chicago: Who's buying Chicago Real Estate? The needy
- 05/05/07 03:18 PM
So my new condo building "developer turn-over" meeting turns into a raging party Thursday evening (if I didn't answer your call or email... now you know). Turns out, everyone in our intimate six unit Ravenswood hamlet can GET IT DONE when you light up the bar-b-que and pass around the Peroni and Mondavi. I know, I know, Mondavi... it was a house warming gift. Even mom and dad (us truly) can still get it done.During one of the rapid rounds of conversation, my next door neighbor asked me soemthing like "what you think about real estate now that things are going … (0 comments)
chicago: Chicago Stereotypes
- 05/05/07 02:46 PM
Live on the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line, Brown Line, Blue Line? This Buds for you.
Nothing is more lame then trying to spoof a Chicago stereotype to shill a product and not doing it right.Who could forget the Old Style "Stand Up Comedian" spots during Cub games? They were almost enough to make me pass on an icy cold Old Style (almost). But Bud Lite just started running "Mr. Apartment next to the L tracks guy" in their salute to Real Men of Genius series. My favorite line in the jingle goes something like, "You asked your broker for a … (0 comments)
The Balcony: Condo Association or Owners? "Who's line is it anyway?" is a terrific comedy improvisational television game show that features "players" making up lines and actions depending on one theme. Say you throw out "new home buyers in Chicago" and the players make up a hilarious scene of bumbling through the home buying process. Maybe Al Capone is your Realtor... you get it? Hilarious.But when it comes to common areas, limited common areas and your condo unit's repairs and maintenance you don't want to hear; whose line is it anyway? As an owner, you want to know who has the … (0 comments)
chicago: Three bedroom condos in Ravenswood and Bomanville
- 05/05/07 02:04 PM
Three bedroom condos with all the features you want? Must see Ravenswood and Bowmanville In a city like Chicago, as in most city I suppose, there is only so much you can get in certain neighborhoods. Renting a one bedroom and want to buy a three bedroom? Here is a common scenario I run into when meeting upwardly mobile, but first time buyers, in Chicago. Recently, I have been working with several clients looking to move up into a three bedroom home. These particular clients have lived in the Lakeview and Lincoln Park neighborhoods for the past several years. Now, they would like … (0 comments)
chicago: The CTA and the Chicago Cubs have conspired against me
- 02/15/07 05:22 PM
The Chicago Transit Authority has announced it will "flood" (Tribune's words) the North Side with buses to accommodate the reduction in commuter train capacity. The CTA will have to dramatically scale back capacity by a third as a part of the ongoing rail renovation, expansion and accessibility plan. Great. I've discussed by sensory disgust with buses in the past... so the prospect of more of them on the roads during rush hour times is a kick in the you know what. Can you imagine two, three, four buses stopping to pick up passengers on the same corner... one after another? Yes, that … (1 comments)
chicago: Buy a multi-unit
- 02/13/07 04:32 PM
The great thing about Chicago real estate is the variety of housing stock. Highrise, bungalow, condo, mid-rise, multi-units. Depending on the tide, you can spread your purchase dollars around. The Chicago Tribune Real Estate section ran a story about buying multi-unit buildings for investment. The gist is, rents are pretty good again so multi-units offer a good way to invest in real estate. Several local real estate heavyweights were tapped for advice (somehow I must have missed that call).I was pleased to read this advice... if you are not handy and will not do the work, it will be hard to make … (0 comments)
chicago: Early in the home search?
- 02/13/07 03:06 PM
In my day to day business habits, I come across many real estate consumers. I directly contact those who register on our Chicago Home Estates brokerage web site. Many walk right up to me at an open house. Several mention they are looking when the conversation turns to real estate at a cocktail party. The conversation ALWAYS turns to real estate in Chicago. There are people who call our office from a for-sale sign. There are several commonalities in their responses at times. The most uttered is, "We are early in our search". It's almost as if they read some "how to … (0 comments)
chicago: Lakeview to Uptown to Andersonville to Lincoln Square...and what I ate (or, The Realtor Diet)
- 02/13/07 02:49 PM
For anyone who looks at a Realtor as soft... who looks at the the career of a Realtor as a cush job... here is a little insight. Each weekend I tell myself to prepare so to avoid the following scenario. I use to be in great shape before this career! I'm back in the gym, but the diet and eating habits need a boost!
Was out with a great client Saturday... before leaving the house at 8:30AM, I had a bowl of Mini-Wheats. Met at Julius Meinl in Southport Corridor and had a mocha. After showings with my client in Wrigleyville, Uptown, Andersonville, … (0 comments)
chicago: Going from A to Z with first time buyers
- 02/08/07 03:12 PM
With many clients jumping on deals this early spring (including myself), one notices certain similarities amongst clients... They don't know how to take that first "step". What do we do once you've found a place? Before my wife and I bought our first home in Albany Park, just west of Ravenswood Manor, we didn't have a clue what was involved in the first stages of purchase process. Information and education is king, however, and once our Realtor Julie Varones (now my associate... we'll I'm her associate) simply laid it out for us, buying became a very real possibility. Then, when we … (0 comments)
chicago: Is Parking Included?
- 02/08/07 03:07 PM
Recently, an Internet client of mine asked a great question. To paraphrase, she was wondering why a listing indicated no parking, but then showed 1 or 2 in the parking space by-line on the listing. Why does it say no parking, but then list a space?Many listing agents will do this to indicate there is some form of designated parking available... somewhere. Maybe there is a transferable rental spot or rental lot. Sometimes listing agents put in the space when there is Chicago zoned permit parking on the street adjacent to the property. This drives me crazy. Nice to indicate it … (0 comments)
chicago: 401(k), 403(b), stocks, you and me.
- 01/26/07 03:44 PM
401(k), 403(b), stocks, you and me: Financing your mortgage Todays Tribune real estate section featured a great article about using securities accounts, 401(k)s and 403(b)s as financing options for home purchases. For instance, one can use these accounts as an equity line with various payback requirements. This is no way condoned by the author of this here blog or the Tribune's contributer Marilyn Kennedy Melia who wrote the story. But it is a valid option, or temptation, for those with much of their equity and net worth tied up in these vehicles. The only cash you have may be in the … (1 comments)
chicago: What makes a Chicago neighborhood hot?
- 01/26/07 03:36 PM
Albany Park... Not so Hot Crain's featured a short little story about neighborhoods that haven't "popped" and heated up as thought. Albany Park was on that short list which is a little upsetting... guess where I live people. Anywho, I really hate those hit and run articles... so let's add a little context here. Albany Park owners have been pleased with an appreciation of 10-12% a year on the average during the housing boom. As a Realtor, I can honestly say I'd get at least 15K more for my unit than I paid for it a over two years ago. Crime is … (0 comments)
chicago: Hey brokers and lender... weigh in on incentives
- 01/26/07 02:38 PM
Mortgage 101: Preferred lenders and builder's incentives We've seen it a million times (and when I say WE, I mean me). Maybe you have seen it. A builder of a new home subdivision, condo building, or new condo conversion offers incentives somehow based on the preferred lender. "If you use our in-house lender when buying our condos, we'll throw in a spice rack and matching pot holders for free!".This may be an overt promotion, or some guy sidles up to you at an open house suggesting you use ACME Lenders. Yes, the same ACME Lenders from the Roadrunner Cartoons. But their … (0 comments)
chicago: For Chicago neighborhoods... it's all in a name
- 01/26/07 02:21 PM
The West Wilson Corridor: Chicago's North Side What's in a name? In Chicago the short answer is: Everything. People identify themselves not only by their neighborhood, but by their block... and their street... and their building! You just don't live in Lakeview, you live on Seminary Street, or Halsted or on Lake Shore Drive. Not just downtown, but in the "Legacy". Names of neighborhoods have been broken down into mini communities... sometimes within the same four block radius. One good example in Chicago is an area in western Uptown from Montrose running north to Wilson. "Malden" and "Beacon" streets have a sub-community within Uptown where a Chicagoan would know … (3 comments)
chicago: Chicago has a Northwest Side according to the Chicago Tribune
- 01/18/07 02:37 AM
Discover Chicago's Northwest Side The above title sounds innocent and pedestrian enough, but you should know me better.The Chicago Tribune ran a story concerning the religious epiphany many soon to be buyers/home owners are having; there is a Northwest Side to the city. However, the story misses the boat on where it is really happening and hops to some neighborhoods that will be a tough sell to a Lincoln Parker or Lakeview aficionados. These of the home buyers the author seems to be suggesting are moving to the "sticks".The author of the story more realistically alludes to the corridor of West … (0 comments)
chicago: Chicago Local reaction to Hussein hanging
- 12/31/06 11:59 AM
Albany Park weighs in on Hussein hanging Albany Park, here at Lawrence and Kedzie, doesn't make the news too often... usually a building collapses or a dictator is hanged... normal stuff. But the local news was all a flutter, staking out the Iraqi restaurant Mataam Al-Mataam for some immediate local reaction.I'm glad to say that the patrons of this Middle Eastern haunt for the undergound foodie and native Iraqi were as classy as it gets. CBS aired a little celebration in Dearborne, Michigan, but Iraqi citizens of Chicago gave some perspective on the hanging for the news audience instead.Amazing... just down … (2 comments)
chicago: What clients don't know: Condo association turn-over
- 12/28/06 05:27 PM
The condo turnover meeting in Chicago I frequently post on condo association issues... I feel it will at least get my readers and clients going in the right direction. With a recent rush of new clients out in the field looking for that teriffic box to put their new couch they haven't bought yet, the last thing most clients consider is the association. I think the questions start flying (the freak out) when they walk into a place and have that "oh yeah" feeling.It goes like this; "My 42 inch flat screen will look so freakin' awesome on that wall. What happends … (5 comments)
So my new condo building "developer turn-over" meeting turns into a raging party Thursday evening (if I didn't answer your call or email... now you know). Turns out, everyone in our intimate six unit Ravenswood hamlet can GET IT DONE when you light up the bar-b-que and pass around the Peroni and Mondavi. I know, I know, Mondavi... it was a house warming gift. Even mom and dad (us truly) can still get it done.During one of the rapid rounds of conversation, my next door neighbor asked me soemthing like "what you think about real estate now that things are going … (0 comments)
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