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I didn't start flying until I was around 45. I took my first Valium ever for the flight and couldn't sleep well for weeks prior to the trip. But it was a trip to Cancun as a Christmas present that I just couldn't turn down. I am claustrophobic plus I just can't understand how planes can actually fly. I won't scare myself too much with my other thoughts and feelings about flying so I'll stop here. On my first flight we sat in the first seats as I thought I'd need the leg room (I'm 5'3" - I gue... Read Full Post

I just gave a referral away that came to my website. Why? It was a couple looking for a rental. There's not much commission money in rentals and I wanted this couple to be taken care of. But they were looking in an area I don't work in, even though it is in the large MLS I am a member of. Sure, I could use the business but I'm sticking to my guns of how much travel time I'm willing to take, especially wth today's gas prices. And I doubt these renters will find what they want in one trip. In f... Read Full Post

The real estate market in the Midwest isn't supposed to have been affecteed as dramatically as places like the West Coast and fast growing areas like Las Vegas. Yet as far as I'm concerned the southwest suburbs of Chicago have really taken a dive. Prices continue to drop and there is minimal activity, especially in comparison to the amount of available inventory. I am working with two sellers of real estate in orland park illinois that have already purchased properties. The first couple seem ... Read Full Post

I hate lugging things around. I used to carry a tiny little purse that looked more like a wallet with a cord on it. I shopped around for the lightest briefcase I could find (made out of some kind of microfiber). And I was so excited when I got my 12" screen Toshiba laptop. Compared to my Dell Inspiron it felt so light and seemed so compact. I thought it would be the perfect travel laptop. That is, until I carried it in my laptop backpack on a flight. OK, there were some magazines and other st... Read Full Post

The sad story of ePerks suing Vlad Zablotskyy of Go-Beyond-MLS.com is growing throughout the Internet. Vlad, a real estate blogger, was one of ePerks many paid reviewers. Vlad gave them a positive review but his blog started receiving negative comments from real estate agents that felt they were burned by ePerks. After reading these comments and doing a little research, Vlad posted another review asking if "ePerks was a gem or a scam?" More comments came his way, many from the same ip. Seemed... Read Full Post

For those of you that would love having the opportunity to get a REW website package including your template of choice, core IDX and free lifetime hosting valued in excess of $5,000, the raffle has just been extended to July 1st. Tickets are $35.00 for one chance and 4 for $100.00. If you're blogging on REW you probably already know how great and beautiful these websites are. They are search engine friendly and you are allowed your choice of colors and more. If you don't have a website yet th... Read Full Post

I finally found a home for a pair of first-time buyers that took their time (they lost two homes they liked by waiting too long to make their offer - I wrote another post about this) until they finally purchased real estate in Tinley Park. It was a very nice single family residence and in my opinion the nicest house they saw. We had the home inspection and I was very happy with the inspector we had. He explained things very clearly and did not scare my buyer. He explained maintenance and kept... Read Full Post

The market is finally picking up in the southwest Chicago suburbs. I'm seeing more homes going under contract after buyers ask me to set appointments based on listings they received from me from their automated e-mail search or properties they've found on the Internet or from a For Sale sign. I've been working with some buyers that have taken their time viewing all of the inventory in their price range and areas of choice. One couple finally narrowed their choice down to two listings. When I ... Read Full Post

In all the years I've been a REALTOR I don't remember having such a difficult time finding comparable listings when preparing a Comparative Market Analysis or CMA. I've always used the same parameters such as area, style of home, bedrooms, baths, etc. and have gone back six months, which is how appraisers prepare their appraisals. There has been so little activity in most areas of the Chicago suburbs that I'm having to go back 12 months and sometimes even longer to find comparable sold and cl... Read Full Post

There is an older post on REW Forums that keeps getting added to in the Laid Back Chat section titled "What kind of car do you drive?" One poster mentioned a word I had never heard of before, hypermiling. It was mentioned in a post written by Larry Jensen who is known as NY RE Broker on the forums. He actually used the term hype-miling so I had to look it up on the Internet. What a new world I was introduced to! This is a new sub-culture that I can only imagine is going to continue growing. I... Read Full Post