Chicago Real Estate
Halloween is still one of my favorite holidays because it’s all about having fun. We have a nearly 3 year old daughter and wanted to come up with a few things for her to do over the next month. Figured it would be a list that any parent might have an interest in. Please leave a comment (or contact us) if you know of any other Halloween events for kids in the Arlington Heights area.
The Great Pumpkin Splash (Friday 10/17)
On October 17th Bob for pumpkins at Olympic Indoor Pool. The activity pool contains floating plastic pumpkins filled with candy. When the whistle blows the kids jump in and collect as many pumpkins as possible.
When the pumpkin collection is over feel free to stay for a swim and watch “The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”.
You must pre-register and the fee is $8 for residents and $12 for non residents.
Class 3388-1 for 2-4 year olds from 6:00-6:15 PM on the 17th
Class 3388-2 for 2-4 year olds from 6:15-6:30 PM on the 17th
Class 3388-3 for 5-7 year olds from 6:30-6:45 PM on the 17th
Preschool Halloween Spooktacular (Sat 10/18)
Wear your costume and grab your trick or treat bag. Children, accompanied by an adult, will play games, complete a craft project, and enjoy trick or treat lane out in the park. A costume parade will end the day so bring your cameras.
Dress for outdoor activities.
Location: Olympic Indoor Swim Center
Class 3000-0 for 3-6 year olds on Saturday 10/18 and a fee of $10 for residents or $15 for non residents.
Trunk or Treat (Friday 10/24)
Trick or Treat from car to car in the parking lot of Betsy Ross School. Local businesses and organizations will decorate their vehicles and provide some “Halloween Handouts”. Kids should come in costume and parents must accompany children for this event.
Friday October 24th at Betsy Ross School Parking Lot
Cost $5
Must pre-register for class 3392-5
Ages 3-10
Autumn Harvest (Sat 10/4)
So this one isn’t exactly a Halloween event, but it’s still fun for the kids.
This festival is for the whole family. There will be a petting zoo, scarecrow building contest, story time, face painting, crafts, farmers market, food vendors, and all day entertainment. Don’t miss the kid friendly band “Little Nashville” who will perform at 1pm.
Location: North School Park (at Eastman and Arlington Heights Rd)
Date: Saturday, October 4th from 11am to 4pm
The Suburban House Hunters Team and Insurance Agent Bruce Wilcoxson (of Country Financial) are donating our time to help raise funds for Helping Our Heroes. In conjunction with Helping Our Heroes we are organizing a clothing drive to help raise funds which will be used to assist Illinois Firefighters, Police Officers, and Military Personnel.
Added Oct 1st: This event went very well and many people donated clothing and other fabric items. We have received calls asking how to donate while our drives are not going on. All you need to do is call 847-749-3533 and speak with Ken to arrange a pickup. Thank you for your continued support.
We have also been asked about cash donations. We will not take cash, but checks can be made out to Helping Our Heroes and we will be happy to pick them up also. Please call 847-749-3533 to arrange this.
Who is Helping Our Heroes?
Helping Our Heroes is a volunteer-staffed not-for-profit 501(c)(3) Charity who provides assistance to Illinois’ Firefighters, Police, and Military personnel in their time of need. To date assistance has come in the form of assisting Our Heroes avoid eviction and/or foreclosure, sending care packages to our Illinois troops that are stationed in war zones, and other financial assistance to Our Heroes in need.
100% of your tax deductible donations go directly to assisting our Heroes. All administrative and fund raising time/expenses are donated by local residents and businesses. It we raise $1000, then $1000 goes towards assisting Our Heroes.
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Arlington Heights is still in a “Buyers Market” and there are some amazing deals to be had. While we have seen a big increase in the number of closed properties over the past 60 days buyers still have the advantage when negotiating.
There is a 10% reduction in the number of single family home on the market compared to our May market update.With the recent drop in interest rates we are also seeing an increase in buyers contacting us looking to purchase a home. These are both good signs and should help stabilize the market. [Read more →]
Here are a few charts that we use to track the market. These charts allow you to see a snap shot of the market based on the last day of each month. While charts do provide a good overview it is only a small part of how we track the markets. For more details about the Palatine market feel free to contact us.
These charts show market activity until the end of August 2008 and include the previous two years worth of data for comparison purposes.
[Read more →]
Interest rates have dropped to the lowest levels in 2008. A qualified buyer can lock a rate today (9/9/2008) for 5.75% for a 30 year fixed interest rate. This interest rate drop has been fueled by the decision of the Federal Government to take over failing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
If you are thinking of purchasing or refinancing take action quickly as interest rates are very volatile. Looking at the bond market today it doesn’t look like rates will increase for tomorrow, but tomorrows trading could change that very quickly.
Seems like everyone is looking for ways to save a few dollars these days. High gas prices at the pump are causing many families to make cuts in other parts of their lives. We wanted to provide a few easy ways to save a couple bucks a month and help make your home a little more efficient.
- Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs will use much less energy, last longer (lower replacement costs), and give off much less heat. The multi packs at Lowes are a great buy and I like the light produced better then some of the more expensive brands.
- Install low-flow shower heads. For years I avoided this tip as a low pressure shower didn’t sound very appealing. Decided to add the low-flow shower head to our second bath as it wouldn’t effect me and test it. While low flow, the pressure is still good and we have since changed the other shower head.
- Get a programmable thermostat. With how inexpensive these have gotten there is no reason everyone doesn’t have one. Now if you have one make sure to use it.
- Open you windows at night during the summer. Think back to your childhood. Would you have had the A/C on when it was 70 degrees outside? This August each night has fallen into the 60’s at night and still hear the hum of A/C units running while taking an evening walk.
- Weather strip your doors and windows. A 1/4 inch gap along the bottom of a 3 foot wide door is 9 square inches of open space. That is a lot of wasted money.
- Balance your vents to achieve an even temperature throughout your house. The goal is to close or partially close vents in areas that don’t need as much air flow to increase the flow to other parts of the home. In the summer closing vents in the basement should be your first step, then reducing air flow to rooms that don’t have direct exposure to the sun as they naturally stay cooler. You will ahve to play with this a little, but in the end you will have a much more comfortable and even temperature throughout your home.
- Insulate, Insulate, Insulate…. Everyone knows that your attic should be insulated but lets add a couple common areas that people skip. Insulate your attic access doors and insulate your garage door. For both of these tasks there are kits or just use the rigid insulation and cut to size. Don’t forget to insulate your hot water heater. This not only saves you money today but reduces strain on your hot water heater thus increasing it’s life.
- Water your grass and flowers at night. Watering when the sun is down reduces the amount of water that evaporates, thus you need to water for a shorter period of time. Also look into soaker hoses for your flower beds as they deliver the water directly to the base of the flowers again increasing efficiency.
- Turn the temperature down on your hot water heater. Anything above 125 degrees is typically not needed and you are wasting money. Not all hot water heaters are accurate so you will need to play with this a little, but every 10 degrees you dial down the thermostat can knock 3 to 5 percent off your water-heating bill. In addition, a lower hot water temperature reduces the chance of scalding.
- Is your TV really off? Did you know that your TV and many other appliances aren’t actually off when you turn them off. They actually switch to standby mode and are using electric. I am to forgetful to switch the power strip off every time I leave the home, but anytime we will be gone for at least a full day the switch gets turned off. The TV, computer, radio, DVD player, and a few other items all get switched off or unplugged.
Safety Tip: Power Strips and/or Surge Protectors have a limited life. Most should be replaced every 2 years. We had a client who’s home had a fire due to an old power strip and they lost everything. They actually were very lucky as the fire happened when nobody was home so nobody got hurt. Spend the few dollars and replace old strips.
There are so many more ideas that can save you money around the home. If you have any ideas feel free to leave a comment and help others save a few dollars.
Other resources:
Energy Saving Tips to Save More Money
Greening your Home
Going Green Can Save You Money
Are you trying to time the market to purchase at the bottom? If you aren’t there is a really good chance you know someone who is. The media spits out national housing statistics and it scares most people because they forget real estate is local.
What happens in California has little to do with our real estate market, yet what happens in California has a huge impact on the national statistics. The national housing statistics are about as useful as the national education statistics. [Read more →]
Arlington Park, or Arlington Racetrack, is a great place to spend an afternoon. A day out in the sun watching horse races is something I can remember doing as a kid with my parents. Now it’s something I enjoy doing with my family, we watch the horses, place a few small ($2) bets, and enjoy the relaxing day.
My daughter (right) is 2 1/2 years old and loves the horses. She hears the trumpet sound and we go running off to watch the horses come out onto the track. We then move over and get a spot at the finish line so we can get the perfect view of the horses at the end of the race. Then naturally we must move back and watch the horses as they make their way off the track. Her natural obsession with horses is amazing and highly entertaining. [Read more →]
The 9th Annual Arlington Heights Irish Fest is this weekend, Friday July 18th 6-11pm and Saturday July 19 4-11pm. With Irish dancing, best legs in a kilt contest, face painting, Irish food and drink, Irish music, and balloon creations there is something for all ages. [Read more →]
Real estate markets are considered to be “normal” when there is 6 months worth of inventory. This is a number that most of the Chicagoland area hasn’t seen since May/June of 2006. With inventory numbers peaking last October-December at levels around 24 months for most areas. [Read more →]
