Real Estate in Barrington & The Northwest Suburbs: September 2010

Barrington -Palatine Township- Short Sale Finally Closes After Persistent Realtors Triumph

Barrington -Palatine Township- Short Sale Finally Closes After Persistent Realtors Triumph


There is no getting away from the fact that short sales in Barrington and Palatine are complicated transactions and not for the uneducated or inexperienced Realtors. Yesterday I finally closed the short sale of 118 N Wedgewood Drive in Barrington - Palatine Township. This was one of those sales that I never thought would get through.

The property was in a super established location in Barrington just south of Lake Cook Road but had fallen on hard times. It is out dated in style and maintenance and upgrading had not not been happening. So the owner and I decided our best approach was to list it as a fixer upper to try and attract someone looking for a project home. The bones of the home are pretty good and it does not need to be gutted but every room needs up dating including the kitchen and bathroom's, there was an above ground swimming pool with trees growing inside and the landscaping was overgrown. Our list price was $299,000, not bad for a 1 plus acre lot and a house in Barrington and inside the Barrington school district.

118 N Wedgewood Drive, Barrington-rear view

Shortly after listing we received a cash offer for $150,000. In case the buyers agent or buyer does not know about short sales, we told them we were refusing the offer and why. Short sales must sell close to market value or the banks will not approve the sale.  They were wasting every-ones time.

Not long after we got another offer far closer to where we needed it to be, we accepted, presented to the two lenders and waited. The buyer was going to qualify for the $6500 tax credit. They waived the home inspection but chose to have a well and septic inspection. This revealed that the septic system had failed and in fact sewage was in the yard. They agreed to continue but reduced the offer price.

A response is received from the bank which was far too high. The BPO agent had done the BPO without calling me. He just accessed the house. That is really bad form and I had no hesitation in telling him so. So my next job was to write an appeal. This was a new one for me. So I set about taking hundreds of photos, wrote up my appeal with a full blown CMA and we got them down from $250,000 to $229,000 which the buyer accepted subject to being able to close in time to get the tax credit.

Time passes and no response. The buyers agent gets impatient so we place more and more calls to the bank and finally they tell us that because the seller has filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy the file has been closed. At this point the attorney, myself, the buyers agent and buyer all fall on the floor. WHAT! We don't know anything about this, we are ready to close. Attorney calls the seller, she knows nothing about this either.

Barrington short sale with good bones

More calls and the bank has to pull recordings of the phone call. It turns out a loss mitigation administrator wrote a mortgage number down wrong when he took that infamous call and it happened to be ours. Dear Lord. The clock is ticking. Fortunately the tax credit closing date was extended to September 30th. Finally we get back on track, get written approval from the investor - Freddie Mac. Time has passed so we ask bank number two if they are still on board with their numbers.

Closing is scheduled hoping we get a yes response from bank number two because September 30th is knocking on our door and the buyers made it clear from day one they would not close if they lost the tax credit. They needed that help to pay for the new $15000 septic system. Our closing was Tuesday and on Monday we had the agreement from lender number two that they were standing by the agreement issued well over 3 months ago. We closed yesterday, 7 months after the contract was accepted by the seller and 10 days less than a year since we listed the house as a short sale.

This was the short sale I thought would not close and I am thankful we made it, the seller has had a year of stress dealing with this and is breathing a huge sigh of relief. She says:

 " Can't say its been an enjoyable experience!, but having your expertise definately made me more confident that we could get a resolution."

If you are facing foreclosure a short sale may be the better option for you. But as I say to my short sale buyers and sellers, it can be a nail biting experience and you need patience. You'll also benefit from having an experienced Realtor handle it. Call me for a confidential assessment of your situation. 847-363-3686

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing buyers agent real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

visit real estate in barrington

search barrington real estate listings

contact corinne by email
palatine il homes for sale
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
subscribe to this blog


Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved
 
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*Barrington -Palatine Township- Short Sale Finally Closes After Persistent Realtors Triumph *

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo

How Many Currently Listed Barrington IL Homes For Sale Have Had Price Cuts?

How Many Currently Listed Barrington IL Homes For Sale Have Had Price Cuts?

Why should we even be interested in this statistic? Well if a high percentage of homes are having to cut prices it tells me one thing. Homes are still being listed at prices above market value.

Why? Are sellers still in the sellers market mindset? How long is it going to take to fully grasp that we have been in a buyers market since early 2007.

I ran this report for Barrington IL and was astounded to find the percentage of currently listed single family homes that have already had price changes is 49%. For condos and town homes the rate is 31%

Here is my executive report for single family homes in Barrington IL. This is a report available from me every week by email. If you are selling or thinking of selling you can monitor our market to see if we are buyers or sellers and view days on market and median prices too.

Barrington IL Listed Homes Market Data

If you would like a report every week by email so you can monitor our market, please fill in the following form. If you would like my more detailed report as well, please indicate in the comments box.

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing buyers agent real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

visit real estate in barrington

search barrington real estate listings

contact corinne by email
palatine il homes for sale
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
subscribe to this blog


Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved
 
-
* How Many Currently Listed Barrington IL Homes For Sale Have Had Price Cuts? *

 

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo

Be Prepared for Mortgage Application .. Start Gathering These Documents NOW

Ready to buy? My colleague Gene takes you through the required paperwork to apply for your mortgage. If anyone tells you just payslips and a 1040 will do be warned, underwriters want a lot more information these days. The trick is preparation as Gene explains.

Via Gene Mundt (Chicago Bancorp):

 Gene Mundt Chicago Bancorp Homeowner 101 pic

     

     Thinking about Buying a Home or Refinancing soon? 

       Read on and be better prepared when applying for your new Mortgage ...

 

    

     The news and blogs are currently filled with stories regarding the huge and sometimes overwhelming demand for documentation during the mortgage lending process.  Much is presently being made of the number and kind of requests being made for proof of finances, payments, credit, and more by lenders and their underwriters during the processing of loans.

     I personally don't see these requests disappearing or even lessening in number anytime soon.  It's also my opinion that argument or protesting these requests is a waste of time in the majority of cases.  Compliance is typically the best route and the sooner that is achieved, the sooner you move forward in the processing of the loan.

     To hit the floor running during the application and processing portion of a transaction, I like to educate my clients in advance as to what the typical expectations for documentation will be for their mortgage loan.  I warn them that it HAS become the "norm" that they will have to produce more documentation than typically required in the past and as we proceed through underwriting.  Without trying to scare a client or put them on the defense, I also make my client aware of my personal opinion regarding our approach to these requests and its effect on the expediting of their approval. Gene Mundt Chicago Bancorp Get the Ball Running Pic

     In order to make it as easy as possible on my clients and referral partners, I have provided a list of those documents that typically are required for application of loan upon my personal website, www.genemundt.com.  I have this Mortgage Application List set-up so it can be viewed, enlarged, then printed by clients as a convenient reference while working towards their loan application, then approval. 

     This page on my personal website can be found at: http://www.genemundt.com/Ap-Info.html.  Providing this Mortgage Application List has proven extremely helpful to my clients and saved time, which has proven to be immensely important and valuable when closer pending Closing Dates were written on Sales Contracts. 

     I thought it might prove helpful and beneficial for those ActiveRain viewers considering the Buying of a Home or Refinancing to have my list at their disposal, as well.  Although different states may demand additional documentation to what is shown on my Mortgage Application List, the list still provides a good base start and knowledge for any upcoming transaction. 

     My Mortgage Application List reads as below:

     Information and Documentation Required Upon Application of Mortgage Loan

Basic Information:

1.         Last 2 years W-2's and Tax Returns.

2.         Last 30 Days consecutive Pay stubs.

3.         Name, Address and Telephone Number(s) of Employers for past TWO (2) years.

4.         Most recent Two (2) months Bank Statements (all pages) or 60-Day printout of accounts from the Bank that is stamped and signed.  (Including 401K, Credit Union, Profit Sharing, etc.)

5.         Copy of Social Security Card(s).  (FHA/VA only) & Driver's License (all Borrowers).

6.         Name, Address and Telephone Number(s) of Landlord or letter from Landlord stating amount of Monthly Rent and the Statement  "Paid as agreed for past 12 months"  (if presently renting).

7.         Application Fee (See Lender for Applicable Fee Amount)

8.         Signed Contract and all Riders on home being purchased.

9.         Names and Phone Numbers of Real Estate Agent, Attorney and Insurance Agent.

 

Miscellaneous Information Needed - if Applicable:

1.         Recorded Divorce Decree(s) or Separation Agreements  (All Pages).

2.         Recorded Bankruptcy Discharge and Schedule of Creditors.

3.         Most recent Social Security Award Letter or Pension Award Letter.

4.         Filed and Stamped Release of any Judgment and Paid Receipts of all Collections.

5.         12 Month Court Printout of Receiving Child Support.

6.         Address and Information on any other Real Estate owned.

 

Self-Employed Buyers:       In addition to Basic Information

1.         Year-to-Date Profit and Loss Statement with complete Tax Returns.    (Last 2 years filed)

Veterans:       In addition to Basic Information

1.         Copy of DD-214.

2.         Original Certificate of Eligibility.

 

     Please note:   Buyers that are Self-Employed must provide more thorough tax records and more financial documentation upon application because of the nature of their employment and employment status. Those extra documents required are so noted on my Mortgage Application List.

     Note also:   U.S. Veterans must also supply information pertainable to their service when applying for VA Loans.  Those required Veterans documents are also shown separately from the basic required documentation uponGene Mundt Chicago Bancorp Q&A Blackboard pic my Application List.

    

     Anyone that has questions regarding the documentation shown upon my Mortgage Application List is encouraged to Contact Me for clarification or assistance.  I will be happy to answer any questions you may have and offer whatever assistance needed. 

 

 

 

*  If you enjoyed my blog post, please think about subscribing to my ActiveRain Blog Post!  You can also write and follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and my Website at:  http://www.genemundt.com

*  Please feel free to refer this post and my services, to anyone you know that might be in need of mortgage lending information, guidance, and services.  It will be greatly appreciated!

   

                            

www.genemundt.com

gene@chicagobancorp.com

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo

My Favorite Nine Months or Three Seasons Of Selling Homes in Barrington & Palatine - Plus Garden & Selling Tips

My Favorite Nine Months or Three Seasons Of Selling Homes in Barrington & Palatine - Plus Garden & Selling Tips

Today September 21st 2010 is the last day of summer. Fantastic! Really you say. Yes really. So why? Well simply put I hate the heat. I now have 9 months of wonderful weather to look forward to. My husband laughed when I said that this morning.

fall leaves
Fall will bring cooler temperatures, beautiful leaves and time to tidy up your yards ready for the cold. September is a wonderful month, not to hot but not cold enough to make you shiver. Get out and trim your overgrown bushes, make use of the rain and fertilize the lawn, get rid of those lingering weeds. If you are selling your home and have not yet got a contract but have been on the market for a while, it's time to review the full marketing plan.

 

winter trees

Winter does not officially start until December but we all know snow will be on the ground before then. Make sure you rake up your leaves before the first snow fall, put away your garden tools and mowers, get out the snow blower or have your servcie hired and ready to work. If you are selling-should you take your home off the market? Some Realtors will say yes but I say no. Why would you if you are committed to sell. Your buyer could come along and buy some-one elses house.

 

spring blossomSpring brings new growth to just about every flower, shrub or tree in our yards. But it will be late spring before we fully blossom. Treat the yard to fertilizer and not just the grass. Shrubs and trees love a little extra food. Thinking of selling and want to list for sale. There is much more to listing your home and getting it in the MLS. Marketing plans needs to be designed to bring buyers. Spring is always an active market.

 

When the spring comes you may be happy summer is again on it's way. I wont be :( Oh well, I'll live.

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing buyers agent real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

visit real estate in barrington

search barrington real estate listings

contact corinne by email
palatine il homes for sale
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
subscribe to this blog


Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved
 
-
* My Favorite Nine Months or Three Seasons Of Selling Homes in Barrington & Palatine - Plus Garden & Selling Tips *

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo

Home Improvements in Barrington and Palatine - Permits Are To Protect You.

Home Improvements in Barrington and Palatine - Permits Are To Protect You.

Since moving into our home 6 years ago we have made a few upgrades and also done some major improvements. As the house was new construction we had an unfinished basement we wanted to finish.

First thing to do is to get a permit. I won't tell you how many conversations I have with home owners or home buyers that do not want to bother with the permit. So I ask you, why would you not want to bother with the one thing that is in place to protect you? Is it the cost? Is it that you are going to do the work yourself and don't think you need to bother? Is it that you just did not know?

permits for home improvements


The cost of getting a permit is small in relation to the problems you may end up with if you don't get one. Construction requires inspections as you go to make sure your work is to the current building code. Inspections are done throughout construction. At the end you'll know everything has been done right. You'll have peace of mind.

Doing it yourself and don't think you need a permit? Wrong. Are you really qualified to do plumbing, electrical, framing, and so on? Unlikely. So the permit again is there to protect you. If you did not know unfortunately that is not an excuse.

When it's time to sell your home one of the questions you have to truthfully answer is whether you pulled permits for any of the home improvements you had done. Yiu may be asked to provide them. Lying is not a good idea because this information is available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act.

So do the right thing. Find out if you need a permit, get the permit and get the job done right. If your contractor persuades you otherwise, they are not the company for the job and you should not hire them. Where do you go? Visit or call your village hall or in the case of Incorporated areas contact your county.

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing buyers agent real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

visit real estate in barrington

search barrington real estate listings

contact corinne by email
palatine il homes for sale
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
subscribe to this blog


Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved
 
-
*Home Improvements in Barrington and Palatine - Permits Are To Protect You. *

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo

Selling Your Palatine Home and Choosing Palatine Realtors. Have You Heard of Blogs?

Selling Your Palatine Home and Choosing Palatine Realtors. Have You Heard of Blogs?

The time has come for you to sell your home and you need to identify a progressive Palatine Realtor to market your home. There are a lot of homes listed for sale that are stagnating due to a lack of  pro-active marketing to buyers.

There are many aspects of marketing real estate in today's online world and Palatine Realtors need to know how to prospect for buyers for homes they are selling. Real estate companies were the first to embrace the Internet and build web sites on which listings were advertised. About 5 years ago pro-active Palatine Realtors realized they needed their own personal website.

Palatine Realtors Website BlogYet what good is a site that has no visitors. Yes any Palatine Realtor can show you a web address but is anyone visiting? And while you absorb that fact, Palatine Realtors now need to have blogs as well. Blogs have very distinct advantages over web sites and especially when it comes to listings.

A blog is like a book with lots of pages. The owner will write a page-in this case it's going to be your Palatine Realtor writing about a new listing. The post is published. This is not really any different to a page of a web site. Yet the blog post can indeed get indexed by the search engines very fast. Some of my posts will appear on Google within minutes. If I am posting an article about your newly listed Palatine home, how cool is it to see it on Google and at the top of the page for a keyphrase I want to use to promote your home.

To prove my point try this web search on Google. Lake Zurich Buyers Agent. The first result underneath the map is a blog post I wrote in September 2009 and yet for that keyphrase I am still number one on Google results pages.

My blog post will attract visitors but I don't stop at one. I have multiple blogs and your home will appear in different formats on each blog for maximum exposure. Here is an example of a listing article, your home would have a similar article and these also appear well on the search engines.For the property adress this article is number one on Google as well. Try it, the address is 1537 W Turtle Creek Lane.

listing blog articleI do not expect every homeowner to understand how this all works and you certainly do not need to if you trust your Palatine Realtor to do a good job. What you need to know is some Palatine Realtors can bring internet buyers to your home online in as many ways as possible and blogs are mandatory. Very few Palatine Realtors have blogs like this one.

To Sell your Palatine home rather than just list it, read my article on selling homes in Palatine.

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing  real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

visit real estate in barrington

search barrington real estate listings

contact corinne by email
palatine il homes for sale
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
subscribe to this blog


Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved  - * Selling Your Palatine Home and Choosing Palatine Realtors. Have You Heard of Blogs? *

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo

Announcing The Launch Of My Palatine Wordpress Web Site Blog - Please Visit Google... You Can Crawl My IDX

Announcing The Launch Of My Palatine Word-press Web Site Blog - Please Visit Google... You Can Crawl My IDX

There is no doubt that it takes considerable time to put together a web site and then once you have launched it the SEO work commences to pull your site up the search engines results pages until you get to the top. One of the issues we have with some of the real estate template sites is that the IDX solutions have to be framed in and therefore the property pages cannot be seen by the search engines.

As a result of being much busier now than before I do not have the time to spend hours and hours working on web sites and blogs and so I made the decision to use Virtual Consultants for my new web sites. Having been burned before by a company professing to be the top SEO company for Realtors, I set about learning about SEO. That done I could source the right people to do my new sites.

My Palatine Word-press blog site has been designed and written by Kevin Harper of www.topsellersites.com It has been in the works for a number of weeks and there are still pages that need to be written together with the press release but it was time to publish it and let Google have a crack at it. We used Word-press as the platform, me having decided that Joomla was out of my comfort zone, with the Agent Press theme and Kevin customized the look and added the IDX so that all the pages of listings and individual listings can be crawled by the search engines. Google - you are formally invited.

palatine il homes for sale wordpress blog web site for real estate


This web site is a geographically targeted web site blog aimed at providing real estate information and listings to the hundreds of buyers and sellers that close sales and purchases in Palatine IL every year. Geographic is not the strongest way to target real estate for Realtors but Kevin Harper has seen fantastic results with some of his sites, one that comes to mind is Sellidaho.com for Don Wixom.

The advantages of a Word-press site over a template site are becoming more and more clear. You can have static pages as well as a blog with posts running side by side in harmony. Google's bot loves Word-press, it's easy for the spider to roam around the site gathering it's html information to present to the Internet buyers and sellers. I love the fact that the spiders are going to see hundreds of Palatine listings on the site as well as many hundreds more for the nearby towns. With a domain name that's spot on for a highly searched key phrase it should return some awesome results for searches as it climbs to the top.

My Palatine site is one of 3 new sites I am launching and once it starts producing leads will provide business for both myself and a new buyers agent I will hire. Palatine real estate is still active with short sales, bank owned homes, condos, townhomes, new construction, luxury homes even some with acre lots. Inverness shares the same zip code of 60067 and offers more in the luxury market.

I am excited to launch my new Palatine Word-press web site blog and thankful that Kevin is the SEO king for this one! Lake Zurich is to follow but that's a much smaller project and will provide leads for another agent on my team-Eileen.The third is part of Michael Russer's Online Dominance program which I joined last month and will be targeting the specific market of luxury buyers. That's somewhere in the future when I have finished the course.

At the end of the day my plan is to be very busy in 2011 and the use of Virtual Consultants and Virtual Assistants is moving me forward at light speed. So come on Google, you're part of my team of virtual help, visit my new Palatine web site and tell me if you like it.

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing buyers agent real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

visit real estate in barrington

search barrington real estate listings

contact corinne by email
palatine il homes for sale
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
subscribe to this blog


Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved
 
-
*Announcing The Launch Of My Palatine Word-press Web Site Blog - Please Visit Google You Can Crawl My IDX *

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo

As a Buyers Agent in Northern Illinois Chicago Suburbs I Have More Skill Than My Buyers So I Am Going To Pick Your Home Apart.

As a Buyers Agent in Northern Illinois Chicago Suburbs I Have More Skill Than My Buyers So I Am Going To Pick Your Home Apart.

You have your home in on the market and you have a showing appointment request. You make arrangements to be absent so I can bring my ready and qualified buyer through your home.

My buyer clients come from all areas and all have different agendas but the chances are it has been a few years since they last bought a home. They may be under the gun to find a new home, perhaps theirs is under contract, or they are relocating and want to find a home for a quick move. They may not be in a rush at all, have a dream home checklist and will wait for the perfect property.

If a buyer spends 20 minutes in a home they'll have time to review each room, focus a little more on the kitchen and bathrooms, look at general decor, see if the layout is logical or awkward, take a peak at the yard. After viewing numerous homes a buyer will likely want to re-visit one or two, maybe a few for a second showing. It's not uncommon to cut the short list again and come back for a third look.

searching for the right homeMy job is to look at your home with different eyes. My goal is to make sure my buyers are aware of everything that might be critical to their decision. So that means I will be super critical of your home, point out everything I see to my buyers as it relates to their home purchase goals. I can do this because I look at homes all day long, not once every 4 years or so.

What am I doing? No I am not telling my clients not to buy your home! I am educating them so they can make the best informed decision possible. If you ever buy a home with me as your agent, you'll soon realize you are not going to be 'sold'.I guarantee I do not do that.

This year 3 of my clients hired me as their new buyers agent. The Polacek's, Savage's and Schmidt's are my buyer clients and hired me to be their home purchase advocate, because they were not enthralled with their previous salesy agents. If you want to be sold I am not the right agent for you. If you prefer dedicated service, patience, and honest input, I would love to hear from you. Call me today.

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing buyers agent real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

visit real estate in barrington

search barrington real estate listings

contact corinne by email
palatine il homes for sale
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
subscribe to this blog


Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved
 
-
* As a Buyers Agent in Northern Illinois Chicago Suburbs I Have More Skill Than My Buyers So I Am Going To Pick Your Home Apart. *

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo

Radon Alarms Bells For a Home Purchase in Kildeer Illinois.

Radon Alarms Bells For a Home Purchase in Kildeer Illinois.

One of my agents has a client relocating to our area. A home was found and the home inspection and Radon tests ordered. After the minimum 48 hours for the Radon tests the report was delivered. A quick scan of the report had my agent's eyes popping out of her head. There were 2 readings one for a slab location and the other for a basement location. The readings were 16 and 41 respectively.

She called me up to see what the highest reading I had ever had. I have seen many readings around the 5 to 9 range but nothing like this. One might be forgiven for thinking the equipment was wrong but when you read the monitors results over the 2 days it fluctuates and the highest number we had was 58.

Suffice to say the buyer did his homework, spoke to Radon specialists and decided to cancel his contract. I was so surprised I wanted to do a little homework and whilst Radon can be mitigated I had decided if I were him I would have canceled as well. The risk of lung cancer increases at an alarming rate if your Radon levels are high. Example: If you have a reading of 20 then you have a 3.6% chance of getting lug cancer. If you smoke it's even higher.

The recommended levels are 0 to 1.9, safe is 2 to 3.9, and everything else should be considered as a health risk. So do yourself a favor, when buying a home, have a Radon test, it is not something to be lightly brushed away as insignificant.

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing buyers agent real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

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coming soon visit my new palatine web site
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
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Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved
 
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*Radon Alarms Bells For a Home Purchase in Kildeer Illinois.*

Corinne Guest

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Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


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Sometimes Your Lake Barrington Shores Town Home Buyer Will Come From Just Around The Corner

Sometimes Your Lake Barrington Shores Town Home Buyer Will Come From Just Around The Corner


In April I was contacted by a couple looking for waterfront property. The were renting in Lake Barrington Shores and had also lived in the city of Chicago. Barrington was the area they wanted to live in and the driving force was to find a waterfront home.

lake barrington shores town homes


It's uncanny how things happen, my buyers found me through my Barrington web site but when we connected by phone we realized we had more in common. I am English and my buyers were English. Ah ah, some-one who'll understand my lingo!

We looked at single family homes but because they liked Lake Barrington Shores we also looked for a town home in the subdivision that had a spectacular waterfront view. It's a pleasure to work with buyers that know exactly what they want and stick to it, certainly makes my job easier, but I will stick with buyers for months until they find their perfect, or even not quite perfect but nearly, home.

In July my buyers decided an end unit town home in Lake Barrington Shores was best for them. It is only a half a mile from where they are renting now. The property does need some updating and some grand plans are in progress to put in a fabulous new kitchen and master bathroom. The town home they have bought is an Augusta floor plan which has the best sized kitchen of all the models. The kitchen below will be torn down very soon.


old kitchen


Location is about as good as you can get for waterfront. Just outside the deck is the walking path that will add muscles to your calves if you decide to go around the entire loop-a pleasant 3 mile walk, and the lake that glistens in the later summer sun. With fall just around the corner the trees will start to change and the colors will be glorious. What a view from every room.


WATERFRONT HOMES LAKE BARRINGTON


Congratulations Richard and Mary on your Lake Barrington Shores town home purchase and to Rosie my favorite chocolate lab, another young girl who has flown across the pond-Atlantic Ocean-to be with Mom and Dad.

Contact:
Corinne Guest
Corinne Guest
Barrington, IL Realtor®/ Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

More information can be found at my Barrington IL Real Estate website. Research all the villages of Barrington, Deer Park, Inverness and Tower Lakes. Search all the Barrington Homes For Sale with no registration required. Sign up for new listings by email.

Providing buyers agent real estate services in the communities of the Barrington Villages, Palatine, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer.

visit real estate in barrington

search barrington real estate listings

contact corinne by email
coming soon visit my new palatine web site
coming soon visit my new lake zurich web site
subscribe to this blog


Copyright 2010 Corinne Guest All Rights Reserved
 
-
* Sometimes Your Lake Barrington Shores Town Home Buyer Will Come From Just Around The Corner *

Corinne Guest

Google Me

Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington

Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.

Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs

A Discussion For Home Sellers


 Realtor and Equal Housing Logo