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So, I'm currently waiting to head to an open house and thought I would offer my takes. First, I don't really do open houses. I used to a few years ago but that was when gas was cheaper, the internet wasn't as popular with buyers and you could usually expect a good 5-10 visitors minimum per open house. I stopped doing them when numbers started dropping off as the market worsened and I was doing open houses for 0-1 visitors. Since then, I've made them optional as part of my marketing program. I... Read Full Post

So, just last week some buyers of mine put an offer in on a really juicy foreclosure that was massively underpriced. I could tell the list agent is inexperienced with doing REO - the fact that they actually answered my phone call was the first hint. Anyways, the fun starts with the list price of the home. It's priced about 15% under even the other foreclosures in the area and the condition is fine. I could also tell the list agent didn't know the area because the subdivision this home is in h... Read Full Post

Golden Oaks subdivision is on the west side of Aurora, Illinois and features single family homes built in the early 1990's. Golden oaks has generally been popular with first time homebuyers as it features affordable homes of a decent size for small families. The prices remain extremely reasonable for Aurora real estate. In the first quarter of 2011, there are three properties that sold in Golden Oaks - these include: 1142 GOLDEN OAKS $106000 3BR 2BA1435 Golden Oaks $114300 3BR 1.1BA1488 BURR ... Read Full Post

Many of us know there are other agents out there that use the idea of a buyer rebate in order to attract business in this slow market. As an agent, I never used this business model myself, yet I was always a firm believer that this was a "good thing" for the general buying public. It may be different in other parts of the country, but for those of us that practice Illinois real estate, it is perfectly legal for an agent to give gifts or rebates to either of the two principals in the real esta... Read Full Post

As I was constructing an information page about a local subdivision this evening, I started to muse on how easy it is to mis-type "homes" as "hoes". I catch myself doing this perhaps 3 or 4 times a day - I don't think it's a Freudian slip or anything. However, I feel rather nervous that one of these slip-ups is going to find it's way into my published work. I mean, all it takes is a momentary stick of the "m" key and it takes "offering my services" to a whole different level. Here are just a ... Read Full Post

I was waiting for a thought-provoking subject to come along to post my innaugural blog post here on REW. As my wife was doing yoga this morning, it gave me a chance to meditate and reflect on my hard work over the past week. One thing that really came through for me was how well I kept a positive attitude through the week. If your week is like mine, it's full of ups and downs - good days and bad. It's relatively easy to maintain a positive attitude when everything is going well, you're on top... Read Full Post