Only issue I have with the video is the one taken regarding security deposits. If managing a single-unit or smaller-building it may be prudent to collect a security deposit. Thoughts on this?
Having just listed a spacious corner residence (Photos and Property Tour) at James House in Chicago’s Carl Sandburg Village, I thought it would be interesting to briefly explore the history and background of The Village.
Named in honor of the Chicago poet, Carl Sandburg, it is located in the Near North Side community area, specifically from Division Street to North Avenue and from Lasalle Street to a half-block east of Clark Street.
Originally constructed as apartments in the 1960s, and billed as an urban renewal project, The Village is a complex of high- and low-rise condominium buildings, town houses, landscaped pedestrian malls, and commercial sites. Various residence sizes are offered throughout the complex from studios to junior 1 bedrooms and on up through larger townhomes. In 1979 ownership was converted to condominium.
Given time constraints I am doing a lot less snail mailing these days. As such, my traditional Chicago Summer Festival mailer will be replaced by this blog post. Metromix has put together a fantastic Chicago Summer Festival Guide 2010. And if you want to hang it on the fridge, they even have a handy Print View.
Having just put my home at 2749 N. Magnolia Avenue on the market, I was searching for a good way to describe Lincoln Park’s Wrightwood Neighborhood. Then I remembered that years ago, 2007 to be exact, I walked through my neighborhood with Joe Zekas of YoChicago. This is a five-part (one, two, three, four, five) video series and boy how times have changed since filming. The neighborhood amenities have continued to improve with two completely renovated parks while property valuations are maintaining.
I consider myself somewhat of a video pioneer, as back then, not many real estate professionals were doing video, and now everyone has their face in front of the lense for better or worse. For me viewing the video is worse than viewing my old baby pictures as I have a “face for radio” as the cliche goes. My college speech teacher also phoned me and said I squint too much and reminded me that “um” is not a word.
That said, we cover a lot of ground from coffee shops to the local fitness club to transportation to public schools to local parks to real estate values.
I don’t often combine my professional real estate and personal blogs but I thought it appropriate this time.
Just wanted to send out a quick save the date notice for the first Supera Park event planned for 2010. Featuring music for kids & families, Karen Banks-Lubicz will be making a return performance on May 15, 2010 at 10:30AM.
The answer is maybe, or maybe not. When searching for a condo to purchase in Chicago, determininig whether the property comes with a parking space should be fairly easy right? Well, unfortunately not.
As background, there are essentially four ways that parking is defined in the Chicago market…
None – There is no parking transferred with the unit. Parking is via the street or leased in a surrounding parking garage/lot.
Leased – Parking is typically provided within the building, but is not owned by the unit owner and it is leased on a monthly basis.
Assigned/Limited Common Element – The parking space(s) is owned by the unit owner. The parking space(s) is legally tied to the unit via the condominium declarations and bylaws. The unit can not be sold without parking and vice versa.
Deeded – Again, parking is owned by the unit owner. In this case however, the unit can be sold seperate from the parking space. Both have seperate PIN numbers, assessments, and taxes in fact.
I have always thought about this issue, but what got me really thinking is one of my current listings. Parking is assigned in the building, yet another competing listing in the building has pulled the price of parking out of the list price. It is not possible or probable to sell the parking space seperate from the unit. In fact, the listing states the parking space MUST be purchased with the unit. Really, no Kidding?
This situation raises two issues.
The first is agent handling of parking in their listings. Agents pull the cost of parking out of the list price to get the listing in front of more buyers at a lower list price. That said, if a unit can not be sold without parking (due to definition or owner desire), the list price should include parking, period.
The second is the inability of our local MLS to address and eliminate the first issue. To enforce and correct the first point above, our local MLS needs to address parking in a more consistent manner. This is very easy to do but for some reason has never been systematically addressed.
As a buyer, do not assume parking comes with a condo unit but be sure to have your agent verify parking options in all cases.
So … somehow … after my family left for the day’s activities, our garage door was left open and our bikes were stolen. So after the crying stopped we put a plan of action together.
First, buy new bikes. A bit of a hard sell but I have always had luck at Village Cycle. Any other reccos?
Second, Find a place to ride. A challenge in the city, but the City of Chicago Bike Map continues to be an outstanding resource.
Imagine turning off Clark Street and heading east onto Belden Avenue in Lincoln Park on a Sunday afternoon when suddenly your phone buzzes with a text message and link to property details and photos:
You were notified via an automatic text message about a nearby home you were interested in. How did this happen? How were you automatically notified on your mobile phone about the perfect home, in the perfect location at the perfect time?
The answer involves a combination of geo-fencing, GPS technology and mobile phones.
Chris Thorman, who blogs at Software Advice, gave me a heads up on this great idea for marketing real estate in the Chicago area. His article gives us the scoop on one tool that home buyers may be using in the future to search for homes. It would work like this:
A prospective home buyer would fill out a form online detailing their real estate buying requirements;
The real estate company would set up virtual perimeters called geo-fences around the properties they wanted to market;
Once a qualified user (someone who desires a certain type of property) enters the geo-fence area, they are automatically notified via text message about that property.
Retail stores are already using this form of location-based mobile marketing to market clothing products to nearby customers.
This could be used to market real estate in the future. Think of exploring a neighborhood for the first time and as you roll through the streets, receiving a real-time text of open houses in the area that meet your criteria. Granted, there may be issues to deal with in the Chicago market given the density of similar homes for sale in any one area but this idea seems like it has potential.
As I just brought a wonderful true loft to market at historic Trevi Square in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, I thought it would be beneficial to revisit a loft post I wrote some months ago defining the differences between a “hard” and “soft” loft.
Here are some interior photos of the Trevi Square loft. Gotta love that fireplace. This is what I would consider a true loft in the Chicago market.
I also wanted to include a fantastic YoChicago loft article/resource titled, Buying a Loft Condo in Chicago, that first defines what a loft is and then goes on to outline a number of considerations to take into account when deciding on a loft purchase. I can’t tell you how many times I get asked the questions, “What exactly is a loft?” and “What is a soft loft?” Great questions.
I’ve assisted many clients in the purchase and sale of their loft condos. Contact me any time for assistance. Happy loft hunting!
Located at 1555 N. Dearborn Parkway, Chicago, IL, The Constellation offers some of the best views of Lincoln Park and Lake Michigan through floor to ceiling windows. It was designed in 1958 by Chicago architect, Milton Schwartz and can be classified as contemporary in design.
Being a fan of unique views and clean, contemporaty architecture, I was pleased to bring Residence #5D to market there last week. The home is owned and designed by an architect, and plays off the exterior stylings of the building. Hand-plastered walls set the scene, with furnishings that seem to float atop the dark chocolate parquet floors.
Perched on the southernmost end of Lincoln Park, the views of the park, Lake Michigan, and down Dearborn Parkway put you in the center of all the action in this vibrant Chicago Gold Coast neighborhood. You even have a view of Lincoln Park and down North Avenue while relaxing in the tub that sits atop a pedestal made of Brazillian hardwood.
Mid-last year I wrote a post describing how FHA spot loan procedures can significantly expand your home search. As of today, the rules have changed and obtaining a spot approval is no longer an option. From now on, condo projects/buildings as a whole need to meet FHA guidelines and need to be on the FHA [...]
Despite some early controversy, it is very promising to see a new construction project succeeding in this challenging Chicago real estate market. Green development, Wrightwood Crossing, located at 1307 W. Wrightwood in Chicago’s Lincoln Park Wrightwood Neighbors neighborhood, appears to be succeeding. Now in early construction, of the 19 units, 4 are currently for sale [...]
Completing a successful Chicago short sale transaction requires communication and proper expectation setting across all parties. An article crossed my desk this morning that I thought would make the perfect outline to set short sale expectations for both the seller and buyer side. To entice you to read the entire article, the top 10 points [...]
Searching Chicago properties by price cut seems to be all the rage these days. As pointed out by YoChicago, a new website, CondoShark, has emerged to capitalize. Interesting and catchy way to focus on a declining market. That said, our Chicago property search has allowed you to search by Price Drop for some time now. [...]
Working with a value/investor buyer, it became apparent that the meaning of “As Is” in a property listing may need some explanation. Reviewing aggressively priced, foreclosure, and short sale listings with my client, it became apparent that she was avoiding certain listings that I felt had potential. Delving a bit deeper she explained… This property [...]
If your family is like mine, hitting one of Chicago’s many city parks in the spring and summer is a great activity. The Chicago Park District, along with extensive community involvement, has been doing a great job of renovating and improving parks across the city. As an example, Jonquil Park just re-opened for business after extensive renovations. [...]
Revised plans for the former Peerless Confection Company site are up for further neighborhood discussion and review. Looking at the Hostess site and Peerless site plans side-by-side as they face one another across Lakewood Avenue, they seem to complement one another nicely. The Hostess site’s very symmetrical, uniform lines seem softened by the Peerless site’s [...]
Absorption rate is a fancy term for sales rate or how long it will take to sell unsold inventory. These days as condo lending pre-sale requirements to close a unit are extremely restrictive (51% sold for FHA, Near 70% sold for Conventional) sales rate is more important than ever in assessing whether a new construction [...]
I recently had a buyer client ask me whether he really needed a pre-purchase inspection of his new Lincoln Park condo. He said… “It’s a condo, what could possibly be wrong with the place?” A lot, and yes, condo inspections are worth every penny. That said, an individual condo unit inspection alone is not sufficient. [...]
Jeff Kerr is a real estate agent and principal member of real estate team chitownpropertygroup, affiliated with @properties, a leading Chicago brokerage. He writes about Chicago real estate and living in Chicago.
Philosophy
Real Estate + Life are Inseparable
My real estate philosophy was reinforced while working with a Chicago home buyer. The now satisfied client made the following comment.
"Buying a home isn’t only about finding the right place, finances, and moving in,
but more importantly about whether the decision meshes with my family’s life situation."
For most of us, buying or selling a home is a life event that impacts not only our finances, but the quality of our life. It impacts our emotions as well as our pocketbooks.
I get it. No pressure, no hassle, just insightful market knowledge coupled with fantastic service throughout the entire process and beyond.
I welcome the opportunity to assist in your purchase or sale decision.
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