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If someone said the temperature is 38 degrees outside, how would you want to dress?  Would you be grabbing an overcoat?  How about ear muffs?  Would you begin to shiver just thinking about it being so close to freezing outside? 

Now, what IF that 38 degrees they were talking about was the Celsius number???  According to the National Weather Service, a 38 degree Celsius is equal to 100.4 degrees Fehrenheit! 

When discussing temperature, it MATTERS which scale is being used.

When discussing CREDIT SCORE, it MATTERS which scoring scale is being used!!!!

For years it was so easy.  You could visit any of the major Credit Bureau websites (Transunion, Equifax, Experian) or any of their "...

Ah, the single level lifestyle!  This lovely ranch, situated on a quiet cul-de-sac and backing to Park District Property with two small playgrounds great for those young families (and for the "grannie" generation who can enjoy play time with grandkids just a few steps away from home!!!) is both pleasing to the eyes AND pleasing to the pocketbook!  The neighborhood is well...

While driving to an appointment this afternoon, I heard an interesting interview on the radio that really got me thinking.  Like many people, maybe like YOU, I tinker with social media. I have a Facebook account and a Linked-in account, and I have a Twitter account as well.   But what caught my attention, however, is how easily we can put ourselves at risk without ever realizing it.  So I thought there were tips on that radio interview well worth passing along...we all want to be social...but let's be SMART about it too!

TIP #1

You don't always have control over who is reading the things you write.  As I recall, some months ago subscribers to one of the major social networks (as I recal...

Reflecting on that horrific day in 2001, thoughts first come to all those lives that were abruptly ended and those that were changed forever.  Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters...unaware in the early hours of that September day of how our nation, and the world, would be changed forever.  Millions stood in awe and disbelief at such a travesty, wondering what sort of insanity could spawn such vile acts.

In those early days, the response across our country made us all proud to be American.  Flags unfurled in windows, on vehicles, on posts large and small on homes and business...not just in our country, but across the globe.  For a time it seemed as though the world was un...

People say it all the time when they're considering putting their home on the market and trying to decide whether or not to hire and agent, and if they're going to hire one, WHICH one will they hire.  Among the many things people generally understand about agents is that most of them will "put the home in the MLS".  While that may be essentially true, what often gets lost in the comparison is the differences in HOW a home might be represented in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  

Let me give you an example.  Some time ago I was hired to market a property that had been listed without success by two prior agents.  Despite a very "balanced marketplace", the home had been on the market fo...

It's human nature, I guess.  In many parts of the country stories abound about the great deals buyers are getting, so when it's your turn to find a home, you expect to get a deal, too, right?  There's no doubt that qualified buyers are gold right now, which, of course, gives them leverage when they're shopping for a home...and they know it!

Let me ask you a question, though:  How do you define "deal"?  When you go to the department store and find an outfit you like...it's on a rack with a big sign over it saying "20% Off", does it make you feel good?  What if you found out that the price of that outfit had been raised by 25% the previous week.  Now how good does that "20% off" feel?

Whe...

It used to be so easy (well, easy might not really be the right word, but at the very least it used to make a lot more sense!!  If you owned a home and decided to move...to upgrade, or downsize, or relocate, or whatever you planned to do after selling, the process, though not really simple, was generally pretty manageable.  You'd do so basic due diligence to find out the current market value of your home, decide how you preferred to handle the sale, perhaps interviewed one or more agents, did a basic overview of the market for the type of home you'd like to move TO and make sure you were financially qualified...and then you'd just DO IT!

In today's somewhat precarious real estate market,...

An interesting email arrived recently from my profile on one of the online services I use.  It was fairly anonymous simply saying that a prospect wanted me to email them about selling their home as quickly as possible.  It gave no information other than that, but since consumers tend to want their anonymity, I decided to respond courteously and offered to assist.

The prospect replied me very quickly, but only said "I have a contract with remax but they have not shown the house.  I thought that you might have a buyer.".

Interesting.  There was no mention as to the COUNTRY, let alone city or area where the house was, price range, type of home....absolutely nothing.  After all, t...

To a certain extent, it's always been true ... a buyer's perception of value is generally quite different than a sellers.  But in this market, buyers are more bewildered than ever when they begin their home search.  They're wondering why THEY can't find those fabulous $400,000 homes for $200,000 or less!  And while the reality is that there such extreme values may appear now and then, the majority of what's on the market today, while substantially discounted over what they might have sold for just a few years ago, are generally not nearly that extreme. 

There's a reason why parents have reminded their offspring "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!" for generations.  The rea...

Have you ever had this experience, or know someone else who has?  Here's the situation:

Buyer has been searching for homes and finally decides on one that meets his needs.  He makes an offer, negotiates in good faith, but the seller decides not to accept it.  Then weeks go by...maybe even months.  Eventually the house sells, and when that original buyer investigates, he discovers that the seller sold his home for what the buyer had offered months earlier.  What happened?

Actually, this is not such an uncommon situation and for a whole host of reasons...none of which being nefarious.  Take a look at SOME of the reasons why a seller might eventually accept a previously rejected offer:

In many markets around the country, and certainly here in the western suburbs of Chicago, properties for sale as Short Sales have become very prevalent, even among Bloomingdale, Bartlett and Carol Stream homes for sale.  Prior to 2008, we rarely, if ever, saw short sale listings.  Sadly, they are now fairly abundant.  As a matter of fact, according to our MLS (MRED...Midwest Real Estate Data), of the 1140 attached and detached single family homes currently listed for sale, roughly 15% of the listings in Bloomingdale, Bartlett, and Carol Stream are indicated to be Short Sale listings!  And this DOES NOT INCLUDE those properties that may just be one more "price reduction" away from having t...

Years ago I remember watching a great little movie called "Pay It Forward" starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment.  If you've not seen it, I highly recommend it!  We never know how something we do to, for, or with someone else might impact their lives...sometimes in a very profound way!  Based on the principle of 'random acts of kindness", this profound story depicts what could happen if every one of us would make the effort to do something nice for someone else...and wouldn't it be wonderful if that were a daily occurrence!  This applies to big things, of course, but also to very small things as well...things like opening a door for someone, offering to carry a bag of groce...

Remember your first day at school, or your first date, or your first job interview?  Someone special in your life probably quoted those words to you ... "you never get a second chance to make a great first impression!"  And those words hold true for real estate as well.  When you're preparing to put your home on the market, first impressions matter.  What's really important to remember, though, is that you need to be making A LOT of great first impressions if you want to get your home sold, and most assuredly if you want to get a decent price for it!

Buyer's Agents

Yes, their impressions matter ... big time!  Buyer's agents, particularly the more experienced ones, see a whole lo...