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CategoriesSelling Real EstateBuying Real Estate Market and Trends Homeownership Home Finance Acts of Agents RE Manners Staging The Examined LIfe Credit Ready Favorite LinksIncredible Agents.comArchivesAugust 2007Photo Radar in The State Of IllinoisPosted at 3:15 PM, Aug. 31, 2007Illinois will begin using photo radar in freeway work zones starting in July. Second offense tickets are $1,000 with license suspension. Beginning in July the State of Illinois will use speed cameras in areas designated as "Work Zones" on major freeways. Anyone caught by these devices will be mailed a $375.00 ticket for the FIRST offense, but the SECOND offense will cost $1000.00 and comes with a 90-Day suspension. Drivers will also receive demerit points against their license, which allows insurance companies to raise their rates. This represents the harshest penalty structure yet for a city or state using PHOTO enforcements. The State will begin with TWO camera vans issuing tickets in work zones with speed limits lowered to 45 MPH. Photographs of both the Driver's face and License plate are taken.Finding Your PlacePosted at 3:10 PM, Aug. 29, 2007Many of us either has spent, or still searching for that place in our lives where our work has meaning. I remember in college during an externship at a half way house for women breaking out a well known book called “What Color Is Your Parachute?”. The purpose of the book was to help uncover what drives you.
I felt though, that this examination could go a bit deeper. Instead of a simplified category of skill sets, or even more difficult, trying to articulate a passion, look at what matters to you, even things that may not translate into an easily described trade or field.
For instance, how I came to be a real estate agent. I do not have the “My Father was a broker for 25 years and here I am continuing the legacy”, or “I was in corporate America with an MBA and after an unexpected layoff, found real estate to be the perfect fit for my skills”. Instead, for me, it started with a book. Yes, this is a bit cheesy, but it was Rich Dad, Poor Dad that of all things inspired me to examine what matter to me. Security and a sense of belonging.
I grew up as a renter. My mother was a single working parent whose luck in relationships kept us on the move. I can say that while growing up, I had moved approximately 15 times and attended 13 different schools. You could say we were bit of the gypsies. Every place we lived was either someone else’s or was ours with a lease and hand-me-down furniture. I think I was about 16 years old before I had my first real bed and dresser. Up to that point, laundry baskets and crates were my place for clothes. I can remember several times having to pack up our belongings in the middle of the night in the ever-so-quaint hefty bags and hope we didn’t leave too much behind.
Homeownership was not in my vocabulary. I can recall be envious of my friends who had what was to me, beautiful rooms and a knowledge that tomorrow, their address would still be the same. I was very much on the outside looking in. What I think was the saddest part of it all is, that I did not emerge into adulthood with a drive to own. I clearly felt that homeownership was for the privileged. I succumbed to the notion that I was and will always be a renter-class kinda girl.
After I turned thirty, attending college (something else that I believed was too good for me) and recently married, I picked up the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book and started to read. From it, I learned something very valuable about myself. I craved financial independence. I was so terrified that I would end up like my mother did, living by the seat of her pants, small child(ren) in tow, and never having a place to call her own. This was a very real fear of mine that I had not, up until that moment, put my finger on it.
The book talked about using real estate to accomplish this task. It was from this book, that I started to believe, why not me? But of course, running out a buying an investment property was not in my immediate future by any means. Instead, I had decided to educate myself on the process. If I was going to eventually own rental property and have my cash flow, I needed to feel confident in the procedure. Hence, during my holiday break from school, I enrolled in a real estate sales class. Did I have ambitions to become a sales agent? No. In fact, there is much about sales I absolutely hate. I did however need to feel in control. And for me, what better way to learn the tricks of the trade then from the inside?
It was shortly after I earned my license and in my head, mapping out my plan of attack, I discovered something else. Helping others achieve that very goal that I felt was so out of reach for me, homeownership. I worked almost exclusively with first time homebuyers in the early part of my career and discovered a wondrous change in me. I was empowering myself by empowering others. Single men, women and even young couples challenging and embracing their futures by taking financial control. This wasn’t accomplished by some fantastical dream of becoming the next Donald Trump, but by very real steps that will forever change them. I learned about as much from my clients as they have probably learned from me. I envision extensions of this to include better opportunities for women just like my mother, single parents and working hard to survive. Homeownership shouldn’t be out of their reach for them or their children, and yes, I eventually purchased my own humble abode and watch my children thrive in the security of knowing they will always have a place to call their own.
So what is the moral of my story? Real estate never started out as a passion for me, but instead a profession out of a need. It became one that granted me fulfillment and appreciation beyond my expectations. Real meaning in your life and joy in your work doesn’t always come about in conventional ways. Never be afraid to explore the what-ifs or to waiver off the paved road. There is a saying, “Sometimes on the way to a dream we get lost and find a better one”.
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View more entries tagged with: Real Estate Agents, Occupation, Renters Say No To the Real Estate Transfer Tax IncreasePosted at 4:06 AM, Aug. 27, 2007Former Illinois Association of Realtors President, Robert Zoretich addressed the pending proposal by legislation to fund the Chicago Transit Authority's pension fund in the Chicago Tribune. Their plan, to increase the property transfer tax on all real estate transactions. What does this mean? It means homebuyers and sellers are about to get raped. For those unaware, the real estate transfer tax is a non-negotiable, large portion of closing costs that burdens buyers and sellers. Currently, taxes to the city, county and state equal $9 for every $1,000 in value of the property. Legislation wants to raise it to $11 per $1,000. I can tell you this, most sellers, and especially buyers, are speechless when reviewing the closing statement and they see that transfer tax (it's divided between buyer and seller). Attorneys jokingly tell their homebuyer clients, this is your very expensive "welcome home mat" from the city. It is without a doubt, a heavier burden to the already difficulties associated with buying or selling a home. It will only prove to be a greater obstacle to those looking to buy a home, and for those needing to sell in a stagnant market. Chicago's aspiring homeowner's and seller's should not be the honey pot to bail the city from its budgeting plight. { 0 comments } { add comment } { Permanent Link }
View more entries tagged with: City Taxes, Chicago, Cta Bronzeville on the RisePosted at 3:13 AM, Aug. 25, 2007Some of our southern communities in Chicago have remained forgotten relics of the past. Bronzeville, was one of them. Until now. Bronzeville's history may have lacked glamour, but it certainly did not lack culture. "It's name came from James J. Gentry, a theatre editor for Anthony Overton, the Cosmetic King and publisher of the Chicago Bee, who suggested using the coined word "Bronzeville" to identify the community since it more accurately described the skin tone of most of its inhabitants", according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago. Not exactly the kind legacy one would expect. But despite its title, Bronzeville was home to some of the most significant African American contributors of our wonderful city. Black intellectuals, politicians, sports figures, artists, and writers called this neighborhood home and made it the cultural mecca of it's time, most famously known for the REGAL THEATER(source Encycolpedia of Chicago). Now, it has become the centerpiece for one of the largest, most expansive developments in Chicago. Once home to the infamous Robert Taylor homes which was the nation's largest public housing project, is nothing more than a memory. In it's stead, is the dream of Legends South. Michaels Development Co. and Brinshore Development have joined together to build over 2400 homes. All of which will be mixed-use and mixed income. Homeownership is promoted with some of the most affordable units which range in $200-250 per square foot. One can find condos, single family homes as well as two flats. The area's relationship to downtown, affordable housing prices and pending retail is a clear indication this neighborhood is heading upward. { 0 comments } { add comment } { Permanent Link }
View more entries tagged with: Buying, Real Estate Trends, Bronzeville, Chicago Foreclosure ScamsPosted at 12:26 PM, Aug. 23, 2007A recent article on the Wall Street Journal site has indicated that the jump in foreclosures has sparked a new kind of mortgage fraud. It's called Foreclosure Rescue. According to this article, the Feds are examining over 1,200 cases where these so called rescuers target homeowners who are on the very verge of foreclosure and offering to put their home into a "trust" that supposedly allows the homeowner to remain in the home and continue to make payments until they are back on their feet.
However, those that have taken the bait, lost their home anyway. Apparently, these scam artists design these rescue options to fail so the homeowner loses their home to them, who then sell the home and pocket the equity. Click on the link to read more about this current scam .
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View more entries tagged with: Foreclosure Scams, Federal Investigations Property Tax Relief Extended in ChicagoPosted at 2:33 AM, Aug. 23, 2007There is much to celebrate with extension of House Bill 664. This bill was put into place a few years ago to come to aid the soaring property values with the surge of New Construction and city improvements to many neighborhoods in Chicago. Many people who have lived years in their homes where finding out that even thought their homes tripled or more in unrealized value, so did their property taxes. As you can imagine, this was forcing a lot of long time residents to either sell their homes (many living on modest incomes) or fight back. Hence, the 664 bill was enacted. This bill put into place a 7% cap that prevented home values to dicated new tax amounts past that. This of course isn't a end to tax increases, but it did allow residents time to adjust. Unfortuately, this was temporary. Now according to our state representative John Fritchey, the House and State legislation has extended the bill for another three years. In addition, the exemption cap has increased from the previous level of $20,000 to $33,000 in the first year, $26,000 for the second year, and $20,000 in the third year. This is really good news to many deeply affected by gentrified areas. To read more about the bill, you can visit his website at www.fritchey.com
Staging Under FirePosted at 8:51 AM, Aug. 21, 2007Currently under circulation in the real estate media is the alleged deception of staging. Exculsive Buyer's Agents are attacking the ethics of staging a home and are warning Buyers the dangers of it. Yeah, okay. Apparently, there is a need to use scare tactics in order to plug their services. Let's begin by pointing out the obvious. If a seller, with or without the aid of their agent, wishes to deceive a buyer by hiding defects in the home, that can be done without staging. In fact, I would venture to say that if a seller is cheap and lazy enough to not want to fix up their home before putting it on the market, they sure in heck's are not going to spend the money to stage it. Seriously enough, you cannot blame the art of staging behind the failure to mention the hole in the floor that has been there for years, hidden by the large dresser. Staging has never been or will ever be the excuse to disguise latent or material defects. In fact, I think that action could be in some cases, ground for a lawsuit! I won't even point out that there is the inspection period where a buyer can do a thourghout examination of the house, or even the fact that if we are going to attack staging, well, Developers will just have to ban using Model homes because that IS staging! Oops, I guess I just did. In addition, I am an Accredited Buyer's Representative who has for years serviced and advised buyers (many of them first-timers) with purchasing a home. I have dedicated myself to my clients and offered many of my insights to the surface marketing of homes from a seller's and seller's agent's perspective. I am also, for the record, an Accredited Staging Professional. Now as I stated, I work extensively with Buyers, but I also list and stage properties. I have yet to meet a buyer or a seller who is made "dumb" because of staging. In fact, quite the opposite happens. For the sellers whom I have staged and sold their home find it fun shopping for the new one and notice how others have been staged. It's almost a game if you will. Their appreciation for presentation is solidified. The messy homes we enter, the first thing my client will say is, "That needs staging!". As for buyers new to the market, well, having a background in staging helps me discuss possibilities with them. Concerns about their furniture, etc. are always part of our dialogue when we view homes. If an agent is not helping their clients to visualize and even at times, play the devil's advocate, then I feel they are doing a dis-service. Ultimately, the buyers decide, good or bad, which home they want. Lastly, to say that staging blinds a buyer is a crock! Anyone who has a working knowledge of staging knows that it is never to replace condition. If the property needs repair, it needs repair. We are ethically upheld to advise clients to the limitations of staging; just check out www.StagedHomes.com and see the checklists given to sellers discussing repairs. In conclusion, I would imagine there are plenty of other agents like myself whose biggest challenge does not lie in Buyers making offers with rose colored glasses on, but getting them past the small, insignificant items that they manage to turn into mountains out of fear. Which by the way, is a much larger emotion behind buying decisions (or the lack of) than bliss. I think these agents should be supportive of staging given their buyers will perceive value in the purchase than of a home that looks like a dump with a lofty price tag. { 1 comments } { add comment } { Permanent Link }
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