Brent Garcia's Chicago Real Estate Resource

2 bd / 2 bt TH in Evanston – NOT YET ON MARKET

Brent Garcia — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:24:32 +0000

Just got pics back for this one. Not yet listed. Great location. Outside is overly pleasing to the eye, yet the inside is sharp. Good sized yard also belongs to the unit.

Take a look at this: http://tours6.vht.com/STD/T50035761

2626 Prairie #B, Evanston, IL

Listing price TBD. Call/email for more info.

Why You Need Vinegar If You Live In Chicago

Brent Garcia — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:02:49 +0000

This is the outside of my right boot – ie. it is the one I use to drive, so I’m on my heel most of the time:

This salt stain is not good for the leather, I’m guessing. Yet, since I am in my car a lot, I am grateful for how effective Chicago is at clearing the roads – using salt, of course.

A friend told me that vinegar and water is effective at removing salt stains from leather goods. Deciding to do my own research, I stumbled across this website that has tons of uses for household vinegar.

Most intriguing use of vinegar? When frying doughnuts, add 1/2 teaspoon to prevent them from soaking up extra grease.

I’ll let you know how it goes. The boot clean up, I mean.

Car Safety: 13 Things You Need In Your Car Right Now

Brent Garcia — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:15:38 +0000

This post I grabbed from The Art of Manliness blog – but don’t let that fact deter you, since:

Many of the items focus on things for winter , which starts this Monday.
This is great information for EVERYONE, and
The blog is actually co-written by a woman Kate, the wife of blogger Brett McKay.

From personal experience, two things on that list I find indispensible: jumper cables and a folding shovel.

The latter, BTW, was because I needed one and didn’t have one.

Property Owners: Your Tax Refund Check Is Waiting

Brent Garcia — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:18:33 +0000

The City of Chicago’s Property Tax Relief Program could have some money for you. Check here to see the parameters.

On your principal residence, if:

Your property taxes increased more than $50 from 2007 to 2008, and
Your household income is less than $200,000

you may be eligible for a refund (after 6-8 weeks of processing time, anyway).

Deadline for filing is March 31, 2010.

Video Explaining Home Warranty Coverages

Brent Garcia — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:48:32 +0000

This 10-minute video courtesy of Home Warranty of America is worth watching to educate yourself on benefits, and restrictions, of available policies and coverages. These can be used as an effective “nibble” at the end of negotiations.

Forbes.com Ranks Chicago Real Estate As Overpriced

Brent Garcia — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:57:26 +0000

A friend of mine emailed me a link to this, and it is informative: overall, Chicago and Suburbs ranks fifth (5rd) overall out of forty (40) major metropolitan areas in the U.S. Chicago real estate brags the third most days on the market, and the third most price reductions. Not a good spot to be on this list.

As the subtitle of the article states: “Properties in these cities stay on the market longest, and sell for less than asking price.”

Get the full article and table here. The list is interactive: you can sort by five different table headings.

HouseLogic: Free On-line Resource for Home Projects

Brent Garcia — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:57:27 +0000

Looking for ways to save money? Maybe improve the value of your home? Finally, something I have found useful from the National Association of REALTORS® for homeowners (ie. that doesn’t involve some sort of positive spin of housing data): HouseLogic Project Finder – a free on-line resource for you.

You can filter the projects with four criteria, all utilizing either a slide bar or a drop-down menu. Filter projects by (a) effort, (b) investment, (c) home area and (d) topic. You can then build your own project “Binder” to track your progress.

For example:

A low effort, low investment appliance project for improvement (the four criteria above) yields eight projects, from low-flow commodes to whole-house surge protectors.
A high effort, high investment interior, energy-efficient project returns remodeling your bathroom the “green” way.

Other information includes taxes, financing, and community concerns.

Best of all, its FREE – heart-felt thanks, N.A.R.

Homebuyer Credit Expanded; Obama Expected to Sign Tomorrow

Brent Garcia — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:27:18 +0000

Congress has voted to expand the tax credit until April 30, 2010. Here is a link to the Bloomberg article with details. Here are two quick highlights:

Homeowners owing their house for at least 5 years to receive $6,500 credit.
Couples earning $225,000 per year allowed, up from $150,000.

Article on Increasing the Value of Your Home

Brent Garcia — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:05:08 +0000

Courtesy of Yahoo! Finance on-line, I read through this article and it suggests 10 projects to consider, with ROI included. Read it here.

Bathroom Remodel can yield up to a 71% ROI

Just keep in mind that there are no guarantees that you actually will recapture your return on investment, especially in the current market. This articles’ advice is for the long-term.

Will Tax Credit Be Extended?

Brent Garcia — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:59:18 +0000

A good tidbit from the Illinois Association of REALTORS® Weekly Connection email:

“With deadline looming, push is on to extend first-time buyer tax credit. REALTORS® continue to urge Congress to extend and expand the $8,000 tax credit that otherwise is scheduled to expire on November 30. Recent developments include:

U.S. House voted to extend credit through 2010 for military, intelligence and diplomatic personnel. The measure now goes to Senate.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed favorable signs regarding an extension.”

Seems like there is a very good chance that it will be extended; the real question is “How long?”