judyo's Blog: General Real Estate

I'm certainly not as busy as I'd like to be but there was a big lull in my area for awhile.  All of a sudden, a few of my listings were getting a nice amount of showings and one of my Tinley Park homes for sale just got a contract.  That was a nice one since the sellers already purchased a new townhouse and are living apart - one in the townhouse and one in the house (many people don't realize that their Home Owner's insurance probably doesn't cover a vacant property).  This couple isn't taking the chance.

Another thing I noticed is the amount of my VOW sign-ups (VOW requires registration) has gone up recently. In fact, I had an e-mail conversation with an Active Rainer about a new lead generating program he started using called Growth Leader.  He told me…

I'm walking away from more listings lately than ever.  More this year than in all the 25 years I've been in the biz.  And I'll keep doing it when sellers won't face the facts.

I was on a listing appointment for Blue Island real estate last week.  It was a legal 2-flat that looked like a single family residence with a 3 bedroom unit on the main level and a 1 bedroom unit upstairs.  The sellers lived in another home and needed to get one of their properties sold.  They said whichever one sells first means they'll keep and live in the other one.

I explained today's Buyer's Market to them and showed them all of the comparable listings.  However, this was a unique set-up so I got as close to their unit as possible.  They seemed to understand, even though…

Wow!  Talk about the power of the Internet.  You haven't been reading too many blogs or fourms lately if you haven't heard about Marc Rasmussen vs. SAR MLS (Sarasota Multiple Lisitng Service).  To quickly summarize, SAR MLS wants Marc to hand over his long-held domain name, thesarasotamls.com.  You can read the original post that started fellow REALTORS to unite here: Sarasota Multiple Listing Service (SAR MLS).

And let's not forget Marc's new domain name for Sarasota homes for sale.  Marc took down his original domain which caused this brouhaha and simply wants to be able to redirect it to his new domain.  After all, he is the owner of the domain in question.

This has made other real estate agents very mad!

And they've been writing about it.  There…

Fortunatley, I do get a lot of buyers that fill out my Home Finder Search Form on my multiple websites.  Most of the forms are filled out  with enough information so I can create a search and get them on the automated e-mail system my MLS provides. 

But every once in a while I'll get some requests that I just can't complete.  A lot of people want a big backyard but there are no search parameters for that.  Even if a lot might seem a good size it still depends on how the house is set on the lot.  We do have houses here and there that have all front yard and very little in back.  These are older homes and I don't understand why any of these were built this way but it is what it is.  So buyers have to check out each listing individually by photos or driving…

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 fact, they only gave me one address to view so I think this is just the beginning of their search.

I get a lot of out-of-area leads from my website, both buyers and sellers.  I've passed some of them on, mostly for a referral fee, but sometimes I just pass on…

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 to understand the current market a little better but since they've found a property recently they are  getting desperate, or maybe I should say more realistic.  Unfortunately, they had two offers that they turned down in the past.  Because they found a home they…

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 stuff in the backpack, but suddenly that little laptop didn't feel so little anymore.

So I went on a quest to find a tiny laptop that was less than $2,000.  To make a long story short, I am now the proud owner of the first couple hundred (if that many) MSI Winds…

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 like those were positive messages and it is assumed that these posts were from ePerks employees.

To make a long story short, ePerks sent Vlad a cease and desist letter and requested that he remove all negative comments.  In fact, they also asked him to remove…