Real Estate in Barrington & The Northwest Suburbs: June 2010

A Race To The Winning Line in Eastings Mere South Barrington 

My clients were in town to look at homes. The plan was to come back to live Illinois from Florida to be with the family. This was to be our first outing to look at homes and so I lined up about 21 luxury homes in Barrington Hills and South Barrington to look at. My client did not expect to find a house on their first visit, let alone the first house.

Monday and Tuesday we set to work on a planned route to make the best use of time as we only had 2 days this visit. As we walked in the first house it was love at first site. Love the entrance way, the kitchen, the open floor plan, oh that waterfront view, the yard with established trees and everything so well taken care of. Hold on though we have 20 more homes to see. So off we set and viewed another 10 that day and 10 more the following day. It did not take long to find out what my buyers really loved. Waterfront! Many homes were dismissed due to location, busy roads, lack of upgrades or missing that WOW factor. At the end of day 2 we all went home for some rest. Aching feet all around.

The next day my buyers called to see if we could look at that first house today as Mr Buyer had to catch a plane that afternoon. I thank the listing agent and her assistant for being so accommodating. Mrs Buyer, Sister and Dad all came to look. This was a serious contender but there were 2 others on the short list. The next day and another request to see the home again, this time with Mom and baby. No problem - off we go. Yes we have a winner - house no 1 at 11 Eastings Way in South Barrington.



We submit an offer on the house which has only been listed for 21 days only to find that we are in a race. There is another offer on the table by buyers who had been viewing the property at the same time as us, in fact 4 times. During the course of the sellers deciding which offer to work with it seems there might be another offer coming in. In a market with an average marketing time of 230 days this amazes me and my buyers.



The great news is that we won the race and Monday closed the sale of this gorgeous home in Eastings Mere, South Barrington. A wonderful happy family is re-united and a little boy named Christian will grow up with his cousins and grand-parents all around. I wish them the very best in their new home and thank the family for entrusting me with what turned out to be a whirlwind purchase.

Call me to find your South Barrington luxury home: Corinne Guest 847.363.3686

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved - *A Race To The Winning Line in Eastings Mere South Barrington *

Lake Barrington Shores – Please Welcome Your New Neighbors at 215 Club Circle

John & Holly have been looking for a duplex in Lake Barrington Shores for a while. They knew exactly what they wanted but the perfect unit seemed very elusive. John & Holly wanted a lifestyle change. No more high rise living in down town Chicago - they were drawn to Lake Barrington Shores for many reasons:

• Gated Community
• Golf Course
• Club House
• Waterfront
• Natural Beauty
• Gym & Pools
  
• Low Maintenance
  
• Countryside Feel of Lake Barrington
• Wildlife

Now they are the owners of 215 Club Circle - Lake Barrington, a duplex on a small cul de sac near the club house, with a beautiful waterfront view and location. They accepted the keys to their new home Monday.

John & Holly choose this Lake Barrington Shores duplex unit because in addition to the perfect location for them, it had been upgraded by the seller with a new kitchen, new bathrooms, new carpets and floors. It had a basement perfect for a theater room, the 3 bedrooms they needed and that it looked more like a house than many other units.

I thank John and Holly for trusting the purchase of their new home with me. I know when we met they were looking for a buyer’s agent that knew the area well and needed guidance on Barrington as well as honest input and suggestions as they searched.  They might think I would get impatient with them but I assured them I would stick with them until they were 100% happy with the home they chose and we have become good friends. John and Holly were amazed to find I have Sand Hill Cranes living in my backyard. I have just sent photos of the new baby – he or she is so small.

If you are looking for a new home in Lake Barrington Shores, let me help you find one. Every-one loves the community of Lake Barrington Shores - the security of a gated area and the lifestyle living it offers. There are tow- homes, condos, duplexes and prices as low as $180,000 to $450,000. I live just down the road in Lake Barrington and can help guide you to all that the community has to offer.

Call me anytime: Your Barrington Illinois Buyers Agent. Corinne Guest 847.363.3686

 Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * Lake Barrington Shores – Please Welcome Your New Neighbors at 215 Club Circle *

There Comes a Time When You Want Your Template Website To Look Like A Pro

Since 2006 when I first launched my target market web site I have used Point 2 Agent as my provider. Although a template provider the things you can do are much better than most template sites. You can even have a blog attached to it on the premium or professional versions and some of the blogs I post on it rank on Google page 1.

As is typical most templates offer you a choice of style with some customization available. For example you can choose a theme but then use hex color codes to make it your own colors. You can add your own graphic to the header and choose from a selection of navigation button styles. So whether you are a beginner or a master you can make your Point 2 Agent site your own.

Very recently I had changed the look of my site with some help and guidance from Katerina Gasset who many of us know and love. You might know of the great success I have had with my site having following Katerina's SEO to the top course. If you are skeptical about her SEO course read my post or her response. Of course email me as well. As a result of her course I have 2 closings on Monday. I am closing with 2 buyers for homes listed at $385,000, a Lake Barrington Shores Condo and for $1,398,000 on a home in South Barrington. Both buyers found me in late February after I had applied the rules of SEO learned in Katerina's SEO Course. My traffic had already doubled.

Katerina had helped me focus on a very niche market of Equestrian but I hope she won't mind to know I have stepped back a little bit and decided that what I really want to do is represent all buyers in Barrington. Sometimes it takes a long time and many changes to really find your niche. Now I have found mind.



There comes a time that you want to have a completely custom look. One that perhaps does not even look like it is a Point 2 site. I had reached that time. My site since January had had 3 changes getting better and better every time. Now I wanted to go pro. Back in 2006 I met a Point 2 Agent approved supplier - BuildRealEstateResults - her site is built using the Point 2 platform. Kathleen Allardyce the owner, did some work for me at that time so I called her up. Visit Kathleen's site where you will see a portfolio of work she has done. I did look at a number of designers before choosing Kathleen but her designs to me were the nicest looking. Now my site is a pro. Feel free to visit and see my new design. Just click the picture to watch my flash header, it is pretty cool.



If you have a Point 2 site and want to go pro call Kathleen, her number is 888-716-2418. I don't derive any benefit, I just want Point 2 clients to know how nice their site can look.

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * There Comes a Time when You Want Your Template Website To Look Like A Pro *

Young Adults Having a Mid Life Crisis-All At Once!

We are proud to have 2 young men in our family that are growing up at lightening speed. I cannot believe it has been 3 years since my eldest left school and my youngest just finished his first year of college. Both had plans. Eldest is car mad and wants to own his own car shop. Since leaving school he has spent much of his spare time modifying his own and friends cars. My youngest wanted to join the Army. At 17 he asked me to sign his papers, I refused. I persuaded him to do a year of courses at college and he agreed.

Then all in one week, both have a mid life crisis. Suddenly I am spending hours every day talking with them both, trying to figure out what is causing their change in plans.

First the eldest decides he wants a motorbike and wants to throw in the towel on the car he is working on. I guess after 4, no 5 was becoming tedious! After 3 days of talking all this over, it is clear he is done with the car, has enough money to buy the bike and has a very good friend who always wears a helmet and will not let my son ride with-out one. So off he goes to get his permit, done...finds a bike.. buys that... jumps on it for the first time and this is no small bike. A GSX R600. Off he goes up the drive, no problem. Off out with his friends his confidence grows at light speed. All bikers know that you are going to drop your bike eventually. Well he did it on the first day. No bad injuries, just a heavy bike landing on a foot. All is well. Or so I thought. Not a day later he feels now he has "done the bike" it holds no more interest for him.  This is an ongoing story and he still swings like a pendulum. I am glad he feels he can talk to me...after all I am just a girl! He is lucky he has a trailblazer as well or winter could be a little chilly!



Next enter youngest son. I am losing interest in the Army! What, if I had not been sitting down I would surely have fallen. Now remember that I am dealing with all of this at the same time. After a long discussion he has decided he is not toally giving up the idea but is not ready to sign on a dotted line that commits him to 8 years of his life to the services. Personally I am glad. I am a Mom. Which Mom wants her son to join The Army? Am I wrong for even admitting it? Am I selfish? Maybe. I am more pleased that he recognized the doubts and acted on them before it was too late. He also decided he does not want to do the college seen. Now we talked about jobs and tried to find out what kind of job. He wants to learn while he works. So we start identifying jobs and the applications are going in. This is such a switch for him I am still getting used to it.

Add to that - he is on the look-out for a new car as well. So now Dad is helping him find a new BMW-you see he will only drive The Ultimate Driving Machines. He sold his current car-to Dad!



I spend more time talking about cars, bikes, engines, brakes, suspension, ECU's, front end mounts, transmissions, front cases, fuel lines, the list goes on and I seriously must know how to modify these cars by now!

Both my sons are young. Whilst one makes rash decisions, the other will think things over for a long time. While one takes immediate action and sometimes regrets it-the other will wait until it is just right. One blows his money-the other a save-a-holic. So for all these changes to collide on me in one day - what are the chances of that? Things have settled and I can get back to work. I am still getting asked that leading question. Are you busy? Never too busy for you is always my answer.

I love my life as a Mom and a Realtor. I derive great pleasure from helping my sons and also from helping buyers find their new home. The flexibility of my job means I can usually do both with skipping a beat-almost.

For car repairs on BMW 528i and Mitsubishi Eclipse DSM or Eagle Talon DSM-call me, you never know I might have an answer.

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * Young Adults Having a Mid Life Crisis-All At Once
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Barrington Houses For Sale - Don't Add Square Footage To Your Search Criteria

Are you in the market to buy a house in Barrington Illinois? If so you'll probably start by searching online at a web site that has all the Barrington Houses For Sale. There are a myriad of tools available for buyers to find their new home, some tools are basic other more detailed.

Typically if you are searching for Barrington Houses For Sale you'll have a price range in mind, probably at a minimum you'll want a set amount of bedrooms and maybe bathrooms. You might also have an idea of the size of home you're looking for. Some of the more detailed tools available will let you enter a square footage range i.e. 2000 to 2500 square feet. So you enter your information hit enter and much to your surprise there are only 3 homes that match. How can that be? Barrington is full of houses for sale!

The reason is that many of the Barrington Houses For Sale do not have the square footage information available. This can be for many reasons but it is usually because the owner does not know. The reality is the listing agent has no excuse to not look it up, the county tax records in Lake and Cook Counties have the information on their web sites and the same information is available to Realtors on our MLS platform. That said it is not always up to date. McHenry County which does have some Barrington Houses for sale does not have the information so in this case it will not be known.

So if you are searching for a home of a specific size do not add this to your criteria. You will get very few results. Ask a good Realtor. Whilst not accurate, a Realtor who shows Barrington Houses all the time will get pretty good at giving you an estimate of the size.



Does it really matter? Usually the answer is no. Most buyers get a good feel for a home based on the floor plan and flow and as long as it has all the rooms you need which feel big enough for your furniture and use; it will come down to location, condition, upgrades and personal taste, not square footage.



Consider this. You want a minimum of 3000 square feet. You are looking for 4 bedroom, 3 bathrooms, living, dining, family, kitchen, laundry and a den. That's 13 rooms, foyer and hallways. If you view a home that is 2900 square feet that's about 5 square feet per room difference, some of the space being given to hallways etc. If the average family room for a house like this is 280 square feet is 5 less going to make the difference?

You can search all Barrington Houses For Sale at my website with no registration required, preserving your anonymity until you are ready to start the buying process. I welcome the opportunity to work with you but before we do, read my post about choosing your Realtor. Take The Time To Interview Your Barrington IL Realtor & Buyers Agent

Call me 847-363-3686 for personal attention.

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * Barrington Houses For Sale - Don't Add Square Footage To Your Search Criteria *

Take The Time To Interview Your Barrington IL Realtor & Buyers Agent

You've decided to buy a home and have settled on Barrington Illinois. Whether you are moving from a nearby suburb, across the country or even internationally, the Internet makes it easy for you to view available Homes for sale in Barrington IL.

It's simple, type in homes for sale or real estate followed by Barrington IL or Barrington Illinois and you'll find plenty of Barrington IL Realtor web sites to look at. Some will have all the homes, others will have no home listings. You'll settle on the information you find easiest to read and likely the one that has all the homes listed for sale in Barrington. You might spend a day, a week, a month or more viewing homes and getting a feel for Barrington IL Real Estate.

Finally the time to make the quantum leap from looking to buying is here. You might well gravitate to the Barrington IL Realtor whose site you have been cruising for the last several months and that is a natural response. However is it in your best interests to pick your Barrington Buyers Agent this way? Maybe, after all everything you needed in a web site was right there, the Barrington IL Realtor did a good job at providing you with the information you needed. You might already feel you have begun to know this person staring back at you every day.

Regardless I encourage you to interview Barrington IL Realtors to make sure he or she is the right one for you. Sometimes you'll interview just one and know your relationship is going to be positive. Often you'll interview one other, just to compare. Sometimes you'll need to interview several Barrington Illinois Realtors before you settle on a perfect match. Do not be afraid to do this. Buying a home of any size and cost is a very big investment and you are trusting the responsibility of a complex transaction to your Realtor. You want it to be a smooth and stress-less.

Some things you might consider asking as you interview:

• Are you local, do you live in Barrington as well as work here?
• Are you  a full time Barrington Realtor?
• How accessible and available are you?
• Do you keep up to date with the Barrington Real Estate Market?
• How will we know if the houses we look at are priced right?
• Are you available on weekends-we can only view homes on Saturday and Sundays.
• How long have you been in the business?
• Can you help us with financing, attorneys, home inspectors?
• Do you just show houses or will we get input from you-after all we know nothing about the area.
• Do you know where all the schools are?
• Are you able to fully explain all the contracts to us and help us with negotiations?
• We are looking for short sales and foreclosures-how much experience and knowledge do you have of those?
  

There is a lot to think about and buyers can often forget some important factors when choosing a home in Barrington. My job as your Barrington IL Realtor & Buyers Agent is to make sure you get the best house for the money, that matches your wish list as close as possible and within the time-frame you have without settling.  I welcome the opportunity to sit down and discuss your goals, concerns and needs.

You may call my cell 847-363-3686 and we'll set a time convenient to talk and answer all your questions. I promise to answer your questions honestly and will not beg for your business-it is a two way relationship and we must both be comfortable with the decision.

In the meantime, all the Homes in Barrington IL are available for viewing at my Barrington Website and no registration is required.

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * Take The Time To Interview Your Barrington IL Realtor & Buyers Agent *

Abandoned Barrington Homes - The Neighbors Were Thrilled About This One

Although Barrington has a much lower foreclosure rate than other parts of the Chicago suburbs, we have not escaped it totally. Our foreclosure rate is still relatively low but that is of no consolation to the neighbors that live next to an abandoned property for months on end until finally it is sold.

Illinois is a judicial state which means that foreclosures must go through the courts. A typically time-frame from start to finish is 10 months but in the last few years with the increased foreclosures in northern Illinois this has gone up. So if you have an abandoned home going into foreclosure next to you, you are probably going to have to look at an uncared for home for longer than you would like.

Yesterday I was asked by a bank to carry out a broker price opinion (BPO) on a home in the village. I knew where the house was, I had done a BPO about a year ago on the same property. At the time it was an abandoned unfinished project. It was originally a ranch home and the owners were adding a second level. Obviously they had run out of money as the house was only at Tyvek wrap stage and there was no-one there. It was listed for sale but as an unfinished home the price was far too high.

I arrived at the street and was completely perplexed. I know the house was on this street but it was no longer there. OK so maybe the heat was getting to to me. I made a couple of passes and found an empty lot. No I am sorry that's not possible, I am clearly going mad. So I drove home to look up the plat to make sure I was not suffering from heatstroke.



Today I revisited the site and the empty lot. I had indeed got the right property and the house was gone. The lot was all grass. Um? I knocked on a couple of neighbors doors and found a very helpful resident who explained that the property was abandoned, the basement had become flooded and so the Village of Barrington came and tore the house down. A very neat job too, you would never know it had a house on the lot. So the neighbors on that street were very happy. No ugly eyesore to look at or live next to anymore.

I called the bank this morning to leave an explanation. I am waiting their response!

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * Abandoned Barrington Homes - The Neighbors Were Thrilled About This One *

Barrington Illinois Village Floods  - Distressed Home-Owners Not Getting Resolutions

If like me you live in the outer areas of Barrington away from the village you may not be aware of the flooding problems occurring in our village especially in the rainy seasons of spring and fall.

Like me you may have a 1 or more acre lot with swales along the side or front of your yard which you marvel at when we get torrential downpours. The heavens open and the rain comes pouring down and before you know it you have little rivers in your swales moving large quantities of water away from your home and into the retention ponds, nearby creeks or drains. Look out a couple of hours later and the swales have done their job, your home is dry and life is good.

If you live in the village the water flows down the streets and disappears down into the storm drains, the sun comes back out and the grass and flowers are rejuvenated. Or does it? The simple answer to that is no. For the vast majority yes - but if you live on East Russell Street, East Lincoln, South Summit or play in Miller Park near the downtown area of Barrington Village as home-owners, parents and residents I know you literally dread any heavy rain at all.

When it rains in this area water goes nowhere.  Barrington's flooding issue is not just about the water-although that in itself causes home-owners problems not limited to flooded basements, loss of personal property and uninsured damage due to insurance company limits on coverage for basements. Look how many cars were caught!

Your health is also at risk. Can you imagine - heavy rains cause flooding and due to the storm and sewage pipes not functioning the flood waters become contaminated with sewage, toilet paper, tampons, condoms and the like. Of course as the water slowly subsides and I mean slowly, those delightful reminders are left for your children to discover.

After the rains of 2007 it was finally discovered that a main storm drain under the rail-way station had collapsed. You only have to consider that the rest of the villages storm drains and sewage system are of like age and therefore is undeniably failing. This is a very expensive problem but not one that can be shelved. The homeowners that live in this area suffer every year, it is not getting any better and it is not being fixed. They have homes that have to disclose flooded basements for re-sale. Are you going to buy one of them? I highly doubt it.

I was recently contacted by a very distressed home-owner who has not been able to sell her home. She is now forced to consider a short sale, Deed In Lieu or even Bankruptcy.  She owns a small cute cape cod home ideal for a commuter within walking distance of the train. When I learned of her plight we discussed all her options and she is meeting with her attorney today. I am really not sure any buyer is going to want to buy her home short sale or not when they learn what is happening here.

She has already lost over $35,000 in value of personal property, much belonging to her son. He is a strapping young man of 6 feet 6 inches tall and had to rescue the family dog by holding it above his head the waters rose so high. That means the waters got to over 7 feet.

Residents are so frustrated by the lack of action by Barrington Village. Barrington is a very well thought of village, buyers come here because we are an affluent community with excellent schools. Buyers love the village-residents can walk to the theater, local restaurants, antique stores and hop on the train to Chicago for work or day trips. Residents need your support. Visit the main web site for more information about this dire situation. http://barringtonillinoisfloods.com/

Permission to publish the photos was obtained by the owners.

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * Barrington Illinois Village Floods  - Distressed Home-Owners Not Getting Resolutions *

Selling in Barrington Illinois-Stop Decreasing Your Price-Start Upgrading Your Home

Current Marketing Time for Barrington. The current average marketing time for homes in Barrington based on the entire zip code-all residential homes-over the last six months is 253 days.  The same number for homes in the median price band of $500,000 to $700,000 is 278 days. It increases because there is more inventory in the median price range available-currently 151 homes with only 41 closings in the last 6 months.

Price Reductions. In the last 30 days in Barrington there have been 156 new properties listed for sale. In that same period of time we have had 43 closings with another 12 ready to close. 15 homes expired without a sale and may have been re-listed. 34 homes have had one or more price changes in the same period.

Are upgrades in order? Here are some reasons for price reductions:

• Over-priced to start
• Over-priced now as prices still falling
• Objections by buyers which cannot be overcome
• Need to sell quicker than market time
• Relocation
• Lack of upgrades compared to other homes - Bingo here is an opportunity.

If you are getting any showing feedback hopefully you'll be learning why buyers did not like your home. Some of the most common objections can be fixed by you. Location is prime, curb appeal is important and remember that kitchens and bathroom sell houses. Also think about the price point of your home and logon to my Barrington website to view other homes for sale in your price range. No login is required.



What Can You Upgrade. Now you have seen the competition you might consider upgrading a few things to make your home stand out above the crowd. Here are some ideas for your half a million dollars home. Even vacant homes can exude a rich warm and inviting interior.

• Kitchen Floor- Laminate or Vinyl - Buyers will want hardwood or ceramic
• Laminate counter tops - Granite is not that expensive and will make the kitchen pop
• White appliances - Stainless steel will add value and shine with your new granite
• Soiled or dull carpets - try a good steam clean first but consider replacing
• Vinyl floors in laundry or washrooms - upgrade to ceramic
• Scratched hardwood floors - have them re-finished
• Brass light fixtures - switch them out - considered cheap - replace with bronze or brushed nickel
• Multi-color rooms - find a neutral color and paint the whole house
• Curb appeal - plant some seasonal colorful planters to welcome your guests up your driveway and into the house

There are so many simple things you can do and upgrades that will make a big difference. If your home has been on the market longer than the average, do not expect your buyer will do it when they move in-they already moved in-to some-one else's house.

So how many more times do you want to reduce your under-priced home to compensate for lack of upgrades? If you did not sell and cannot determine what to do, call me for a fresh perspective. Corinne 847-363-3686. Of course this is best done before you list.

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * Selling in Barrington Illinois-Stop Decreasing Your Price-Start Upgrading Your Home *

South Barrington Lakes-South Barringto Luxury Homes in Illinois 

South Barrington is known for it's luxury homes however there are older subdivisions that now offer more afffordable homes. South Barrington Lakes is one of those. With homes built in the late 70' to 90's prices now range from $599,000 to $1,275,000 for older homes. There is always an opportuntiy in South Barrington to buy a new home. South Barrington Lakes also offers a new home with over 7000 square feet of finished living space for just under $2 million.

South Barrington Lakes name is born of the lakes in the neighborhood, one of which is photographed below on a sunny fall day in late October. It is located between Bartlett Rd and Witt Rd with Mundhank Rd to the south and Penny Rd to the north.

South Barrington Lakes homes are situated on 1 to 2 acre lots, some of which will be waterfront location. Properties all use well and septic systems. Sizes are typically 4 bedroom homes of 3000 to 5000 square feet with basements. Most South Barrington Homes were built to last with above average construction. Things to look for now these homes are 20 to 40 years old are updated kitchens and bathrooms, newer roofs, updated floor coverings and well maintained exteriors.  Extras you might find are sunrooms and in ground swimming pools.

School district for South Barrington Lakes is Barrington 220 with kids attending:

• Barabra B Rose Elementary
• Barrington Middle School Station
• Barrington High School

Be sure to check with the district about school boundaries before you buy a home as they often change especially at the elementary level.

Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * South Barrington Lakes-South Barringto Luxury Homes in Illinois 
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