Jan. 26, 2006 - Sold in 14 Days

What a great listing it was. Two Bedrooms, two full baths. A 1,570 square foot Condo. A corner unit with a northern view,  looking down on a quiet tree lined residential street. Two parking spots in the indoor heated garage. Walking distance to METRA,  PACE, the new Grocery store and all of the other amenities going into the revitalized Downtown district. Yes indeed, this one was destined to have a short market life, it was definitely not going to last long. Any agent working this market would have loved to have gotten this listing, including myself. It's the kind of listing that is a joy to market, a pleasure to attach your name to. It's the kind of listing that would sell itself with little or no effort on your part.

That's why I am so puzzled as to why the agent that listed it saw fit to just blatanly disregard the rules, even after his main infraction was pointed out to him. I can understand why he used the photograph of an address down the street, it was a much nicer angle, but it wasn't a photograph of the address he listed the unit in. I'm sure that every agent out there has gotten a listing where they wished they could have used the photograph of a different, nicer property in the MLS. The rules are in place to prevent that kind of fraudulent advertising though, and most of us agents believe in honest, fair dealing.

Just in case it may have been a mistake, I contacted the agent when the listing first hit the MLS and made him aware that the wrong address was pictured in the listing. He replied back telling me I had too much time on my hands. I personally sent him one of my photographs of the address his unit was listed in, telling him not to worry about my time and what I do with it, but worry about his own disregard for the rules of the MLSNI. Since he had a proper photograph and chose not to use it anyway I would have to believe that he is just one of those agents that could care less about the NAR Code of Ethics, Illinois license law, the rules of the MLSNI, etc., all the things a good upstanding agent lives by. He's a regular snake oil salesman, and the kind of agent that makes For Sale By Owner a popular choice.

I am not going to tell you this agent's name. I didn't even report the infraction to the MLSNI. That would make it look like I was sucking sour grapes over not getting the listing. I am not. I wasn't even interviewed for the listing so it's not like I lost out to this guy. I will just use him as fuel for one of my rants in this here blog. This little blog is being read by more people than I am even aware of. I have put a few stratigic people on the mailing list to get things started. A midwestern corporate representative of the company that ownes the brand that this guy operates under is on the mailing list. Just today I have even added a couple of honest upstanding agents, whose opinion I have always valued, to the mailing list. Perhaps they will comment, thereby showing the buyers and sellers who come to this blog that there are in fact, many honest agents out there, that do care about the rules, that all agents are not created equal. 

Last but not least, always remember and never forget, if you get this blog via e-mail it is because you have either asked to be put on the list, or I put you on the list because you inspired me and fueled this blog, or I look upon you as someone who's opinion I would value if you were to comment. If you would like to not be on the list just e-mail me and say so.

Jan. 23, 2006 - The Property Tax Homeownwers Exemption

First of all, allow me to say this, you don't subscribe to my blog and you are wondering why it wound up in your inbox. I personally put you on the mailing list at one time or another because you are either a principle party in what I am blogging about and you might want to publicly defend an opposing position, an expert in your field who could add some intelligent comments, or, the person that planted the seed that grew into the subject of a particular posting and I thought you might like to see how you are helping me help others. Whatever the case may be, I am not a spammer and I gladly remove anyone who asks me to. Now on to the subject.

As strange as this may sound, I have run across a school of thought that says that by not taking an exemption on your property taxes you get a better income tax return. I certainly agree you will have a bigger amount to enter on line 6 of your Schedule A, but I am baffled by the logic. If you pay out more than you have to, does it really matter if it comes out of your left pocket rather than your right? If there is some magic math my accountant hasn't told me about I am going to fire him. Call me old fashioned but I always thought that business loses, not over paying property taxes, was the way to a better return.

At any rate, I am just a Real Estate Agent. I'm the guy that goes hither and yon trying to help people realize their real estate dreams. The Cook County Assessor's Office has all the information a person needs to be able to formulate an opinion on, and understand what should be done in regard to The Homeowners Exemption. Me, my professional self, I really cherish paying lower taxes and you should too. You probably don't even realize that not taking your Homeowners Exemption will have a trickle down effect on the person you sell your property to in the future. Yes indeed, we all live and learn.

In the end, my professional position is as follows: Homeowners and prospective sellers, if you have not applied for your Homeowners Exemption, do it now. I say here publicly, that from here on out, I will not list a property where the owners are entitled to the exemption, but chose not to take it. It will hurt the buyer in the long run. Buyers, make sure the home you consider buying is currently being taxed with the Homeowners Exemption in place. If it is not, due to irrational thinking, ignorance, or whatever, ask your agent to make the sellers applying for it a contingency on the offer. That is going to be my standard practice from now on.

Jan. 20, 2006 - What Is Going On With This Market?

As you may or may not know, (if you follow this blog you know), I have been a busy, busy guy. Much busier actually, than one would expect for January. I have five active listings that are keeping my phone ringing and one tentative buyer with a house to sell that he will be listing soon. An individual agent might expect this kind of business in early spring, but January?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Oh no. Not by a long shot. I have plenty of time and energy left to continue my prospecting efforts and to accept referrals from you, my faithful readers. Like my tag line says "Real Estate Is My Lifestyle, Not My Job". If you are going to be any good at it, it has to be.

So break it on down. It's a buyers market.

What's that mean? That means the the buyer is in the position of power when it comes to negotiating the deal. There are a lot of homes to choose from. The sellers need to be flexible. Now is the time, the time is now, buy, buy, buy!

How long can we expect this to last? Well, having gazed into my crystal ball, chanted incantations and burned incense, I can honestly say........................I dunno. What I do know is this, there will be a paradigm shift in the market sooner or later. There always is. It could start next week, next month, next year, who knows? The one thing you can count on is that I will be keeping my eye on things for you and let you know what I know when I know it.

This is one of the reasons why you need to come back to our blog here on a daily basis. Another reason is that there is a fine Mercedes Benz listed for sale on Gene's Board. Yes indeed, and soon there will be some furniture as well. If you didn't stop by the blog you might not even know about Gene's Board, the community bulletin board that is out there in cyber space for all to use.

Last but not least, let me tell you about commenting on this blog. I encourage it, as you well know. You can comment anonymously if you wish, however, if you register and comment as a registered user, you will get your very own blog in the registration process. That's right, your very own blog, free. Who knows where that may lead?

Jan. 13, 2006 - The 100% Rule

There was a meeting last night at The Des Plaines City Hall to discuss the 100% rule.

The 100% rule concerns a section of the Declaration and Bylaws, the governing documents of Condominium Associations, which is drafted by the Developer of the Condominium. Various developers have recently began adding a "rule" to the section of the bylaws concerning the right to lease units in the development. The "rule" states that in order to amend that section of the declaration and bylaws, in other words, prevent the leasing of units in a particular Condominium, you need a 100% vote of the unit owners.

Enter Section 607/27 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act. That section states in part that "no condominium instrument shall require more than a three-quarter vote of unit owners to amend the bylaws". I have linked the entire Act here. You can read it if you wish.

The meeting was co-sponsored by 1st Ward Alderman Pat Beauvais and The Des Plaines Condominium Alliance. State Senator Susan Garrett (D) 29th District and State Representative Elaine Nekritz (D) 57th District were in attendence, as was Des Plaines Mayor Tony Arredia. They were all in agreement that if any association should want to challange the 100% rule they should proceed to call a vote to amend their bylaws. The general opinion is that State Law (The Illinois Condominium Property Act) would take president in the event the amendment should be litigated.

Now on a personal note. The Des Plaines Condominium Alliance, if it existed in more than name, would and could be a dynamic force for good in the world of community associations. The project is spear headed by Rich Grosse of Library Court, with much help from Alderman Beauvais. There seems to be a small loyal following. It is my humble opinion that every association in the City of Des Plaines should be represented and that this organization should have a governing document and an organizational structure, such as a Board of Directors. The next time a call for action goes out, we should all take heed. It is in that spirit that I would offer space in this blog and put the resources of  Gene's Board at their disposal. 

Jan. 10, 2006 - Hey....I Missed You Guys

Sorry I haven't been here for a couple of days. I had to put 1349 E. Washington Street, Unit 301 in Downtown Des Plaines on the market. It takes me a couple of days to do it right, because since I left "corporate real estate", I no longer have "office support" available. I have to make my own blunders when I put up a listing now. Besides, the "office support" would not input my listings into my websites (not this one, or this one), so I had a lot of my own work to do anyway.

"Office support" would, however, see to it that the listings I worked so hard to get were input into "The Corporate Website" (sorry, no link, they will remain anonymous, unless they post otherwise). It seems to me that I was paying the franchise 6% off the top for the right  to advertise one of their corporate brands. After that, "office support" would input my listings into my brokers company website. I was giving up 35% of the commission for the right to provide content to that site. Who's "office support" was I paying for, anyway?

Ah well, I digress. This is not what I wanted to blog about today. No. What I wanted to say was, back when I wrote "The Enemy Inside Your TV Set" an anonymous entity posted a reply. I knew who that person was, so I asked him if he wished to remain anonymous. Since he didn't care one way or the other, I will take the liberty of introducing you to Mr. Abdullah Amin (MailTo:Elegent1@aol.com) a loan officer at Money Tree Mortgage.

When I said I would try to have "experts in their fields" involved with, and tuned into my blog, this is what I meant. Call me crazy, but I am try to give my associates some free exposure. All they have to do is jump in and contribute. Even if I rant a little about "corporate real estate", the representatives of that entity will be able to debate the issues raised, should they so desire.

 I could tell the world what a super duper REALTORŪ I am because I do this, that and the other thing, but you know, and I know, that you will be much more comfortable working with me when you feel like you know me, like you know how my mind works. That's why I am not here telling you what todays interest rates are, and how to be a first time home buyer. You can go to my websites to find all that stuff, or you can wing off an e-mail to a loan officer you may come across here.

 You really should bookmark this place. It's going to be fun.

Jan. 7, 2006 - It's Beginning To Show Some Signs Of Life

It's been a couple of days since I was last able to post. I have been busy, which is a good thing. First and foremost, I put 1480 Ramblewood Drive, in Hanover Park, on the market. Since I am the kind of guy who believes that if you want it done right you should do it yourself, putting up a listing takes awhile. Not only did I have to put the listing up on my websites, http://GeneMolloy.com and http://GeneMolloy.net , I had to set up links from those sites to this blog while I was there editing.

If all that wasn't enough, the phone has started ringing again. I received inquiries about all four of my available listings and had a showing of the two bedroom condo at 1349 E. Washington, in Des Plaines.

Even with me not blogging for a couple of days the blog lives. I noticed someone added a comment about The Enemy Inside Your TV Set. Although it was an anonymous post, I know who it was. If you visit my blog, and if you comment here, why remain anonymous? Until I get his permission I am not going to reveal his identity, but I will say that he is a loan officer. Don't be shy, some one reading this blog might want to contact you.

I have had a few ideas as to what might work here. I have put a couple of people on the mailing list, so as to bring this blog to their attention. They all have some expertise that could add some flavor to this forum. One of them is probably wondering why I put her on the list and how in the world can she add any value to a real estate related blog. When I do the blog about moving with a pet, or pets, in the household, I will need most of the content from her, the expert. In turn, her not for profit organization will receive whatever recognition one might gain here.

See, it's beginning to show some signs of life.

Jan. 4, 2006 - The Enemy Inside Your Television Set

So I am watching the news this morning and there it is, the "What is your home worth?" HouseValues.com commercial. What in the world is HouseValues.com? Allow me to tell you. They are yet another company who is out there working to drive up the commission you pay when you hire a REALTORŪ to sell your property. How is that you ask? Well my friends, House Values is going to sell your information to the unlucky agents who PAY them for the privilage of doing a market analysis for you. Now I'm not sure, you may or may not be selling your home, you might just want to know (as well you should) how much worth your house adds to your bottom line. These poor agents who are out there BUYING your information, in the hopes that you will be listing with them, are therefore going to have to increase their commissions in order to make up the loss.

My question to you is this: Why in the world would anyone want to give their information to a company that is not going to do your market analysis, but is for sure going to sell it to someone else, when they could simply go to my website and request one free of charge, no strings attached, knowing that I am the only one getting your information?

Jan. 3, 2006 - Gotta Get Started Somewhere

Holy cow, I got me a blog. Now what the heck can I do with that?

I can hold court, pontificate, sound off, bloviate.

I can answer your questions. I can raise some questions. I can invite you to send me some pithy comments.

I could pretend I was the most famous REALTORŪ in Northwest Suburban Chicagoland. I could become the most famous REALTORŪ in Northwest Suburban Chicagoland.

I can announce announcements and give definitions. The possibilities are endless.

I can assign different days different purposes. I can have Mortgage Rate Day, Definintion Day, Market Analysis Day, Book Review Day, Anything Can Happen Day, Resturaunt Review Day, How To Day........there just are not enough days in the week for all the kind of days I can have.

Holy cow, I got me a blog. You should probably bookmark this place, add it to your favorites. This just might be exciting.