If Elected…
Lately I have been thinking of guys I went to college with.
Hah, ending the sentence with a preposition conjures up on the finest fellows ever I crossed paths with, Eric Kizer.
Great guy was Eric. And taken from us far too soon. A repository of arcane quotes, statements, notions and blurbs such as Winston Churchill’s caramel covered beauty:
Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.
I hope that quote intimates the beauty and humor that was and continues to be Eric perhaps 20 years after his death. As I stumble down memory lane I wonder why I never before perceived Eric as someone akin to John Cleese in demeanor, delivery and perception. And yet he is.
Eric is the type of guy you think about when you think about the guy that you aspire to be. High praise in memory of someone deserving it.
Speaking of high praise, at the end of last week I got an email from Zillow. It turns out I write one of what they figure is one of the top 10 real estate blogs in Chicago. True? I will leave it to you. If you agree (and I hope you do) click the Best Blog image above, land at Zillow and the e-ballot will appear. Click The Real Estate Lounge Chicago option and together we will make our way toward our next new adventure.
Sunday At Work – Pastors and Realtors
Work.
Like pastors at the pulpit, real estate agents ply their trade on Sundays. And while our effort is not necessarily steeped in brimstone like some of the more fiery holy orators can be, for those among the flock who seek the edenic pleasure of the perfect home, the strain of the metaphor is lessened if just so.
I suppose too, a trusted Realtor can provide deliverance. Both of in the selling of this home and the buying of the next one. But the point in this ever-so-brief post is that real estate agents work on Sundays. Praise (insert deity of choice)!
Which is what I do with this clickety-clack of my fingers on my macbook pro here at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago and what I will do next as I host a Lakeview open house at 1716 West George from noon until 3p today.
Hmm, maybe weekly open houses are akin to confession. You know, where you visit your spiritual counsel to admit to faults and flaws and transgressions. Aah, but after the admitting comes the very essential and oft overlooked committing to redress.
Mending. Or amending, if you prefer. And while I am not sure if weekly open houses are a bit like confession who the confessor and the confessee are, Â I can say that the broth of the metaphor thickens when you consider that often in the Chicago market today there is plenty of redressing going on.
Just as the case with today’s open house on George where the price has been reduced $250,000!!!
Wow, that was a three exclamation point expression!
So in compressing the price of this six bedroom and five full with one half bathroom home on a wide lot by a quarter million dollars the quite proficient and award-winning builder Stuart Rose has, so to speak, mended his ways, remedying them with a phenomenal price drop.
The question is whether a consumer will walk upon the scene and grant the builder absolution, finding a slice of heaven in the home and feeling compelled to call it his new home address. And while time will tell one point of surety is that like Johnny Cash (or some wayward evangelist) I will be on the scene in all black. And while I doubt the folks I meet will want me to hear their confessions I hope my gravitas regarding the Chicago market will allow them to view me in the light that my many clients view me, that of being the trusted advisor.
Plans? Stop by George and we can either begin or continue our conversation. Or call/text me at 773.848.9241.
Full Pockets and Best Impressions . Chicago Market
Two quarters, eleven pennies, seven dimes and four nickels. Three Hotwheels. And a small Altoids tin.
My sons are four and three. These items came from their pockets tonight.
In what order and according to whom? I can’t tell you, though typically Jackson (four) is prone to carrying multiple cars in his pocket and he never parts with the candy tin, a gift last week from a neighbor who is a Chicago police officer.
Like most people, my guys like their stuff. And sometimes some of the stuff comes in handy. Like tonight as we walked by a fountain at Old Orchard after seeing the movie “Ramona and Beezus” (highly recommended) and Jackson reached in his pocket of change and snatched a penny for Lucas to toss in.
It’s a beautiful thing to see your kids get the hang of sharing and including. And charming to hear my wife impart the wise advice, “don’t tell us what you wish for.”
But it makes me laugh how much stuff these fellahs stuff in their pockets. Part of the laughter is self-incriminating – the apple didn’t fall far from the tree as I do much the same. Earlier this week I co-opted a blackberry belt carrier to ferry my Droid and to free up space in my pockets (I assure you to provide a reservoir for the overage from my sons’ pockets).
Already at this tender age my boys carry percentages of their weight at their hips. And with time the bondage to belongings will only worsen, much like it does for most of my clients who admit themselves that they have way too much stuff in their homes when it comes time to list their homes for sale.
The atrophication of the Chicago real estate market has done a number of things including proving to be a whetstone that has sharpened my tongue when it comes to preparing places for listing. In the past the pink wall could be overlooked or the dust accumulating curios curiously overpopulating overwrought shelves might be accepted and a stairmaster in the corner of the master bedroom passed by.
But no more!
In today’s market since the first impression is critical thin is most definitely in. So closets are pared down and bookshelves are made manageable and overstuffed furniture and singular wall hues are traded out to gain something more subdued. All in an effort to sooth the visiting eye. To appear palatable. To gain traction.
Face it, we have all the time in the world to sell (as some places exhibit). But since most of us don’t want to take all the time in the world we proactively take steps to ensure that our first showing is like the most perfect wedding portrait ever taken.
Hah, wedding makes me think of how I often perceive selling real estate – it is like being a yenta, a matchmaker, for the folks who are looking. At any rate, across the board my clients take radical steps to put themselves in the best possible light. Sometimes these steps seek to gain price differentiation (the best priced place tends to sell first) and often these steps are akin to why we humans diet – to look better.
On Monday my clients at 1728 Huron slashed the price of their East Village single family home by $50,000, going to $849,900 ($32,000 less than what they paid). This reduction makes an already staged home look that much better.
Earlier in the month my clients at 1858 Race decided to match the price of their neighbors’ home at $749,900 though comps suggested a price of $50,000 more. This is flat to what they paid and embellishes a home that shows artfully and well
Last month my client at 951 Fletcher brought in painters to coax some color and warmth through strategically placed accent walls ALONG with several price reductions. The most recent cut puts us about $25,000 less than what he paid in 2007.
Mitch’s new listing at 922 Wood brought in painters to chase away the pink walls of the master and bring them to a more satisfying hue before listing. The rarely available duplex up shows great.
My new Bucktown penthouse duplex spent more than a week fine tuning their spacious home, putting stuff in storage and completing a ridiculously cool and beautiful rooftop deck that spies one of the world’s most glorious skylines. The condo will hit the market either Friday or Monday, depending on when we get our professional pictures back. Again, it shows superbly.
My Bucktown timber loft at 2035 Charleston is now listed at $529,000, nearly $50,000 less than what my client paid in 2004. This home has achieved critical mass coolness and is specifically the type of home that a New Yorker walks into and, within a New York minute, writes a full priced offer.
My clients with the precision realized custom home in Sauganash at 4347 Hollywood have taken a nearly 10% adjustment, pricing now at $729,900 for a home that resets the luxury bar in this northside neighborhood.
And 1214 Dobson, a fully redone and gorgeous Evanston home with a new roof and windows and plumbing and electric and heating and cooling system and kitchen and landscaping has been reduced to $369,000, a value price to coincide with perfect finishes for this starter home.
Each of these clients has been assertive to put their proverbial best foot forward. And rather than standing on the sidelines hoping someone will see us, we have primped, staged, and tastefully sought to ensure that we are the ones chosen.
In keeping pace with my clients, I toss handfuls of “super grow” on our online marketing campaign to make sure that when eyes look, we are there. In impressing my clients with the new penthouse duplex listing in Bucktown my precursory effort was to create a marketing piece that gained page one google notoriety. Quickly.
Voila, “bucktown penthouse” revealed our presence immediately and I was over a handful of other agents vying for their affection. We charted the same course with Mitch’s new East Village penthouse, gaining multiple top rank positions under the term “east village penthouse condo.”
The day is about to begin and Jackson has spotted his coins on the table and dashed off to get a pair of shorts where he can stash his “coinies.” In this instance with these coins and these cars and whatever else manages to find its way in my boys’ pockets, stuff will be just fine with me. And as I meet the VHT photographer in two hours in Bucktown, the notable absence of excess stuff too will be just fine with me.
If you have any questions about listing your Chicago home or desire to participate in the current market as a buyer, don’t hesitate to contact me:
Call or text 773.848.9241.
Open House Visitors and Conversations about Chicago Real Estate
The funny thing about yesterday’s open houses is that both the Lincoln Park manse listed at $3.5m and the Lakeview condo at just more than one tenth the price did not attract visitors until the last five minutes.
At the Stuart Rose home at 2662 Geneva Terrace a young couple came first followed by an older couple self-described as empty nesters. For the young couple their preferred home cocktail is a three bed with a price cap that maxes at $700k. And while there’s a good amount of inventory in both Lincoln Park and Lakeview that responds to this criteria, the first question that peeps out of the shadows is whether they favor a duplex down.
In the past five years we have witnessed (in my opinion) a down turn in public confidence in duplex down stock. In large part this stems from half the home being below grade. And in many newer homes each of the three bedrooms is on this lower level, further dampening enthusiasm.
On the positive side there is often enough space to work with – between 2400 and 3000 square feet. And typically there’s a garage top deck to go along with a rear balcony. But most of my clients today are not interested in the duplex down, with price tags typically north of $650k and sometimes in excess of $800k, unless the price is mitigated AND the condo is in a school district like Blaine, Burley, Nettlehorst or Alcott.
This was the sentiment of yesterday’s couple who had more interest in a top floor three bed with a rooftop deck. Even this commodity has been sorely impacted in the current environment with pricing of one condo at 3118 Sheffield listing flat at $650k, the same level where it sold three years back and probably a good five (if not more) points over where it might sell in the current environment. Another example is 855 Buckingham which lists at the odd $615k, $10k less than where it sold in 2007 and who knows how much higher than where it will sell now.
The great thing about the penthouse units is they trend toward spaciousness (typically 1650 – 2100 square feet) and this room is augmented beautifully by a rooftop deck that makes the abode seem that much larger. The outdoor space also can be outfitted with container plants and often has a city skyline backdrop. With an interior staircase, the deck seems like another room.
Four to five years ago there tended to be waiting lists for these condos, which completely favored developers. And while I noticed one developer unit having closed in the last six months of this type at 625 Buckingham, while topping the market at $675k it still closed for $50k less than its $725k ask price. An important consideration amid all the hubris is that the cost of building and completing this 2000 square foot home was much more exorbitant in today’s banking environment than when the last surge of finished extra wide condos in 2007.
Bottom line? It’s a great time to buy. But when your purchase is tied to the sale of a currently owned place, as I explained to the couple yesterday, you face the prospect of your for sale commodity taking it on the chin.
The second couple through, with a home in the suburbs, an in-town downtown and another residence in Florida had in mind something that is not typical to the Chicago market – a single family with master suite on the main level.
In Chicago, especially in northside neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown and Lincoln Square, the lots upon which homes are built are one of three types: a standard lot is 25 feet wide and 125 long. Anything wider than this is, go figure, a wide lot and upon it is heaped a premium. We most often see in the wide column either 30 feet or 37.5 feet. A super wide of 50 feet is simply nabbing two side-by-side standards. What results on these lots includes 4200 sf homes on standards and, depending on zoning with the wider lots, as much as 8000 square feet.
And thus the terminology “McMansion” as homes span 20 to 35 feet of width on these lots, leaving a front collar of green and a sliver of space between the home’s rear and the two to three car garage. These homes tend to offer between four and six bedrooms with 3.5 or more baths. But no main level bedroom, master or otherwise.
None. Nada. Zilch.
The main level features formal living and dining rooms, kitchen and great room. Downstairs atop heated floors is a family room, laundry and usually two beds. Upstairs are bedrooms and baths, including the master suite. A wide lot will have four beds while a standard lot has three.
And that in a nutshell is a blue print for how newer Chicago homes lay out.
Questions about this or any other commodities in the Chicago market? Call or text me at your convenience at 773.848.9241 or email me at tom.mccarey@atproperties.com.
A Drop in Temperature in Chicago
Refuge was granted today.
After an endless series of scratches etched on a stray board  to suggest days where the heat simply suffocated today ambled in at a delightful sub 90.
Blessed relief.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not a hot day naysayer. I revel in the glisten that gathers from the slightest activity. But…
But the toaster that has been this summer in Chicago and many other parts of the national map has been fatiguing if for no other reason than its sheer inescapability. Plans to bbq and dine on the back patio in our Edgewater manse have been sidetracked after a minute of air conditioned comfort spent nabbing the range-fed rib eyes from their also refrigerated climes proved too appealing to leave. Morning attempts to read the New York Times on the back porch were derailed again and again because it I have an unwritten rule that I will not remain in an environment that is warmer than the beverage I am drinking.
Ah, so it seems I have evolved into a creature of comfort. Or perhaps the opposite is true, I have devolved into a doily dabbing dabbler unable to withstand what weather is wielded.
All from the comfort of my manmade climate.
Several days back I mused to myself that air conditioning is a false prophet, providing fraudulent confidence akin to the whistler’s whistle whilst he walks by the graveyard. Perhaps this is somewhat true. But while the whistle is imbued with hope, air conditioning is all about what is real. It is a real comfort in opposition to the oven that is the outdoor temperature.
That’s true – until you leave the rolled up window comfort of your chilly car and walk from the garage to your backdoor, all the while muttering aloud, “oh my gosh it’s hot.” Or you dash out your front door for a walk around the block and feel like a thick, heavy wet dog has been inserted in your lungs. Or you stick to your plan and dine al fresco on your back patio and feel a lumbering climatic depression overtaking you with each morsel consumed.
And so the past few weeks of summer have been in Chicago.
And then came Friday night’s rain.
But today is another story, one with an undercurrent of comfort. And while I see that the mercury looks to go north of 90 again Tuesday, at least today we have gotten off the treadmill of heat and humidity.
By the way, a few years back a colleague of mine shared the contact info of a local HVAC company that has been the go-to of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago and our clients since. His name is Mike Causevic and he owns Oasis Heating and Cooling. Mike’s been great, always able to fit us in his schedule whether its the heating or the cooling side of the equation. Remember, your HVAC should be serviced annually. Whether it’s time for a clean out listen to my shout out and give Mike a call at (773) 320-5395 or visit his website at http://oasisheating.com/.
