Archive for the 'Lifestyle' Category
BUNGALOW BELTS ALL OVER CHICAGO
March 5th, 2010 categories: Buying, Lifestyle, Market Trends, Selling
Bungalows are a very practical style of home and they are quite common in many Chicago neighborhoods and the close-in suburbs of Cicero and Berwyn. Actually they are scattered through out Chicago and near-by suburbs quite liberally. When you first look at one of the streets lined with bungalows, they all tend to look alike, and sometimes they do. If you look carefully there are variations in the brick–tapestry brick was a popular upgrade–common brick on the sides and then a more expensive front on the street side. Another variation that I have seen a lot in Cicero and Berwyn, is the use of art-glass strips in the upper window panels on the front of the home. Some of it is really quite beautiful. Usually the designs are more geometric than floral. North Mayfair, a neighborhood around Elston, Foster, and Lawrence, has recently been named by This Old House magazine as one of the country’s 50 best old-house neighborhoods. The neighborhood has a great history of community involvement beginning with the formation of the North Mayfair Improvement Association in 1929, that’s right 1929. The Association worked its way through the lengthy and laborious for having North Mayfair listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Fortunately the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association gave a helping hand–it still took a year and a half. Last Sunday’s Chicago Tribune has a wonderful article about North Mayfair and the community involvement there. Click here to read the whole thing.
Some other articles that could interest you:
Chicago Real Estate News Versus National Real Estate News
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ZIP YOUR LIP
March 4th, 2010 categories: Lifestyle, Market Trends, Selling
Lew Sichelman published an article recently that clearly outlines the perils of a sellers presence in their home while it is being shown. All kinds of information can be divulged that the average home owner wouldn’t believe is damaging–and it can be. The best thing for a seller to do is vacate the home during a showing–a buyer’s agent doesn’t have to be unscrupulous to ask questions that will help the buyer get the best price possible. You have to remember always that the buyer’s agent is representing the buyer and the buyer’s interests. The more a seller talks the more likely he is to say things that will diminish the price his home will sell for. The Sellers Golden Rule is “Get the property ready to show and vanish.” By doing that you can’t say anything that will harm price negotiations. Though Lew’s article doesn’t mention it, I think it is a good idea to impress on my sellers that when their home goes under contract, do not tell anyone what the contract price is. Especially today when not all contracts result in a closing–this is very important. Many more deals are not going through than I ever remember in my 21 years of being a Realtor. If the contract price is known, you may not be able to get that same price with the next contract. Of course you always hope the second contract will be for a higher price–another great reason to keep the agreed upon price a secret. The best thing a seller can do is be silent and invisible! To read the entire Sichelman article just click here.
Need good advice on buying or selling real estate in Chicago? Just call me at 312-981-2360, direct, or cell lphone 312-607-1306. E-mail works too!
Here are a few articles you might enjoy reading:
Empty Nest FAQS – Second Edition
Agents May Say “No” to a Listing
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STAGING – TWO KINDS
March 1st, 2010 categories: Lifestyle, Market Trends, Selling
The break was wonderful–and I am glad to be back with my blog again! I was thinking about staging and it occurred to me that there are really two kinds of staging. One might be called by the old fashioned name of “spring cleaning” and the other is part of the “preparing your home for sale” process. Staging in general implies that you are de-cluttering and just generally neatening and cleaning your home. Here are a few ideas for both.
- Examine each room with an extremely critical eye. What can be eliminated? Does it need a fresh coat of paint–a new color, perhaps one wall could be an accent color, a bit of wallpaper might be in order.
- How does the floor look–dirty carpet in need of replacing, worn wood that needs refinishing, chipped or cracked floor tile in the kitchen or bath?
- Trim–are the baseboards and door frames chipped and all banged up?
- Artwork and pictures–do you have too much stuff on the walls, too much stuff on table tops, too much stuff in book shelves–be merciless in getting rid of it. If you are selling your home and have too many things you just can’t bear to get rid of, think about boxing them up and putting them in storage until you sell your home. I have had clients put their children’s excess toys in storage in order to present a less cluttered appearance. You can always go back to your old cluttered self if you really want to. If you are doing the spring-cleaning staging, try living with less clutter–you might like it!
- Pictures–they deserve a special mention. This is where the two kinds of staging have a definite separation of the ways–family pictures are a huge no-no if you are selling. Just be sure to have tasteful art work on the walls that blends with the furnishings of the room. If you are staging just for you, family pictures are wonderful. Personally, I have a triple dresser top full of them–in all kinds of frames. And they do make my heart glad.
- This doesn’t have anything to do with staging–clean,clean,clean! Be sure everything is squeaky clean. It would n’t hurt to give your wooden furniture a bit of a polish, either.
Hopefully, this will give you some forward motion to the spring cleaning mindset or getting ready to sell mindset.
Questions about Chicago real estate? I would love to find the answers for you–312-981-2360 (direct), cell phone (312-607-1306) or e-mail.
Other articles you might find useful:
Proper Packaging For Your Home Sale
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
BRAKING FOR A BREAK!
February 22nd, 2010 categories: Buying, Lifestyle, Selling
Sometimes one needs to stop, re-group and start up again. Just take a break and shift to another gear for a few days. And that is what I am about to do. Much as I’ll miss the daily head scratching that accompanies the hunt for a blog subject, I will be a non-blogger until next Monday. The coaching group that I belong to is going on their annual retreat–this is perfect timing!! Our real estate market in Chicago seems to be more active than it was last year–thank goodness! and I feel that I will come home from the retreat full of vim and vigor–so I’ll miss you all and I’ll be glad to be back at the head scratching on March first. I do hope a few people will miss me!
Here are three posts that might interest you and help you keep me in mind while I am gone:
Empty Nest FAQs – Second Edition
Chinese Time in Chicago and Hawaii
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
THE GREAT WATER HEATER DEBATE IS ON
February 15th, 2010 categories: Buying, Lifestyle, Market Trends, Selling
Because we live in a condo where we have our own heating and air conditioner units and our own water heater, my husband and I have been saying to each other that we will replace our old storage tank water heater with a new tank-less one when the time comes. A recent Chicago Tribune article has caused us to think again. We thought the tank-less water heater would bring about immediate savings–apparently this is not as true as we hoped. The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency has made some very interesting calculations about how long it takes to recover the additional cost of the tank-less heater. They are surprising! It can take between twenty and twenty-five years to recover the cost I am a big fan of Lou Manfredini, Mr. Fixit, and he has been so gung ho about the tank-less type of water heater that it seemed the only logical thing to use as a replacement. There are some applications that are best served by this type of heater, no doubt. If you are without hot water–this article is really an eye opener and should be read before you go shopping for a new heater. It really gives a way to compare the two kinds of water heaters. Remember you can buy a blanket for your water heater tank at any big box store and that will save you some energy dollars too! Click here to read the entire article.
Do you need someone to help you with Chicago real estate? My job application is in! Just call me at 312-607-1306, direct or cell, 312-607-1306. E-mail works well too!
Here are a few articles that might interest you:
Stash That Hazardous Waste Safely
Hold Everything–Storage Needed
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VALENTINE MUSINGS
February 12th, 2010 categories: Lifestyle, Rants
Sometimes Valentine’s Day seems to be just another one of those Hallmark Holidays–we’re bombarded with ads selling us chocolate and flower combinations for $19.95, No offense to Hallmark it’s just that I find this sort of activity a big turn off on the whole idea of Valentine’s Day. That is why I was so happy to find my daily post from Jerry Hannon. My good friend, Jerry Hannon, has the best, coolest, funniest, thought-provoking website ever. It is called “It’s Great To Be Me.” His license plate is IGTBM–he is the embodiment of a positive, kind, generous man, His Valentine’s day poem follows:
Oh please, please,please! Can it finally be mine
That elusive and slippery Valentine
You know the one, it makes us complete
And gives meaning to living, that no easy feat
So while roses are red and violets are blue
There’d be no one more happy, if all this were true
But I sorta suspect that the love that’s our goal
Is always within us. . .it makes up our soul
Next Jerry quotes Ogden Nash, “I claim there ain’t another Saint as great as Valentine.”
His closing comment is “What about Saint Godiva?!
If you would like more information about this quirky inspirational site, just click here.
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2010 MARKET? ON THE ONE HAND. . .
February 8th, 2010 categories: Buying, Lifestyle, Real Estate Finance, Selling
Mary Ellen Podmolik’s recent article takes a backward look at 2009 and a forward look at 2010 and is a sobering, hopeful assessment of the market. 2009 wasn’t a good year and 2010 doesn’t look extremely positive either. There are specific statistics on who bought what and what their income was. One of the statistics quoted is that sellers sold their homes for 95 per cent of list price and that 58 per cent of home sellers would cut their listing price at least once. Approximately 45 per cent of sellers offered incentives such as help with closing costs and home warranty policies.
Another statistic given is that50 per cent of single family homes and 18 per cent of condos in the city of Chicago were short sales or foreclosures. Mary Ellen’s conclusion is that there are buyers out there for all types of housing with all kinds of list prices and they want a deal. My mantra with sellers for a long time has been that in today’s market, you can’t be just a good deal, you have to be the BEST deal.
The good news, according to the article, is that there is a base for the recovery of the market. And the bad news is that a University of Illinois analyst feels that the market won’t return to normal until 2011. This analyst is feels that there will be another 100,000 to 120,000 jobs lost in Illinois in 1010. So it is sort of a hopeful mixed bag of news–my glass is always half full so I am positive 2010 will be a good, if not great year! To read the entire article, click here.
Need someone to help you sort through the market? How about using my 20 years of experience in the Chicago market? Just call me at 312-981-2360, my direct line, or my cell phone 312-607-1306. E-mail works too.
These three articles might be helpful to you:
Turnaround Turnaround, Wherefore Art Thou
Hold Everything–Storage Needed
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WHAT TO DO WITH A BIG SCREEN TV?
February 5th, 2010 categories: Buying, Lifestyle, Market Trends, Selling
I have missed my blogging two days this week–and the reason is a really nasty reaction to the H1N1 flu shot. I had the shot on Tuesday and literally slept all day Wednesday feeling really lousy. Yesterday was better and today I think I returned to the human race. I have had a seasonal flu shot since time immemorial and never, never, ever had a reaction. I guess this H1N1 really is something else. What with it being Super Bowl weekend and all, it seemed a good time to talk about what to do with that gigantic TV set that a lot of people can’t live without. Families used to gather around their fireplace and in a bygone day, their radio. Now it is the big-screen TV that draws people together.
How do you treat this 500 pound gorilla in your living or family room? Probably the best thing to do with it is to hang it on a wall as if it were a picture. And group the furniture so that you can view the screen straight ahead–this is the preferred position. It is also a good idea to have a wall-mounted TV hard-wired so that the cords don’t show. How do you figure out how big your screen should be? One way is to measure the distance from the screen to the viewer and divide it by three to get the screen size–if the viewer is 120 inches from the TV, you need a 40 inch screen. In your bedroom the screen should be higher than eye-level so that it can be easily viewed from the bed.
Hopefully this information will help you place your favorite toy in a great spot.
Since this wonderful television set will use more energy than a small set, I am going to steer you to some “green” posts:
Yet Another Green–Toilet Paper!
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MERRY CHRISTMAS!
December 21st, 2009 categories: Lifestyle
This is my last blog until after Christmas–and I am ready for a big dose of love. My husband and I started a tradition several years ago. We rotate Christmas celebrations among our sons. We feel that young families need to establish their own traditions–just as we did. One of my favorites that we did for many years was a trip to church to say goodnight to Baby Jesus. Last year it was our year for Cincinnati only a huge ice and snow storm made driving impossible and we wound up staying in Chicago. We realized that it was our very first Christmas alone ever–just the two of us. My husband’s family lived in the Chicago area and my family lived in Missouri so we would go one place or the other for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year our Dallas family has won us. As always we’re very excited about seeing them and their home and their friends and our daughter-in-law’s Dallas relatives. We are truly grateful for the friends who have e-mailed or called us offering Christmas Eve and Christmas Day invitations in case we get snowed in again. I guess this is a long way around to tell you how much I am looking forward to a few days off, even from my favorite thing, my blog! It is my most sincere wish that this holiday is a blessed one for you.
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
PAINT–THE EASIEST CHEAPEST REFRESHER
December 15th, 2009 categories: Lifestyle, Selling
Try it–you’ll like it! Paint has to be the easiest cheapest way to improve the appearance of a room or an entire home. You don’t need a building permit. You don’t need an electrician’s or plumber’s union card–all you need is a bit of paint and some decent equipment and a bit of time. And–you can paint the room or the home any color you want–passionate purple, cheery chartreuse, yummy yellow, raucous red–it’s your place to paint as you wish. Here are a few simple steps that will insure your success.
- Clear out everything possible from the room. If there are things you can’t remove, push them together in the center of the room and cover with a drop cloth.
- Make cleanup easy. Tape drop cloths around the room–that way they will stay in place. If the ceiling is part of the painting plan, drape your ceiling fan and light fixtures. Also remember to take off the outlet covers and paint them separately.
- Prior prep prevents poor performance. Fill cracks, scrape and sand the walls, tape dry wall seams, sand, sand, sand–all of these steps are necessary for a great looking finished paint job.
- If you have any grease stains or crayon marks left after your cleaning and sanding is finished, use a product like BIN or Kilz as a primer. This should prevent any bleeding through to your fial coat of paint.
- Masking tape is a great help and there are some really super ones available now. This helps keep unwanted paint from the edges of woodwork and glass window or door panes.
- Paint and equipment. Use latex base paint–it cleans up with soap and water. If you are going from dark to light, you’ll probably need two coats of paint. A roller, a pan, a brush–that’s all you need. Well, a stepladder is a good idea too. Did you know that there are different naps on your roller? A wooly nap will give a stippled appearance and a smooth nap gives a smoother finish.
- To avoid lap marks, edges of paint that dry before you get back to continue around the room, paint one distinct area at a time. Outline a door by using a brush to paint a few inches around the door. Another good idea is to roll on a coat in horizontal strokes and then paint another coat with overlapping vertical strokes.
- Light–use temporary floodlights so that you can really, really see what you are doing. If it looks great under extremely strong light, it will look even greater under normal lighting conditions.
There you are–how to paint a room in one easy lesson. If you would like info on Chicago real estate, just call me–direct, 312-981-2306. My cell phone is 312-607-1306.
Here are a few other posts that might appeal to you:
To Remodel or Not to Remodel and When
Out With the Old, In With the New–Slowly
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