Chicago Real Estate

Who would have ever thought $4 per gallon of gas would be a thing of the past. We have been over $4 a gallon for regular gas long enough that most people have come to accept that it is more likely to become $5 per gallon before we see $4 again in Chicago. Even using 20 MPG that means it costs you $.20 per mile you drive just for gas costs. Worse we all know that 20MPG is more than most cars average while trying to fight rush hour and construction’s stop and go traffic. [Read more →]

Arlington Heights, along with most of the Chicagoland market, has seen a slowed real estate market. There is no question this is a “Buyers Market” and there are some amazing deals to be had.

From looking at the numbers we are seeing an increase in homes under contract and this may be a sign of the market starting to recover. A brief overview of the current market is below. [Read more →]

Without debate the bill to increase the transfer tax in the City of Chicago won council approval by a 49-0 vote. The bill (which was introduced by Alderman Patrick O’Connor of the 40th district) adds $3 per thousand dollars of home value to the sellers side on top of the $1.50 they already pay for the state and Cook County. While this isn’t the highest amount a seller pays in the Chicagoland area, Chicago now has by far the highest combined fee of any city. [Read more →]

Goodwill has opened a store in Arlington Heights. The location will be a store and donation center. Goodwill is always looking for used items that can be resold to help them raise money.

The store is located at 1551 N Dryden Avenue (Arlington Heights) which is the corner of Rand Road and Dryden Avenue. The phone number is 847-670-7311.

Goodwill provides training, employment and supportive services for people with disabilities or disadvantages who seek greater independence.

Even with working through the weekend it looks like residents of 3930 N. Pine Grove Ave in Chicago will have to wait yet another day to return to their homes.

Residents have had to make other living arrangements due to electrical fire that reportedly started in the basement on Saturday. Currently it looks like a faulty electrical vault was the cause of the fire that has left hundreds of residents homeless. Nobody was seriously injured in the fire.

Residents can call for an update on the situation at (312) 565-6110

Buyers are in such a hurry to get in the car and look at houses that they forget about the first and second steps many times. In my opinion the very first step is interviewing a few agents, there will be more about this later. Once you have found a great agent to help with your home purchase then you need to find out how much home you can actually afford.

The Pre-Approval process is simple and painless these days. The most important part of this process is to work with a reputable local lender. The large internet lenders claim to be this and that, but the reality is they have fallen far short of the needs of home buyers. Worse Illinois has many regulations that out of state lenders never know about and this causes delays in closings or worse. So now the question becomes what local loan person should you work with? [Read more →]

Many real estate agents out there are telling their sellers that the only way to sell in this buyers market is to continue to reduce their price. Many times the price reductions are 5% or more at a time. This is a lie! The truth is the home should have been priced properly in the first place. [Read more →]

This is the strongest Buyers Market to hit the Chicagoland area in at least 20 years, yet many buyers are waiting for the market to turn around before acting. You are missing your best opportunity to buy a home in at least 20 years! First we should back up for a second and explain what happens in a Buyers Market like the one we are currently seeing and how buyers felt during the latest hot “Sellers Market”. [Read more →]

If you have children you most likely find yourself carving pumpkins and planning costumes for Halloween. While the tradition of Halloween is unknown to most children they just love the fun of pretending to be someone or something they aren’t, getting lots of candy, and carving pumpkins. Sure you can go to Jewel to pick up a pumpkin, but why not take a morning and have a little family fun. Goebbert’s Farm in South Barrington has it all from Camel rides, Pony rides, petting zoo, shopping, and naturally pumpkins. [Read more →]

The real estate industry has been dominated by individual agents for years. These agents have to run around and do everything by themselves. They have to be a master of advertising, negotiating, contracts, listing homes, selling homes, paperwork, and all of the back end work involved in buying and selling a home. One person just can’t do it all so real estate agents have gotten a bad name over the years. They are looked at as a necessary evil needed to get into homes and get your home sold. [Read more →]