You’re Invited to a Party! 

Not just any party but I want to show my thanks and appreciation to my friends and to my clients for another record breaking year in real estate.

WHEN:  Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

LOCATION:  Roy's Furniture
                  2455 N. Sheffield, Chicago

TIME:  7:30 to 8:00 P.M>

What a great way to celebrate success, friendship and to help you who are in need of some redesigning, designing or staging ideas, I have hired home stagers and designers to answer your questions and to give you some assistance with your concerns about your home.

Bring photos, a layout, even a rough drawing that shows where the windows and doors are, and enjoy the wine and appetizers while at the party. 

The biggest bonus is that you will receive a 10% discount from Roy’s Furniture, located at 2455 N. Sheffield, Chicago, IL.

To RSVP:  Drop me an email and let me know how many are coming.  I want to make sure that we have plenty of everything for you!

Just one way of saying "Thank you, for putting your trust in me and allowing me to guide and serve you!"

$50 Light Bulb - Are they crazy?

One would think that the sky is falling when we hear about the 2014 Congressional mandated efficiency standards to phase out the .50 cent traditional light bulb production.  The traditional light bulb uses 60 watts whereas the new light bulb uses only 10 watts and is bright! 

30 years it the "suggestion" length of age for these $50 light bulbs, but it has me wondering if the core of the light bulb to where it is connected will be safe and stay healthy.  Bottom is, this light bulb will save energy and money in the short and long run.

Contractor Alert:

I just received the typical 8.5 x 12 piece of paper from a senior who had questions about repairs.   This advertising was for assistance to homeowners re damage caused by natural disasters.  "We could help you obtain good money for your home repairs" sounds too good to be true.  So, I checked the phone numbers and one is one for tracing the call so they can "haunt" you if you don't leave a message and the other, is a cell phone. 

The market is improving and with that the scams start popping up.  If it sounds too good, it generally is.

Spring is here!  This is the perfect time to rake your yard and put some fertilizer down and then seed in about one week.   Good curb appeal is a plus whether selling or staying in your home.  Rough day at work, and you come home and see what you are paying for, makes a huge difference and generally a smile on your face. 

Chicago Real Estate Market:   the market is adjusting and homes are selling.  Bank Foreclosures and seriously competing with traditional sales in condition and with a slightly lower price.  Don't loose out by not understanding ways you can make the market work in your favor.

Chicago's Market has seen an increase in sales as well as a slight spike in closed pricing.  One of the main items that any Chicago Home Seller or Chicago Home Buyer needs to consider is that it is all about location.  One neighborhood in Chicago can be dragging due to the amount of distressed sales and overall condition of those homes and then there are neighborhoods in Chicago that are showing strength due to their history in bouncing back from any economic downturn in the past.

Reports are beginning to funnel out that when one considers the nine counties that are reporting the averages, those averages are reflective of a cumulative pricing for all counties and not really totally local and by neighborhood and even sometimes, the neighborhood has it's own pocket areas of strengths and another sector of that neighborhood may reflect a weaker market.

If you are Buying a Home in Chicago:  Bottom is, the Banks have gotten on board and are selling the distressed properties with repairs with a closer to market pricing but still a good value to consider.

If you are Selling in Chicago:  You have got some competition with the Banks who are the owners of maybe a few homes on your street.

Ways to stay competitive when Selling Your Chicago Home:

Maintain your curb appeal and make sure that your lawn and landscaping is well manicured.  I was traveling by an upper bracket home today that is on the market, vacant, and there was mail attached to the front door, the lawn was in disarray, and the appeal was gone.  Pretty much would turn most upper bracket buyers away.

Depersonalize your home.  Make sure that the photos of the family, the awards are all gone and stored away.  Keep the walls neutral, the home free from anything that would turn the sub-conscious mindset off of the buyers as that is the button that most buyers don't really understand why a home didn't appeal but it was the sub-conscious.

That's why staging your home is so important.  It is a service that I offer with every one of my listings to guide the home seller to the shortest marketing time with the strongest offer the first time.

Put your home "IN THE MARKET" because the days of testing the market are over, unless, you want to see yourself sitting out there for a year or so. 

Finally:  Consider the carrying costs while you are selling your home along with the potential market adjustment if you are in a neighborhood that isn't seeing the light at the end of the tunnel yet.

Always, always - hire a professional Realtor as it is so critical in today's marketplace to have someone who understands your market, is concerned about your goals and being communicative. 

Chicago is doing better but we still have a way to go. 

The Report for Months Supply of Distressed Property is out.  First, let me remind you that Illinois has been regarded as the “financial state” and that being we were one of the last to cut back on the “no down payment” financing.  The other issue was that Chicago had a lot of condominiums that were under contract that took about 1.5 years to close and so, we really didn’t “feel” the “ouch” but it was already there.  As a result, properties that were under contract kept closing for the new conversion or new construction while the rest of the Chicago Real Estate Market began to slow down on standard sales and short sales and Chicago foreclosures started popping up like crazy.

With that framework in mind, here’s what is being reported:

The East Coast is hit hard with high numbers in Delaware with 35.6 months of distressed property inventory, New Jersey with 27.6 months, Connecticut with 24.6 months, Maryland with 22.5 months.

Southern States:  Florida with 20.7 months, Georgia with 18.8 months and Alabama 15.5 months.

Midwest:  Illinois with 27.1 months, Michigan with 12.5 months, Kentucky with 18 months and Ohio with 13.5.  Indiana – nothing is being reported.

West Coast:  State of Washington:  17.9 months, Oregon 11.5 months, California 11.6 months, Nevada 11.6 months and while Arizona has 7.1 months, word from my real estate connections is telling me that Phoenix is turning around with multiples.

So, with the monthly amount of Distressed Homes Inventory, here in Chicago, you need to be serious, be staged, have curb appeal, price the property in the market (and stop chasing it!) and finally, have a real estate agent who communicates, understands the market.   If you are a serious seller, then you need to work with a serious real estate agent.

If you are thinking about buying or investing, now is the time to get serious.  This is a great way to make up for some loss you took on your primary residence and applied some basic principles.

I think it's time we talked.

Today, I was standing in line waiting to finish up my income taxes and a senior citizen came in and began talking to me about how he took a "bite in the britches" with the sale of his home.  His definition was $40,000 loss in value.  That seems and appears small to those who have taken greater losses but to this senior citizen, it was everything in the world to him.  It matters and should matter, but most don't understand how much the market adjustment in real estate really has a snowball effect.

Then I stepped back and and another light bulb went off in my head.  That's when I decided to share and teach others out there in the real estate industry, who own a home, to take the lemons and turn them into lemonade.

Granted, you may have lost money in value on your primary residence because you may have bought at the peek of the market and your home really wasn't worth what you paid for it because the comparables hadn't come through at the time you purchased or you could have used your home as an ATM machine to pay off unexpected bills and now you don't have the equity or the value that that appraisal claimed you were worth at the time.  Enough said about that. 

Let's take the bull by the horns and turn your life around for you.  What I am about to tell you isn't really anything new, but it is something that I qualify as a "calculated" risk and that means you know pretty much what you are getting into with the proper guidance of an experienced Realtor who does understand that marketplace.

Helen Keller said that "it is sad when someone has sight but doesn't have the vision."   You are the captain of your life.  That means that you make the decisions on how well your life will be even with adversities.  It's how we respond to those adversities and make them work in our favor.

So, another way to look at the Real Estate Market is not thinking about how much you lost in value, but take advantage of the values that are currently there right now.  Granted, you may think this is a crazy idea but it really isn't.

It's called:  "being an investor".   Someone else lost there home, two flat or condominium and there are a lot of renters out there that are seeking a home.  While you may have lost money on your primary resdience, this is the place where you need to consider buying another piece of real estate for investment purposes at a bargain price with a good down payment. 

While you lost money (because of inflation or improvements and the economy went south), that doesn't mean you sit on the fencing post complaining about what you lost but what you will gain by investing.  See, by investing in another piece of real estate, you will get a great value and property for a fraction of the cost.  This in turn, makes up for the doom and gloom that most of you like to swim in because you don't realize there there is a new dawn every day and all we have to do is to seek change. 

Helen Keller was on to something.  See, when there is no visions, corporations fail.  Companies fail.  Why?  Because they lost or didn't have the vision.

Your call.  Your vision.  I think it's time we talked.......

We are not seeing too many new Single Family Properties entering the New Year Market but currently the summary for the first 15 days in February for the Andersonville/Uptown Market indicates:

Price Changes:             2

Closed:                        3

No New Listings and nothing is currently Under Contract for Single Family Homes in the Andersonville/Uptown Neighborhoods.

The Condominium Market is extremely active for Chicago's Andersonville/Uptown Neighborhoods:

New                                      15

Price Changes:                      14

A/I (Attorney Review/Inspection):  18

Pending (Means that the contingencies are met and awaiting to close):  10

Closed:                                        7

Short Sales:  (means that the seller is awaiting approval from lender re default on mortgage):

    Total Number:     7

So, what we are seeing the the Andersonville/Uptown condominium market is that some of the old inventory has adjusted in price, we had a large amount of properties in two weeks that went under contract, 10 properties are pending.    So when you see the New and Price change we have 29 properties and we have 28 (Attorney Review/Inspection and Pending) which tells us that we have a balance of inventory moving and the market is headed in the right direction with respect to Condominiums as 7 short sales went under contract as well.

The number of closed sales is typical for this time of year whether we have a good economy or bad economy.  Pretty much the inventory that closed has been on the pending table for probably 60 days and so that puts us back to November, early December.

Overall, when considering selling, place your property in the market (instead of chasing the market) with the most absolute in curb appeal and well maintained units.

Alderman Harry Osterman and the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce invite you for NEIGHBORHOOD NIGHTS - a weekly event for the months of February and March which will showcase neighborhood businesses through promotions, extended hours and special events.

This is a great way to discover Andersonville and visit some new and old businesses.  The following are events and promotions are for the Andersonville Neighborhood:

Andersonville Galleria:  5247 N. Clark Street:  Free wine; many vendors will be offering sales and specials

Andie's Restaurant:  5253 N. Clark Street:  Stop on in a get a free Glass of Glogg with the purchase of any entree; half-off wine flights!

Alamo Shoes:  5321 N. Clark Street is offering 10% off on all non-clearance merchandise.

The Burger Philosophy:  1541 W. Bryn Mawr is offering 20% off the entire menu (but not to be included with any coupons or other promotions) - best part:  dine in/carry out

Hamburger Mary's:  5400 N. Clark Street is offering $3 off on all Mary's signature martinis!

Iloilo Custom Framing:  1478 W. Berwyn:  10% off on specialty paper and 30% off on custom framing

Lady Gregory's:  5260 N. Clark Street:  is offering 15% off on all food (you must mentioned "Neighborhood Nights" to receive the discount)

The Landmark of Andersonville:  5245 N. Clark Street asks you to sign up for their mailing list and get entered to win great prizes.

Mobile Generation - Verizon Wireless located at 5314 N. Clark Street is offering a 30% discount for three accessory bundles, 20% for two and 10% off for one. 

Ranalli's:  located at 1512 W. Berwyn is offering 50% off any bottle of wine!

Room Service:  10% off of any purchase plus complimentary delivery on any furniture purchase.  They are located at 5438 N. Clark Street.

SHE ART Chicago located at 1519 W. Foster Avenue is offering a free fairy charm with every purchse and a raffle for a SHE ART Chicago T-Shirt (March 13th only)

This is just the beginning of great values being offered in Chicago's Andersonville Neighborhood.  Support Local.