Another Reason to Buy This Year

According to the Sun Times newspaper, the Cook County assessed values on building that have more than 7 units have taken an extraordinary leap up. One building experienced an increase of 182 percent. The owners of these buildings will undoubtedly be passing on some of this increase to their tenants, once the impact of those increased assessments is felt in the coming year with a bigger property tax bill.

How Do You Find Me?

Let's face it; there are hundreds, no, thousands of Realtors in my general marketplace. Some are veterans, some are rookies. Some are excellent practitioners, some should quit the business and go do something else!

HIRE ME!

But this is all about me for the moment. I've been a licensed real estate professional since 2003, and have been learning more about the business every day since then. There have been good days, and there have been bad days.



The good days outweigh the bad days when I am busy with the work of helping one or more clients, because I know that I am doing a terrific job for my clients. Those I have helped are invariably grateful, and make a point to say so. Some have taken the time to write a gracious note of thanks to me. Those notes and kind words are so important to me, confirming to me that I HAVE been of good service to those clients.



So my predicament is this: how do other potential clients find me, and know that I can be of great value to them? Research tells us that the vast majority of people start their home search (if they are buying) on the Internet. So let's look at that for a moment. Yes, my presence is online. My broker company provides a basic website for me. I am blogging with 2 active blogs that deal with real estate. I pay a subscription fee to my national real estate organization to place my name and photo along side any listing that I have on the Realtor.com website. Without paying that fee, my listing will be on Realtor.com, but my connection to that listing is invisible. As a result, someone looking at that listing online will perhaps engage another agent to view that property, and my chance of developing a relationship with that person is nil. I recently activated a subscription to yet another online service that can put my name in front of the consumer, based on comments that I can post on various properties for sale that I have personal knowledge about. I'm trying to find YOU, so you can find ME!



Sellers of real estate tend to choose their agent by remembering a previous transaction with a local agent, or perhaps take the recommendation of a friend, or call the agent whose name appears on local yard signs. If a person had a good experience with an agent in the past, then it's a comfortable decision to enlist the aide of that agent once again. To choose an agent from visibility on yard signs is not always a positive result. Neither is simply taking a friend's recommendation.



So here I am, ready to go to work for YOU, and YOU, and YOU! Can we talk about your desire to move in the near future? "Where is your office?" is a question I often am asked. Answer: Winnetka, but that is not relevant to where I work. City of Chicago? Absolutely! I have handled transactions in multiple neighborhoods in Chicago: Rogers Park, Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Lincoln Square, Roscoe Village, River North, South Loop, Logan Square, to name a few. Suburbs? Sure: Wilmette, Elgin, DeKalb, Lindenhurst, Des Plaines, Skokie, Evanston, and more.



If you have stumbled across this post on this blog, I know that you have "found" me. So now let's take the next step by having a conversation about how I can help you as a real estate pro who genuinely cares about my clients, and who thrives on success. I'll look forward to meeting you!

I'm Showing My Age (but it's worth it)

What a great surprise - one of the 1960's super folk singer-songwriters is coming to perform live in the intimate setting of Wilmette's movie theater.

December 13, 7 pm. All tickets $48.50.

If you remember Janis, you might be surprised as I was to learn that she is still out there performing. But fun to take in her show if you were a fan back then. Follow the link to the theater's events page, or call at 847 251 7424.

Appraisers - Why You Need to Be Concerned

Time was when appraisers magically appeared at a home that was under contract to sell, wrote up a report that usually had the appraised value match the contract amount, and the deal closed. Everybody went home happy.

But not so much any more. And with good reason.

With the mortgage melt-down last year, scrutiny was focused on every step of the selling process. The appraisal system was deemed inaccurate at best, and perhaps knowingly inept or frequently "fudged" at worst. So how does this appraisal thing happen anyway, and what does it mean to the seller and the buyer?

To keep it brief, when a buyer applies for a mortgage, the lender orders an appraisal to be done. The lender needs to know the true market value of the property, so that the lender is comfortable giving the buyer a loan on that property. It used to be that the lender could call on any appraisal company he chose to do the appraisal, giving the lender a healthy amount of control over the appraisal process. At least the lender had knowledge of the appraiser's work, work ethic, areas of real estate market experience, etc. But with the mortgage industry debacle came new rulings on how appraisers were to be selected for a property under contract. Suddenly the lenders had no ability to select the appraiser. Appraisers were being doled out to do jobs from a central control processor. And the lender was strictly forbidden in having any conversation with the appraiser assigned to a file, and forbidden in doing anything that looked like an attempt to influence the appraiser's report. The results were immediately disastrous. Legitimately disastrous. Appraisers who had no familiarity with a community or neighborhood or condo building were writing reports that mocked the meaning of the word "accurate." Transactions were falling apart because of it.

The real estate and mortgage community put up the cry - Fix This! And the pendulum has swung back the other direction somewhat. But we still hold our breath when an appraiser's report is delivered, hoping that the results look accurate, given the community, neighborhood and specific condo buildings.

When the appraisal report supports the purchase contract price, the transaction can do forward. If the appraisal states that the purchase price is more than the market value, the lender cannot issue the loan as requested. Depending on the property, the lender might demand more cash from the buyer, or suggest a renegotiated purchase price, lower than the first agreed upon price, to meet the appraisal report. Or the lender might deny the loan altogether.

This is why the buyer and seller must be making their best effort to agree to a selling price that is not over the market price. It will only mean a brick wall to overcome if a mortgage is part of the deal.

You are looking at my childhood home in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, named after County Tyrone in Ireland. When I lived there, it boasted about 7,000 population. I doubt it is much different now.

I found this photo on Realtor.com a few weeks ago. My old home is for sale! Price tag is $99,900. A steal. I think my parents sold it in 1966 for approximately $24,000.

Anyway, my point is this; I sent an email to the listing agent, asking a few basic questions about the property. I did not tell the agent that I used to live in the house.

I became very disappointed when it became apparent that agent did not want to communicate with me, answer my questions. I still have not had a response, and it seems I never will get one.

When you have a property to sell, make sure to ask your agent if he/she makes a habit of responding to inquiries from the public, let alone other agents. That's part of the job, right???

Rent Checks vs. Mortgage Checks

Another sign of the real estate market condition in these parts is the high volume of rental listings that we brokers are handling. Rental listings have typically been but a drop in the bucket of the total business done by a conventional real estate brokerage in Chicagoland. Not so much right now!

In my own office branch, a full 50% of our monthly transactions are now residential leases. That is a huge number for an office that is more accustomed to selling and buying homes in the higher price ranges.

Why is this happening? It is definitely a result of the housing market slowdown. Many folks cannot get a mortgage right now (credit score too low, not enough downpayment, debt to income ratios out of wack, have a house to sell before they buy but can't get a bridge loan). Others are relocating here from other cities and cannot afford to housing in Chicago, even with our depressed pricing. Others have sold their home and haven't found what they like to buy as the next home. Still others have been forced out of their homes due to foreclosure (or the threat of foreclosure and sold as a "short sale"). Everybody still needs a place to live. So what are the choices? Move in with your best friend (not always an option!), or rent.

The mortgage specialist in my office told me that she pulled 16 credit reports for leasing situations in one week. Again, that is a huge number for our office.

I have personally assisted more clients with a rental property this year than in all my years as a Realtor combined. And yes, there are lots of rental properties in the multiple listing system. Going on a rental home search is usually easier with a Realtor at your side, instead of going it alone. Case in point is a lease that I just wrapped up for clients, a difficult situation because it is a condo unit with an association and property management company that put many demands on them. Because I am so familiar with condo operations, I was able to guide them through it, anticipate the problems, and put out the fires that did erupt. The cost to a client for my help with a rental search? $0.00 if it is a MLS listed property. The listing brokerage shares the commission to my company, paid by the owner of the property.

So if renting is in your future, dust off your checkbook, boost your credit score where possible, and give me a call!

Home Inspectors I Have Known and Loved

OK, you all know that when purchasing a home, you really need to hire a licensed inspector to examine the property for flaws that either compromise safety, or indicate a major cash outlay in the near future for the buyer of the property.

Just like Realtors, inspectors come in all varieties and in all levels of proficiency. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in inspectors. The good ones are a joy to observe; they move through the quagmire of a property, inside and out, and report to the client the condition of its components. Nothing more, nothing less. Want a radon test kit left at the property? Today's inspector should provide that service. Test for gas leaks? Yes. Test outlet circuitry? Yes. Test walls with a dampness meter? Yes. Test window and door operation? Yes. Climb on the roof for an accurate report on the life expectancy? Yes. Go into the attic to check for water stains, mold, animal infiltration? Yes. Test all the appliances, even though they might be dirty and unpleasant to navigate? Yes. Offer opinions on how the condition of the property aligns with the client's future plan for the property? No, no, no; that is the Realtor's responsibility. And finally, the inspector offers a full report to the client, and whomever else the client instructs the inspector to include.

The bad ones can minimally cause the client to come to inaccurate conclusions about the property that is being inspected, can morph into a 4-hour encyclopedia of how all house systems function, can fail to even locate a simple light switch on the wall ("you better check with the owner about this situation!!" ), can fail to point out a basic flaw in the property, can inflict undue panic and even fear into the heart of a client, and thereby fail to gain the respect of the client's Realtor.

Any inspector should want to perform fairly and with competence so that a real estate agent might recommend that inspector to other clients. Certainly one agent can bring many more new customers to that inspector than does the one client of the inspector. The Realtors are interfacing with dozens of potential buyers, while the one customer is interfacing with perhaps 1 or 2 possible property buyers. An inspector's business card goes in one of two places with me: in the client's file as a good contributor to the transaction, or in a business card file with a handwritten note about my disappointment in that inspector.

When I recommend an inspector to a client, I do so with the intention of getting that client a fantastic home inspection, done with professionalism, courtesy, thoroughness, honesty, and a timely report that is promptly delivered to the client. The inspection is done within the boundaries of an inspector's mission: to report on the condition of the property. Acting as a Realtor, I personally gain nothing from recommending an inspector to my client. Indeed, the inspector might point out problems that cause legitimate concern to the buyer, and result in the termination of a transaction. Believe me, it has happened on many occasions! But I welcome the inspector's results that cause a contract to "fall", because it means my client has been saved from a future, difficult and potentially expensive ordeal. It's all about the client, folks.

And I have also noticed that a client instinctively knows when the inspector experience has been a good one; the client might speak enthusiastically after the inspection is completed, on how well the inspector did his job, REGARDLESS of his findings. I have one client couple in particular who went through three, count 'em, THREE inspections with the same inspector before they found a home that seemed to pass the inspector's thorough examination; they didn't buy the home with systemic mold involving the dryvit (whew!), they didn't buy the home with the suspect attic insulation that might be contaminated with asbestos, but they DID buy the home that had nothing more to be concerned about than the height of the furnace vent on the roof. To this day, that client will rave about the inspector, how he prevented them from buying into a messy situation. Keep in mind, that inspector caused the clients and me to get back into the car and seek out/identify/negotiate a contract and involve the real estate attorney a total of three times. Did they mind this additional time and effort? No. The inspector was hired on my recommendation. I rest my case.