaumburg Golf ClubGatewood - Manor Homes, 1 car … (1 comments)

Hoffman Estates Townhomes - Look for what's available now! - 05/24/11 09:25 PM
Hoffman Estates Townhome foreclosures and 'better priced values' are being scooped up the fastest.  Short sales?  Well, they fell terribly 'short' for our area.  From working with my own buyers, short sales offer too many hassles and not enough price rewards for dealing with the banks as a seller.  Dealing with a bank = headaches and massive quantities of Tylenol.There are many great values to be had on the market right now.  The average list price in Hoffman Estates is $133,612 and there are many homes available in the most popular price range of $50,000 to $99,900.  The lowest price for … (1 comments)

Schaumburg Townhomes - What's on the market now? - 05/24/11 08:44 PM
Schaumburg townhome foreclosures and 'better priced values' are being scooped up the fastest.  Short sales?  Well, they fell terribly 'short' for our area.  From working with my own buyers, short sales offer too many hassles and not enough price rewards for dealing with the banks as a seller.  Dealing with a bank = headaches and massive quantities of Tylenol.There are many great values to be had on the market right now.  The average list price in Schaumburg is $154,466 and there are many homes available in the most popular price range of $100,000 to $149,900.  The lowest price for sale right … (0 comments)

Rehabbers dream! Everyone deserves to own their own Castle! - 05/24/11 08:39 AM
Kimball Castle is located on a 24 acre tract on Locke's Hill in Gilford, New Hampshire. The ground drops away on three sides of the property, creating a spectacular 300 degree vista of 'The Broads' of Lake Winnipesaukee and White Mountains.  
Currently listed for $879,999 this striking stone beauty can be yours with 3980 sq. feet, 5BR, 3 BA's, full basement (is that really a dungeon then?) Materials came from England and Germany featuring English Oak and local granite.  It took two years (1897-1899) and $50,000 to complete the project at that time. Along with incomparable views and acres of landscaped … (8 comments)

Wanna Win a Condo? HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway in Chicago - 05/23/11 09:12 AM
HGTV is taking its second annual HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway to new heights, creating a custom, contemporary residence on the 35th floor of the Trump Tower in Chicago.  HGTV's popular designer Vern Yip has drafted plans for the 1,000 square-foot residence that will be the centerpiece of a fall 2011 grand-prize package. The fully-furnished, high-rise residence will include one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths, a gourmet kitchen and extraordinary views of the city's skyline, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Viewers can enter for a chance to win the HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway once a day on HGTV.com as well as once a … (7 comments)

Let's have Colonel Sanders watch that hen house! - 05/21/11 09:34 AM
Another edition from my guest blogger Gary Lundeen a short sale attorney in our area.  Today in my 'inbox' came a hilarious request from Bank of America to Gary.  In short, it was a 'tell us how we're doing survey'.  Really?  The form is not big enough for what Gary has to tell them!  The form is not wide enough to fill in all of what really needs to be said to them! Here's another Short Sale Letter that Gary has written trying to get the much needed word out on Short Sale Reform. I've come across an interesting article pointing … (6 comments)

A True or False Mortgage Quiz - Dispelling those Rumors Surrounding Mortgages ... - 05/20/11 05:02 PM
 
So you're a first time home buyer and you want to begin your home search soon. You've 'heard' on the street that you must be preapproved first because no one will take you seriously otherwise.
But what do you really know about the process?  Do you know how it works?  Obviously buyers are VERY confused based on some recent polling information.  Most buyers are ill informed on even the most basic mortgage financing details.
So what to do?  First, go to school and begin your learning process today.  Call a good loan officer that will sit down and explain the … (4 comments)

I Want It Now!!! - 05/20/11 01:16 PM
Have to have it now!  I'm entitled!  Everyone has ..... (fill in the blank here) so why can't I?
Possibly consumers today still don't get it.  We as a society have overextended ourselves to the 'nth' degree.  I think that soon there will be so many consumers with damaged credit there will no one left above the 800 credit score.  It will be a myth, like the dinosaurs that roamed North America. Your grandfather will sit in front of the fireplace and tell your children stories how he once had a '810' but your grandmother wrecked it, rest her soul!
This … (5 comments)

Add this or Share That? Be sure to put this widget where it will do the most good! - 05/20/11 11:13 AM
Add This or Share This? Either one of these widgets work to spread your posts to others outside of ActiveRain.  But did you know they don't quite work like you'd hoped?  A few weeks ago I quickly tried to send an email to a collegue on a recent post.  I decided to give it a 'test drive' and email it to myself at the same time.  Uh-oh.  Not the result that I wanted. When you put these share widgets into your right hand side bar, your profile page is what gets sent/shared to the person.  If your visitor wanted a specific post, … (5 comments)

Ever wonder where your Illinois Tax Dollars are going? - 05/19/11 08:56 AM
These are some of the best known Illinois politicians and even though they are now out of office they are still collecting big bucks from the state.  This is what they have received since retirement so far.  Jim Thompson gets $127,000 a year which is more than just a modest pension that most people in Illinois think of when using that term.  Jim Edgar gets $135,000 a year, Roland Burris is still paid $129,000 a year.  In Illinois, these people have to work 20 years to 85% of their salary for life.  Granted they will not get social security but over … (6 comments)

What percentage of Schaumburg Homes are foreclosures? - 05/18/11 06:12 AM
What percentage of Schaumburg Homes are foreclosures?
With the recent release of an article from the National Assn. of Realtors (NAR) I wanted to remind everyone in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago that real estate is local. NAR published a 'blanket statement' that obviously might not apply to your home and your area.  You have to 'whittle down' to each town on a regional and then a local level.

Just a short recap on their statement published was that 39% of sold homes for the 1st Quarter of 2011 nationally have been either foreclosures or REO's.  So what … (6 comments)

Dumbing it Down... to 10 Cups of Coffee - 05/17/11 05:26 PM
 
I am nausous.  I am mad about the dumbing down of my fellow NAR membership.  Melinda Peterson can tell you what I consider the bad news.  I will begin now to see how I will no longer retain membership in NAR.  That's how strongly I feel about my representation from NAR or lack their of. 
J. Philip Faranda wrote an excellent post the other day about the value of continuing education in our profession.  It's good for us (whether we like it or not) but it's also better for consumers.  You should always want to be at the top of … (5 comments)

Restored Chicago Mansion is unlike anything you've ever seen! - 05/17/11 01:01 PM
Restored Chicago Mansion is unlike any you've ever seen!  The Frances J. Dewes Mansion in the Lincoln Park neighborhood was built between 1894 to 1896 and offers 3 stories (9,768 square feet but some indicate up to 12,000) of what I consider opulence.  7BR's, 7.2BA's, 8 Fireplaces and a 4 Car Garage on a double city lot for $9,900,000.   This home is on the national register of historical places and an obvious Chicago landmark. German Baroque and French Provincial stone architecture (yeah, like a castle) with a grand staircase, stained glass windows, and extensive woodwork thruout.  Pay attention to the … (10 comments)

Lynnewood Hall - A golden part of an American Success Story - 05/16/11 05:13 PM
Lynnewood Hall - Elkins Park, PA Lynnewood Hall is a 110-room Neoclassical Revival mansion built for industrialist Peter A. B. Widener between 1897 and 1900. Considered the largest (70,000 square feet) surviving Gilded Age mansion in the Philadelphia area, it housed one of the most important Gilded Age private art collections of European masterpieces and decorative arts assembled by the Widener Family.  At the time it cost $8 million to construct which would be $212 million in today's dollars. Built from Indiana limestone, the T-shaped Lynnewood Hall (the last of the American Versailles) measures 325' long by 215' deep. In addition to … (3 comments)

I'm Outraged, I'm incensed! I better find out what to do about this ...... - 05/15/11 01:10 PM
I've been Hijacked! I guess I'll find out what to do!  Yikes, went into Yahoo and typed in my name so it would come up and I could see where my Active Rain profile was coming up.  Something made me look to the right of the 1st search in the ad section.   Someone has a real estate search (paid) right next to my name trying to steal my buyers or sellers!  Hijacker!  I will find out how to put a stop to this OR I'll do it to them two fold!  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Tankless Water Heater vs. the old standard? - 05/15/11 12:05 PM
 
New is not always better it would seem. It's a shame because I think the new Tankless Water Heaters are a good thing that take up less space in an already tight utility room or closet. 
Jay Markanich, a home inspector in Northern Virginia, has done the math for you on the Tankless vs. Regular Water Heater.  It's great information that I always wondered about but didn't know how to quite figure out.
Enjoy this post and see who wins!
 
Via Jay Markanich (Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC):
My water heater is over 13 years old.  How much longer … (3 comments)

Northwest Suburban Real Estate Update for April 2011 - What's going on? - 05/13/11 09:30 AM
What's going on in our Northwest Suburban Market for April 2011? These are just a handful of words that I am feeling about the April Housing Sales statistics after review:
blissful, delighted, happy, joyful, pleased, satisfied, thankful, tickled, beaming, blithe, buoyant, cheery, lighthearted, sunny, upbeat; gleeful, jocund, jolly, jovial, laughing, merry, mirthful, smiling; beatific, ecstatic, elated, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, intoxicated, rapturous, rhapsodic, exuberant, exultant, jubilant, rapt, rejoicing, thrilled; hopeful, optimistic, rosy, sanguine. There, I think that I've covered it don't you think! Yes .... things are looking up in a great way so I'll share the exciting numbers with you.
OK, … (3 comments)

Where did you put your bowling shoes? Bring 'em to a place in Hinsdale ...... - 05/12/11 04:55 PM
Where did you put your bowling shoes?  Bring 'em to a place in Hinsdale ....... Rounding out my story line of unusual homes on the market we come across one in our own in Hinsdale IL that has a full blown bowling alley lane in the basement!  You've got to admit, some people think of everything!  How about this 9000 square foot stunner for $5,100,000?  We've got 5BR's, 3.4BA's and 5 Fireplaces to keep you warm after bowling with the kids!This house has some fabulous woodworking and 'english manor' feel to it with rustic hardwood floors.  A few of the little … (8 comments)

Really Haunted or Just Downright Creepy? - 05/11/11 09:37 AM
Really Haunted or Just Downright Creepy? Mudhouse Mansion - Lancaster, OHThis 19th-century red brick building has not housed a regular occupant since the 1930s, despite having an owner who still pays the property taxes. This once regal structure has fallen victim to fires, vandalism and rumors of ghastly hauntings.  It's in a terrible state of repair and it's really a shame with all this great craftsmanship that can no longer be replaced. So we've got character, charm, ghosts!Inside the Mudhouse MansionMudhouse is an unusual home featuring a second empire mansard roof.  To me this is reminiscent of the Addams Family House in … (12 comments)

Hey is that the White House in the MLS? - 05/10/11 03:12 PM
Hey, is that the White House in the MLS? Well, actually it is!  A duplicate of the White House is currently for sale in McLean, VA.  Only a mere $4,650,000 can steal this 12,000 square foot clone away.  5 years to design and plan (no British interference), 6 Bedrooms, 7.2 Baths, 3 Car Garage (where will the Hummer go?).See the Oval Room, Truman Balcony, Dining Room for a mere 100 of your closest guests.  Eighteen skylites make it nice and bright!  1.6 acres of mowing enjoyment!  6 fireplaces keep it toasty on cold evenings when Bill & Hillary visit!

Rent … (8 comments)

Gad Zzzooks those Scoundrels! - 05/09/11 08:11 AM
We all know and think fondly when we see this house don't we?  Yes, it's the 'Home Alone' House and it's currently for sale in the Chicago Suburb of Winnetka.$2,175,000 for the 1920's stately brick colonial offering 5BR's 3.5BA's and a total of 4,243 square feet.  The house is so wonderful to us we can call it our own - I can picture myself sliding down the banister to the front door.  Gosh, if we only had that down payment!Suddenly all nostalgia is ripped from me!  I am stunned because I see a real 'mood spoiler' pop up on a Google search … (19 comments)

Is Your House Ready For Its Photo Shoot? - 05/08/11 03:10 PM
I really don't understand it. As a Realtor I spend alot of my time just shaking my head. Why you ask?  When I go into homes with plenty of notice (days sometimes) the kitchen still looks like this .......
Do you as a seller think that this is making a good first impression to that buyer? What possible excuse is there for a Kitchen that looks like this?

I'm waiting!  (tick, tick, tick, 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand) But until you think of a good story, please read this great post by Chris Ann Cleland about your homes upcoming … (10 comments)

We're in a Double Dip and we don't mean Ice Cream! - 05/06/11 06:45 PM
TBWS Daily mentions today of the predicted 'double dip'.  I'll have to see if that's true for my area here in the Midwest.  What's your area doing?

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Short Sale Call to Action - A plea for a Program that Works - 05/05/11 10:58 AM
This is another installment (11th) from my guest blogger and Short Sale Attorney, Gary Lundeen.

Short Sale Call to Action
This is going out to thousands of people in the real estate industry. If you're not angry about how the short sale/REO procedures are being handled, then have a nice day.  This is a call to action to our industry and our Country.  We need to make Washington hear us.  This is not political, this is a common sense approach to a very large endless pit of a problem.  This plan has been sent to every Democrat and every … (3 comments)

Short Sales - What percentage are they of the overall Schaumburg Real Estate Market? - 05/03/11 12:54 PM
Short Sales - What percentage are they of the overall Schaumburg Real Estate Market?We can toss around numbers and talk all we like about Short Sales in our area real estate market.  I hear lots of hype, ridiculousness and many ideas on what should or should not be done.  But at the end of the day, the numbers tell the story.  
So, let's 'see' this Short Sale Story for Schaumburg Homes.  What's really been happening with closings over the last 6 months?  Based on the numbers in the graphs presented - Short Sales are between 10 to 12% of market share.  I actually … (8 comments)

Schaumburg Township Assessor - Tax Appeal Meeting on May 3rd, 2011 - 05/02/11 05:32 PM
Staff from the Schaumburg Township Assessor’s Office and Cook County Board of Review’s Office will be on hand to file your appeals that evening.  This seminar will be held at Schaumburg High School, 1100 W. Schaumburg Rd, Schaumburg, Illinois. The seminar will be held on May 3, 2011 at 6:30 pm. You need to bring your property tax bill. If your appeal is successful, it will reduce your property assessment, and possibly lower your total property tax bill. (total tax bill consists of many taxing bodies and the state equalizer). This reduction will take effect this year on the second installment of … (1 comments)

Sellers take my advice, this is not the way to show your house! - 05/02/11 02:55 PM
Sellers take my advice, this is not the way to show your house! Out showing property this weekend in the lower price ranges in Schaumburg.  And sellers, there are lots and lots of opportunities for buyers to choose from so your home better stand out for the price.  There's a good way and a bad way to get your house noticed. Here's an example of how to 'not' show your house.Upon entering this home, 'from now on being referred to as the cave', our view was restricted because it was totally black.  Or close enough to night that a Livingroom could possibly get. … (11 comments)

 
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Lyn Sims - Schaumburg Homes

Schaumburg, IL

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Schaumburg Real Estate - Northwest Suburbs - RE/MAX Suburban

Address: Schaumburg | Hoffman Estates | Elk Grove Village | and Roselle, IL in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago

Office Phone: (847) 230-7324

Cell Phone: (847) 230-7404

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Market comments, updates and news about the surrounding communities of Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village, Roselle, Bloomingdale, Bartlett, Streamwood, and Hanover Park in the Chicago Northwest Suburbs.



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