http://thehomesearchblog.com/ Barrington Homes - Barrington IL Real Estate - Northwest Suburbs - Articles and News You Can Use en-us http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3235583/barrington-homes-choose-your-neighborhood-first <p><strong>Barrington homes</strong> and the search for your dream property. The best piece of advice I can give you before you start is to choose your neighborhood first. Everyone has heard the rule of real estate that it's location, location, location over anything else, and when it comes to probably the largest investment of your life it's wise not to ignore it.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/05/DSC05948.jpg"><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/05/DSC05948-300x225.jpg" height="180" alt="Barrington homes" width="240"></a></p> <p>In some areas of the suburbs that location factor might be neighborhoods. Here in the Barrington area it's more likely to be which Barrington village. With just a few exceptions our neighboorhoods are very small and not very relevant to the search. Those exceptions would be Lake Barrington Shores of Lake Barrington homes, Wynstone of North Barrington homes, and Inverness on The Pond, all are gated communities with 400 homes or more and are chosen for their lifestyles as well.</p> <p>There are many smaller neighborhoods, like Chippendale offering Barrington homes close to the village in a named neighborhood. Typically smaller neighborhoods do have very&nbsp;similar&nbsp;homes. Many buyers will select several neighborhoods like this with similarities but in the same village.</p> <p>Before picking your location it's a wise buyer that doesn't guess the budget but finds out the budget. There is nothing worse than being disappointed when you visit your choice of <em>Barrington homes</em> and find a house that's wonderful but out of your price range. Now that's established we can explore the villages that you like the best. Those can be further refined by adding other needs on your list, like school district, in town or out, small acreage, large acreage and so on.</p> <p>Once your ideal location has been established, then you can start looking at <span>Barrington homes&nbsp;</span>and further adding your refinements. &nbsp;Always keep in mind you might not find what you are looking for in the preferred area, &nbsp;and keeping a couple of &nbsp;second choice neighborhoods or villages will open up the choices. It's not uncommon for buyers to consider the three similar neighborhoods of Kildeer, Hawthorn Woods and Long Grove alongside the Barrington villages.</p> <h3>Here's Our Searching For Barrington Homes Success Formula</h3> <p>By following the following formula you'll achieve the goal of finding your new home in less time and with less stress. Your budget should be established first so we look at the right priced Barrington homes. Then we can identify the right villages with your price range. Now you'll be viewing Barrington homes in the right price and chosen neighborhoods, which saves a lot of wasted energy and time, a precious commodity.</p> <h2>Find Barrington Homes &nbsp;and Village Information</h2> <p>Your time is precious and the beauty of the internet is the ability to get a jump start on your research. &nbsp;You can find village information at our <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/area" title="Barrington homes by neighborhood.">Barrington homes</a> neighborhoods pages. Searching <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/map-search.php" title="search Barrington homes by map">Barrington homes by map </a>or criteria with our <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/idx-search.php" title="search tools">tools</a> or signing up for a <a href="http://search.realestateinbarrington.com/idx/3737/userLogin.php" title="home tracker">home tracker account </a>are all easy ways to start looking at what is available.</p> <p>We hope to meet you soon.</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Sun, 06 May 2012 14:20:48 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3235583/barrington-homes-choose-your-neighborhood-first http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3231515/south-barrington-homes-even-luxury-buyers-have-to-give-up-some-of-their-wish-list <p><strong>South Barrington homes</strong> offer some of the best choice in luxury real estate in the Barrington area. Yet buying a home in a luxury community is no different to buyers looking at other Barrington homes, you'll likely have to give up some of the items on your wish list. &nbsp;Whether it's needing a main level master, or not; a walk out basement, a second kitchen, a bedroom and seperate area for the nanny, a swimming pool or not; when buying <em>South Barrington homes&nbsp;</em>your wish list for a luxury property is going to be longer than usual. When you have a larger budget to spend you expect to get everything you want.</p> <h2>Creating a South Barrington Homes Short List</h2> <p>South Barrington has around 60 to 80 homes for sale at any given time. At the time of writing it is 74. Remember that when you start creating your <span>South Barrington homes&nbsp;</span>short list. If you add your price criteria it may reduce the homes to about 10 to 20, so finding everything on your wish list means you might have to wait a while to hit the jackpot. Create a short list of the homes of interest putting those that match that wish list as close as possible to the top of the list and we'll start by viewing those first and call them the A list. After that we can move on to your B and C list.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2011/07/14Shoreside.png"><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2011/07/14Shoreside-300x175.png" height="126" alt="South Barrington Homes on Water" width="216"></a></p> <p>As we view your South Barrington homes short list, if you are not finding your perfect house, consider some of the items on the wish list as you view each home. Give careful consideration to the home and the item that is missing or not quite right and ask yourself: Do I love this house so much it won't matter so much if I don't tick those boxes. The target for any home buyer is to&nbsp;achieve&nbsp;80% of the wish list, and luxury property hunting is no different.</p> <h3>Alternatives to South Barrington Homes</h3> <p>If you really cannot find what you love in the South Barrington homes for sale, do you have the time to wait? If not you might consider Barrington Hills and Inverness as alternatives. Both are adjacent and while there are distinct differences both offer similar luxury properties. Another option if you wont mind going north into Lake County is North Barrington.</p> <p>You can view all the <a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/south-barrington-luxury-homes/" title="View South Barrington homes for sale">South Barrington homes</a> for sale, <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/idx-search.php" title="home search tool">search</a> by adding your criteria, or <a href="http://search.realestateinbarrington.com/idx/3737/userLogin.php" title="home alerts">get new listings</a> delivered daily to your email.</p> <p>South Barrington homes may not have your dream house and you might not be willing to compromise. After all it's a sizeable investment and if you plan on staying for a while, you could always consider building your perfect place. <a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/south-barrington-vacant-lots/" title="South Barrington vacant lots">Search vacant lots.</a> &nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Sat, 05 May 2012 09:53:40 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3231515/south-barrington-homes-even-luxury-buyers-have-to-give-up-some-of-their-wish-list http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3200142/relocating-to-schaumburg-where-should-we-live- <p><strong>Relocating to Schaumburg</strong> - Do you Mean For Work or To Live? I ask that question first because when you are moving here from a different state, the chances are the city of Schaumburg is where you are going to be working, not necessarily where you end up living. So if <em>relocating to Schaumburg&nbsp;</em>relates to the job you are probably wondering where you'll live.</p> <h2>Who Is and Why are you Relocating to Schaumburg?</h2> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/p153968_m.jpg"><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/p153968_m-300x200.jpg" height="200" alt="relocating to schaumburg for a job" width="300"></a>Schaumburg is one of the larger cities in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and is also home to some large and medium sized corporations. Take Motorola for example. When we moved here I thought they were in Chicago. Not so, their headquarters is in Schaumburg. There are over 49 companies with offices in Schaumburg whose revenue is over $100 million. There are hundreds of other smaller companies. Some have headquarters here including Career Education Corporation, Corus Steel USA, Electro Wire, Navistar Financial Corporation and Zurich North America. Others have smaller offices. So it stands to reason many jobs involve <span>relocating to Schaumburg.</span></p> <p>Once you know you're relocating to Schaumburg, you'll probably think about where you are going to live. Schaumburg like most of the northwest suburbs is not surrounded by open countryside, making the choice a slam dunk. Far from it. Schaumburg is as close to the next suburbs as you can get. Travel in a 10 mile radius from Schaumburg and you'll find: Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Palatine, Barrington, Mount Prospect, Elk Grove Village, Streamwood, Roselle, Bartlett and quite honestly, a whole lot more.</p> <h3>Relocating to Schaumburg But Living In Another Suburb</h3> <p>The chances are this is exactly what will happen. Most relocating families will look in all the surrounding suburbs and start making a short list depending on their needs. Things like how far you want to travel to work, schools, &nbsp;employment opportunities for spouses, community leisure, size of property, and budget will all determine where to look. Once that part is done you'll then be able to start narrowing down property choices and actually start looking at some homes. Having an expert <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/staff/corinne-guest.php" title="Relocation Realtor Corinne Guest">relocation Realtor</a> on your side, one that has both the relocation experience but has also traveled the same path you are about to, can only serve to help you make the right choices.</p> <p>If you'll be relocating to Schaumburg soon and need a helping hand with a place to call home, call <strong>Corinne today at 847-363-3686. </strong><a href="http://search.realestateinbarrington.com/idx/3737/userLogin.php" title="Schaumburg search">Start your home search now.</a></p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:18:11 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3200142/relocating-to-schaumburg-where-should-we-live- http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3199200/barrington-il-real-estate-why-won-t-mine-sell- <h3>You listed your <strong>Barrington IL real estate</strong> for sale a while ago and it hasn't sold.</h3> <p>Frustration sets in, even anger. You've got plans for the future, perhaps an out of state move, maybe your family is already living apart, one here, one there and traveling back and forth is mundane and expensive. On top of that you hear that the market may well be recovering, you've read market reports that tell you our inventory is reducing. So why won't your Barrington IL real estate sell?</p> <p>The knee jerk reaction of course is to say you may be priced too high, but I'll come back to that in a minute. &nbsp;<span>Barrington IL real estate</span> listed for sale contains a complete myriad of properties. Small, big, new old, updated, ignored, good location, bad location and so on. Then there are short sales, foreclosures, estate sales, un-motivated sellers ( Not interested in really making a home very available to show) high taxes, big lots, well the list is pretty long.</p> <p>When you list your <em>Barrington IL real estate</em> for sale, know this. <strong>There is a buyer for every property! </strong></p> <p><strong></strong>Thinking back to all the things that make up your property, it's safe to say it may take some time to find your buyer. Is there anything you should do if time is passing with little to no interest? Absolutely. Let's take a look at those action items.</p> <p>1. If you've been given any constructive feedback, don't take it personally, examine to see if there is anything you can do about it. i.e. wallpaper, loud colors, untidy flower beds.</p> <p>2. Is your Realtor continuing to market your property to the right buyer. For example if you have a property zoned for horses, you'll be amazed how much interest a blog post about that will bring. Or if the styling is contemporary, a post will market to the right buyers.</p> <p>Jumping into the buyers shoes for one minute, and thinking that buyer is looking at Barrington IL real estate but really wants a Colonial style house in Lake Barrington with School District 220. Here's is what they could search for:</p> <p><span>Barrington IL real estate</span></p> <p>or</p> <p><span>Colonial homes in Lake Barrington going to Barrington Schools.</span></p> <p>If I write a post with the first phrase I am marketing to just about every buyer looking for homes in 60010. If I write a post using the second phrase, that buyer will find us right away because it's far more specific. When it comes to online marketing, it's not difficult to target your home at the right buyers. So should we say this?</p> <p><span>Colonial home in Lake Barrington, with red front door, new roof, no busy roads, Barrington Schools and a deal.</span></p> <p>Simply no, there are 7 parameters, too many, let's stick with 2 or 3 at most. I might add most of that to the MLS but not when writing a blog post.</p> <p>3. When did you last see an estimate of sales price based on recent data? Ask for a new one at least every 2 to 3 months. This applies whether prices are going down or up. In a buyers market, which it still is at time of writing, new lower priced &nbsp;sales in your neighborhood at determining your sales price. <img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/DSC05340-300x225.jpg" height="225" alt="barrington il real estate photos" width="300"></p> <p>4. Have your photos been updated to match the season? Have you done any upgrading or redecoration, those photos should be updated.</p> <p>5. Barrington IL real estate marketing times have an average. That average is determined by the homes that sell quickly and the ones that don't. Where are you relative to the average. Are there reasons you might expect to be one of those above average time. i.e. busy road behind house, short sale, need upgrades but cannot afford to do them. Some of these things are out of your control and you need to have an honest answer to the question.</p> <p>Barrington IL real estate sales can be a complex event. Sometimes it is price, sometimes it's other objections which can be resolved with a price reduction. Take a look at the whole picture. Location, price, condition, marketing, time. Come up with a solution to sell your Barrington IL real estate, not just a knee jerk reaction.</p> <h2>Ready to get started?</h2> <h2>Request a <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/ready-to-sell.php" title="barrington il real estate estimate">Barrington IL real estate</a> home estimate.</h2> <p><a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/ready-to-sell.php" title="Barrington il real estate home estimate request"><img class="wp-image-3317 aligncenter" src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/02/barrington-banner.png" height="109" alt="home estimate" width="590"></a> &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:28:04 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3199200/barrington-il-real-estate-why-won-t-mine-sell- http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3170396/real-estate-advertising-portals-valuing-barrington-il-homes-for-sale-lower-than-market-value <h1>Real Estate Advertising Portals - An Instant Valuation That May Hurt Your Sale</h1> <p>Many of us in the industry have been aware of and watching an online war between one of the major online real estate advertising portals, and nationwide real estate brokerages pulling their listings from these portals due to incorrect property information or worse yet finding that even several months after closing the properties are still being advertised.</p> <p>There is resistance to your property for sale, being sold to agents as a method of capturing leads from potential buyers who know nothing about your home. One of the biggest problems is the agents buying the advertising may not even be local. For example a Barrington advertising spot, where your home will appear, is sold to an agent whose office and home is miles away, like Chicago or Naperville. Regradless of how little they know about your home, they don't even know how to get here, let alone anything about the Barrington area.</p> <p><strong>Moving on....</strong></p> <p>The purpose of this post is to take a look at these sites in relation to their automated valuations, offered simply by entering an address, to anyone that cares to do so. Could this possibly hurt your home sale? Is it the reason the only offer you got was a lowball offer? Is there anything you can do about it? <a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/c443640_m.jpg"><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/c443640_m-266x300.jpg" height="240" alt="barrington home values going down too far?" width="213"></a>Many of the online real estate portals have information about your home. It doesn't even have to be for sale. A curious browser can type in your address and get an instant valuation. &nbsp;Now consider if your home is for sale. A curious buyer types in the address and gets an instant idea of what your property is worth-according to the sites&nbsp;algorithmic&nbsp;calculations. It's less than you are listed for but the buyer is interested. As a buyers agent my job is to show value based on comparable sales. &nbsp;Maybe you are priced well and maybe not. However in the back of the buyers mind is that automated valuation and if it's a long way from your listing price it is extremely hard to get that buyer to discard that information. They read it, and we don't have an erase button. In a buyers market it's fuel for buyers, they think!</p> <p>Now you have a battle on your hands. Your Realtor is standing by your asking price based on the analysis they did. The buyers agent is standing by their analysis and you could strike a deal. Yet both Realtor's are arguing against an automated valuation method which is sometimes close but as often as not is nowhere near on target.</p> <p>The difference is your Realtor is using the correct methods to determine value, and that computer system, well who knows what that uses and how often it is changed, but it's neither a licensed Realtor nor is it an Appraiser. Sellers do not use these automated valuation methods in determining asking and sales prices and nor should buyers. Ask a Realtor! &nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:38:24 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3170396/real-estate-advertising-portals-valuing-barrington-il-homes-for-sale-lower-than-market-value http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3157790/pricing-your-home-there-are-no-homes-like-yours- <p>I thought I should follow up the <a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/2012/04/12/pricing-your-house-cannot-be-tied-to-anything-but-the-market/" title="how to price your Barrington home">last post about pricing only to the market</a> with some information about establishing a price in a market where all the homes are different. There are very few homes in the Barrington area that are the same as others. What I mean by that is we don't have cookie cutter style housing where you have models repeated&nbsp;in the subdivision, making it easy to find a property like yours. So establishing a price can be a little challenging.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/blog1.jpg"><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/blog1-300x225.jpg" height="180" alt="Model 1 in a Barrington subdivision" width="240"></a><span><strong>The 2 homes shown are identical from the outside. The house at the top has more interior upgrades and backs to conservation. The house at the bottom has been painted but backs up to a busy road. Which would you buy and would you pay more for the first or want a deal on the second?</strong></span></p> <p>There is very little chance of finding the same model home in the same location, with same condition and upgrades and some of the differences can make a &nbsp;substantial difference to price. So how do Realtors price a home in Barrington. Actually it isn't that difficult. The general rules are to find sales within the last 6 months, have the same bedroom count and near the same bathroom count and about the same size. They must be within a mile radius if at all possible. And school district can make a huge difference here in 60010 and 60047. That is a very basic overview.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/house1-300x225.jpg" height="180" alt="Model 2 in a Barrington subdivision" width="240">I spent 4 years doing appraisals for banks who were foreclosing on properties or agreeing to short sales, and they always wanted up to date sales estimates, so I became pretty good at my numbers. Some of the additional rules I had to abide by were that age had to be no more than 10 years apart, square footage on main levels had to be within 20%, basement types had to be the same type and state of finish, exterior should be the same construction, updates should be of the same age, and general condition had to fall in the same category, of which I had 5 choices.</p> <p><span>"I had to get all of that information just be standing in front of the property and snapping a few photos!"</span></p> <p>Suffice to say in the Barrington and Inverness areas, where our homes are diverse in size, style and nature, a mile radius is often not enough of an area to find comparable sales. There is always something that doesn't match. If I applied all the parameters above I could hunt or wait forever. When doing those appraisals, I had 48 hours.</p> <p>As Realtors our job is not to appraise your property, we are not licensed to do that, nor are we being employed as appraisers. So what to do? &nbsp;Well if there are no true comparables, then all is not lost. It's not difficult to find 3 or 4 properties that have enough similarities to establish a price range.</p> <p>In a buyers market, with values declining, how do you pick the price from the range I gave you? Let's say the range of comparable sales was $850,000 to $925,000. Knowing that your home is not the same as any of them, the tendency is always to think it is better. Naturally most sellers will pick $925,000 as a target and perhaps list in the high $900's. There isn't anything wrong with that price, nor would there be if you chose $850,000. Just know that if you choose the highest, you may be forced to adjust the price down, &nbsp;because in 3 months time that top price will have fallen perhaps to $880,000.</p> <p>Sellers may watch the market for a long time before listing for sale. We've made that real easy to do. Sign up for our <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/marketinfo" title="Market watch">monthly market watch report</a> on any property address. Ready to take the next step? Request a home estimate and consultation.</p> <p><a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/ready-to-sell.php" title="Home estimate"><img class="wp-image-3317 aligncenter" src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/02/barrington-banner.png" height="95" alt="home estimate" width="517"></a> &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:10:03 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3157790/pricing-your-home-there-are-no-homes-like-yours- http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3156165/pricing-your-house-cannot-be-tied-to-anything-but-the-market <p>As listing brokers one of the most difficult things we have to explain is the pricing of your home. That's not to say we don't know how, it's more about overcoming a home owners objections.</p> <p>Since the market decline, which now seems to have been going on for more years than any us of ever thought, pricing objections have been on the rise. There are always reasons behind objections but <strong>none of them are relevant, not one</strong>. It's not relevant if you are emotionally tied to a certain number. It's not relevant&nbsp;if you need to net a certain amount at closing. It's not relevant&nbsp;if you want to use your equity for other things. It's not relevant&nbsp;if you owe too much. It's not relevant&nbsp;if your home was worth more 5 years ago when you bought it. It's not relevant&nbsp;if you have spent $50 or $50,000 on upgrades.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/bigstockphoto_Big_Money_House_30911.jpg"><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/bigstockphoto_Big_Money_House_30911-300x238.jpg" height="214" alt="Pricing Your House Cannot Be Tied To Anything But The Market" width="270"></a>None of it is relevant when pricing your home.</strong> What &nbsp;is relevant is what the market will pay for your property. I am sorry if that sounds harsh but it is not born of malice. Don't get me wrong, all of the <strong>reasons you want or need to sell</strong> your property matter. <strong>They matter to you</strong>. They are the reasons you have decided to sell.</p> <p>But there are 3 other parties in a sale. <strong>Your reasons for wanting to sell, do not matter to the buyer, their Realtor or their lenders appraiser.</strong> &nbsp;Those are the 3 people we need to sell your property to. And that's why linking the price of your home to anything but the market is a recipe for failure.</p> <p>The simple agreement to list above market value sends out one single message to you, that your Realtor agrees with you on price, and when you don't sell, it stands to reason you'll be upset and point the finger at the Realtor. Frankly that's also being dishonest, something we strive not to be.</p> <p><strong>If your property is priced correctly, then patience is also required in a buyers market.</strong>&nbsp;Buyers have lots to choose from but your buyer is out there. If the market is declining, and market time is extending you may have to reduce your price to keep up. If not you'll suddenly be back to being over-priced. I know it's a horrible vicious circle to be in and we hope it will get better here in Illinois soon.</p> <p><strong>Like it or not - All the marketing in the world will not sell an over-priced property.</strong></p> <p><strong></strong> <span><strong><em>If you are in the market to sell and want an honest estimate of home value, give us a call: 847-363-3686. Our goal is simply this, to <span>help you</span> achieve a sale.</em></strong></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:26:58 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3156165/pricing-your-house-cannot-be-tied-to-anything-but-the-market http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3149030/farmington-kildeer-homes-and-real-estate-from-your-farmington-expert-realtor <p><strong>Farmington Kildeer</strong> is an established neighborhood of homes of all styles and sizes. From French Provincial to Colonial, Cape Cod or Contemporary, <em>Farmington Kildeer</em> offers fabulous family homes in a luxury neighborhood at affordable prices. What's more Farmington is a neighborhood where you'll find the prettiest gardens for those with green fingers, expansive green lawns for all to play, even your pets, and if you're like me and love trees, they tower above you, evergreens and deciduous decorating properties and providing shade during summer and a wonderful picture postcard winterland scene when the snows fall.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/Farmington-1-new.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-3719 aligncenter" src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/Farmington-1-new.png" height="420" alt="" width="598"></a> <span><br>Farmington Kildeer</span> is a medium sized subdivision of homes, there's always a few to choose from but what other features attract buyers? &nbsp;Children living in <strong>Farmington Kildeer</strong> attend the Lake Zurich school district and school bus service is available. The neighborhood is peaceful and quiet, just like living in the country, yet only a few minutes drive to the Deer Park Shopping Mall or Kildeer shops. For groceries residents choose Lake Zurich Jewel or Dominicks, or Sunset Foods in Long Grove but the majority of shopping is along the Route 12 corridor where you'll find plenty of big box stores like Walmart, Home Depot, Costco, Best Buy and more.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/Farmington-13-new.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-3720 aligncenter" src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/Farmington-13-new.png" height="450" alt="find Farmington Kildeer homes for sale like this" width="600"></a></p> <p>Farmington Kildeer is a centrally located single family home community so if you work down town in Chicago, expect an hours drive, or by train about the same. If you'll be working locally in the northwest suburbs I-90, I-294 and Highway 53 are all closeby. You can learn more information about <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/neighborhood/farmington-kildeer-illinois" title="Farmington Kildeer">Farmington Kildeer</a> or jump right in and view the available listings in Farmington Kildeer.</p> <p>Your expert for Farmington is a resident Realtor. &nbsp;<strong>Eileen Mattison</strong> knows more about Farmington Kildeer than anyone else, so if it's a neighborhood you'll consider for your next home, call our <strong>Kildeer Expert Realtor Eileen Mattison at 847-338-0313</strong> or if you would like a consultation about <strong>selling your Farmington Kildeer</strong> home, request a home estimate, Eileen will stop by and bring one with her. Send your <a href="mailto:eileen@eileenmattison.com">Kildeer Realtor an email.</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/ready-to-sell.php" title="Farmington Kildeer Home Estimate"><img class="wp-image-3714 aligncenter" src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/kildeer-banner.png" height="109" alt="farmington kildeer home estimate" width="590"></a></p> <p>Oh one thing we missed. Like swimming or Tennis? Farmington Kildeer has a swimming and tennis club just for you!</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:18:03 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3149030/farmington-kildeer-homes-and-real-estate-from-your-farmington-expert-realtor http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3147730/why-is-the-owner-selling-because-they-want-to- <p></p><p>Lenn Harley, arguably the best buyers broker I know in the USA explains why buyers and their agents are wise to listen to any information given by the seller or sellers listing agent. It can serve us well in many ways as Lenn shows in her examples.</p><div>Via <b><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/3141834/why-is-the-owner-selling-because-they-want-to-">Lenn Harley, Real Estate Broker, Virginia &amp; Maryland (Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD &amp; VA Homes and Real Estate)</a></b>:<br><blockquote> <p><strong>WHY IS THE OWNER SELLING??&nbsp;&nbsp; BECAUSE THEY WANT TO.</strong></p> <p><strong>Inspired by <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/3140844/is-a-lowball-offer-better-than-no-offer-at-all-" title="Scott Godzyk">Scott Godzyk's</a> post about buyers making low ball offers and the information buyers seek.<br></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>5. If it is Owner Occupied, why is the seller selling?</strong></em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I always found this question amusing and always wondered what the prospective buyer or buyer's agent really expects to hear.&nbsp;</p> <p>One never knows and below are some of the experiences I've had over the years</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>1.&nbsp; Listing Agent:<em><strong>&nbsp; "The husband's employer has relocated them to the other side of the country and they're desperate to sell.&nbsp; The wife has already relocated."&nbsp; </strong></em>(House in Lovettsville VA).<em><strong><br></strong></em></p> <p>We made a very low offer on this one.&nbsp; Needless to say the seller was not happy, but the buyer was very happy but nervous about making a low offer.&nbsp; However, they listened and, as I told them, let's see where it goes.&nbsp; You can always offer more.&nbsp; with an irate seller, I arranged separate signing appts. so the buyers didn't have to be subjected to the seller's anger.<em><strong><br></strong></em></p> <p><strong><br></strong></p> <p>2.&nbsp; Listing Agent:<em>&nbsp;<strong> "The wife won't give the husband a divorce and he moved out.&nbsp; She hasn't shown the house for a year.&nbsp; She's ready to go now."&nbsp;</strong></em> (House in Bowie, MD)<em><strong><br></strong></em></p> <p>Another low offer and an uncomfortable closing with the sellers not speaking to each other.&nbsp; In the 3rd example, after previewing the house for sale, I couldn't understand why the house had been on the market for a year.&nbsp; I called the listing agent and he told me of the problem with the wife not wanting to give the house up. &nbsp; <strong>We jumped on it.</strong><em> <strong><br><br></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><br></strong></em>3.&nbsp; Listing Agent:<em><strong>&nbsp; "We know that some of the bricks are cracked and there are foundation cracks and the wondows and doors are not quite right. &nbsp; But, the owners have spent $40,000 making repairs to a failed footer.&nbsp; One corner of the house was sinking but the neighbor that did the work says it's O.K. now."&nbsp;</strong></em> (House in Lanham, MD)<em><strong><br></strong></em></p> <p>I advised against this property due to the many problems observed when we toured the property.&nbsp; Some of the problems observed were doors and windows that didn't operate easily, serious cracks in the back foundation, multiple cracked bricks, etc.&nbsp; However, the buyer loved the house and made an offer contingent on inspections.&nbsp; The home inspector cited numerous foundation problems and an engineering report was obtained.&nbsp; The inspections cost the buyer almost $1,000.&nbsp; The engineering report said that the repairs had not been effective and that serious ground water would continue to cause problems. The buyer wisely voided on the home inspection report.&nbsp;<em> <strong><br><br></strong></em></p> <p><strong>Notice that the information came from the listing agent in all cases, which is usually where we get negative information. &nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><img title="Home Inspector" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/3/4/0/3/ar13339207030432.jpg" height="178" alt="Hone Inspector" width="241"><br>Maryland has a comprehensive 4 page property condition disclosure form.&nbsp; I have rarely seen one that has been filled out completely or accurately.&nbsp; Also, there is no place for the seller to disclose divorce, job relocation.&nbsp; In the case of the foundation defect which was very serious, the seller did not disclose it, the home inspector identified the defects.&nbsp;<strong> </strong></p> <p>In Virginia, the property disclosure simply "discloses" to the buyer that they have the right to inspections.&nbsp; <strong>You gotta love it.</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.&nbsp;</strong></em></p> <p><strong>WHEN EXPERIENCE COUNTS</strong>, home buyers&nbsp;will enjoy our many years of&nbsp;serving home buyers in Northern Virginia for over 25 years.&nbsp; We provide&nbsp;buyers with . . . <br><em>* Comprehensive home searches, </em><br><em>* Personal tours of homes for sale, &nbsp;</em><br><em>* Comparative Market Analysis for homes under consideration,</em><br><em>* Experienced financial analysis to help you understand different loan opportunities, </em><br><em>* Personally manage home inspections, termite inspections, settlement meetings,</em><br><strong><em>AND MUCH, MUCH MORE.</em></strong></p> <p><em><img title="Lenn" src="../../..http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/5/4/5/1/ar131600614515451.jpg" height="170" alt="Lenn" width="112">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.homes-fairfax-county.com/agency.html"><img src="http://www.homes-fairfax-county.com/images/SEARCH%7E3.gif" height="122" alt="search" width="150"></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </em></p> <p class="textsmall"><strong>Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, </strong><strong>800-711-7988</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.marylandvirginiahomefinders.com/homefinder.com%202min.WMV" title="Homefinders Video"><span>HOMEFINDERS VIDEO</span></a>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>For a tour of homes&nbsp;in your location of choice in Loudoun County, contact Homefinders.com.&nbsp; We'll arrange a wonderful tour and you can get to know the county, shopping, recreation, the real estate market and the hardest working Buyer's Agents in the area.&nbsp; </strong></p> <p><strong>ASK ABOUT THE HOMEFINDERS.COM HOME BUYER'S REBATE OF 1% OF THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE HOME YOU DECIDE TO BUY - ANYWHERE IN LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA.</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.loudoun-county-va-homes.com/" title="Loudoun County Homes and Real Estate "><span><strong>Lovettsville&nbsp;Homes and real estate</strong><br>Loudoun County Homes and Real Estate</span></a><br><a href="http://www.new-homes-loudoun-county.com/" title="New Homes Loudoun County VA"><span>New Homes Loudoun County VA</span></a><br><a href="http://www.realestateleesburg.com/" title="Real Estate Leesburg"><span>Leesburg Real Estate</span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/HomefindersRealtors">http://www.youtube.com/user/HomefindersRealtors</a></p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><br>_______________________________________________________________________________________________________<br><br><span><br>Want to learn more about Loudoun County, VA? Join <a href="http://facebook.com/loudouncounty" title="Join Loudoun County on Facebook!">Loudoun County, VA on Facebook!</a></span></p> <p><a href="http://facebook.com/loudouncounty" title="Join Loudoun County on Facebook!"><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/2/1/8/7/ar127386369878125.png" height="64" alt="" width="64"></a><a href="http://youtube.com/lennharley1" title="Lenn on YouTube"><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/9/5/2/8/ar127386371682596.png" height="64" alt="" width="64"></a><a href="http://activerain.com/blogs/lennharley/rss" title="Subscribe to My Blog"><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/8/6/1/5/ar127386372951687.png" height="64" alt="" width="64"></a></p> </div> </blockquote> </div> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:25:13 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3147730/why-is-the-owner-selling-because-they-want-to- http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3147610/relocating-to-chicago-the-northwest-suburbs-of-chicago-palatine-illinois <p><strong>Relocating to Chicago</strong> may not mean you'll be living in the city, many families choose the <strong>Northwest Suburbs of Chicago</strong> as home. &nbsp;Welcome &nbsp;to the <strong>Northwest Suburb of Palatine. </strong>Home to over 65,000 residents, Palatine is one of the larger suburbs in northwest Chicago-land area and one of the communities we sell homes in.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/01/TheGroves-300x225.png" height="225" alt="The Groves of Palatine" width="300">Palatine is well located for commuters, close to I-90 for commuting to Chicago by car, there's also a Metra station if you decide to take the train. If you've found employment in the suburbs Palatine is centrally located in the northwest area, close to many of the larger employers along those major highways.</p> <p>Palatine Illinois covers about 13 square miles of land with very little water and is a thriving and active &nbsp;city. With 10 elementary schools, 2 junior high and 2 high schools, it's also home to Willliam Rainey Harper College, a community college campus, and Quest Academy, a private school with focus on the arts. There's no shortage of shopping malls, parks and Palatine has been undergoing revitalization of the downtown area with new condo buildings, townhome complexes and custom single family homes being built.</p> <p>If you are relocating to Chicago and looking for a place in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago to call home, give <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/area/palatine" title="Palatine a Northwest Suburb of Chicago">Palatine </a>a look. We'll be adding more about the community in the months to come, with details of featured neighborhoods. For now you can start your <a href="http://search.realestateinbarrington.com/idx/3737/advancedSearch.php" title="Palatine home search">Palatine home search</a>, view <a href="http://search.realestateinbarrington.com/idx/3737/mapSearch.php" title="Palatine map search">properties on a map</a>, get email alerts for your <a href="http://search.realestateinbarrington.com/idx/3737/userSaveUpdates.php" title="relocating to Chicago home search"><strong>Relocating to Chicago</strong> home search</a> in Palatine or any of the <strong>Northwest suburbs of Chicago.</strong> &nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:42:50 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3147610/relocating-to-chicago-the-northwest-suburbs-of-chicago-palatine-illinois http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3143689/hows-the-market-doing-barrington-illinois-60010-home-sales-first-quarter-review <p>April. Really! We've already had spring break, Easter, Daylight Savings, the strangest weather ever for winter and even spring is bringing some extremes. How on earth did we get here so fast! Oh and that reminds me, on Earth Day my youngest son will be 21. How did that time fly THAT fast. Maybe it's just a sign I am getting older. Gone are the days when I wish it was next month or next year or that I was another day older! Now it's all about putting the reigns on that clock so I can achieve all I want to in the time I am given.</p> <p>Back to real estate though and sellers are still hoping that time comes when prices start to go up again. Homeowners too! Can we possibly lose any more precious equity? When will this bleeding stop? Are there any signs of recovery and if so how strong are they? There is only one way to find that out. No I would would never suggest you read the papers or watch the news because anything you find here there is very general. If there is one thing real estate is not, it's general. Real estate is local and the Barrington real estate market is no different.</p> <p>My last general report on Barrington was for the end of 2011 and both last and first quarters of each year are somewhat similar, mostly due to the weather. If you would like to read the entire report here's the link:</p> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/2012/01/02/barrington-real-estate-year-end-market-review-2011/">http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/2012/01/02/barrington-real-estate-year-end-market-review-2011/</a></p> <p>Below is the data for that same report. Next we'll do a new report for the first 3 months of 2012 and you can compare the two.</p> <p><img class="alignnone" src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/01/Barrington-20111.png" height="521" alt="" width="601"></p> <h2>First quarter 2012 - Barrington 60010</h2> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/60010-03-12.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-3689" src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/60010-03-12.png" height="521" alt="Barrington market report graph" width="601"></a></p> <p>Are there any major changes in the last 3 months and do they point to better things to come?</p> <ul> <li>Well we have less homes for sale. 468 down to 419. Good sign.</li> <li>We are selling about the same amount per month. Neither good nor bad.</li> <li>Sales prices up just a tick. Actually it's an average and caused by more higher price homes &nbsp;beginning to sell.</li> <li>Inventory level done. A good sign.</li> </ul> <p>Simply that if the inventory levels continue to reduce, then once that's balanced out we can expect to see increases in property values. But don't expect this to happen overnight. Don't expect it to happen this year. There are too many additional variables none of us can control and our market is of higher values than other areas in Chicago-land and the country. It has to and is starting at the bottom. We have to wait. Be&nbsp;patient&nbsp;my friends!</p> <p>I'll let you compare the rest of the data and if you have any questions, I am an <a href="mailto:info@corinneguest.com">email away.</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:26:21 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3143689/hows-the-market-doing-barrington-illinois-60010-home-sales-first-quarter-review http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3135219/copying-someone-else-s-site-in-an-effort-to-win-business-is-bad-sport- <p>To say I am proud of my web site and blog would be a little understated, but don't get me wrong, it's not like a birthday cake, baked, decorated and done. It's a never ending job. I still have a lot more content I want to add and the blog, well it's a blog. Blog's need feeding to remain relevant and that's so true when it comes to real estate. After all the real estate market never stands still.</p> <p>Recently I allowed myself to become side tracked with other projects and that's not a good thing for me, this site and blog and certainly not for my readers. I'm happy to say I am back on course. Everything you read on this site has been thought out by me and written by my fair hand. Opinions are mine. Photos are mine. The content is mine. Copyright laws allow me to prosecute anyone who copies them. Just because they are published here online does make any of it available to anyone else to use.</p> <p>I consider that to be fair, after all with over 500 blog posts and as many if not more photos taken with my fabulous Sony digital SLR, it's a lot of work. It sure keeps me busy when I am not working with clients. So when I watch a competing Realtor mimic my site I consider that bad sport indeed. This particular competitor asked me if I was interested in hiring him as a Realtor about 3 years ago, as the managing broker I decided it wasn't a good fit. At the time I took a look at his online presence and am blown away now to find that it has totally morphed and looks remarkably the same as mine.</p> <p>He is not breaking copyright, or at least I don't think so, his content is different. But the structure of his site is almost identical to mine now. In an effort to win business he has more or less copied the way I have presented this site and that dear competitor is truly bad sport!</p> <p>You can be sure of two things. I am a little mad and I will be watching to make sure there is no copyright infringement of any kind. And because he is no doubt reading this, be careful what you do. There is more to a web site than copying a structure, adding your content and assuming it will do as well. The reason my site does so well is because it also has a soul and is 100% original.</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Fri, 06 Apr 2012 06:47:15 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3135219/copying-someone-else-s-site-in-an-effort-to-win-business-is-bad-sport- http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3117232/the-relocation-exposure-myth-buster <p>In recent weeks the subject of exposing listings to relocation buyers has been discussed in relation getting a faster sale. So I thought it high time I addressed the subject, not to shoot the discussion down in flames, more to give a little clarity to the idea and some data to quash the tsunami!</p> <p>OK so maybe that's a little extreme but during our discussion it sure felt like our explanations were being totally washed over. &nbsp;We all know sellers are having a much harder time of selling their homes now it's a buyers market, and the stress of waiting can take it's toll. The constant needing to keep a home in show condition, the requirement to leave the home for each showing, and the rejection from each buyer who does not want to make an offer is not easy.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/relo3.png"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3528" src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2012/04/relo3.png" height="108" alt="" width="379"></a></p> <p>So what about this relocation issue. Well simply that there seems to be a notion that attracting relocation buyers is something only the chosen few can and will do. That there is some awesome national publication for relocation buyers to tap into and find the best homes to buy. That these relocation buyers are the cream of the buyer pool. Even that as Realtors with well visited web sites we are somehow not attracting these relocation buyers.</p> <p>So I did a little research. Every year the National Association of Realtors issues a report on the real estate industry, most of which is data about the profiles of real estate buyers and sellers. I was focused on the relocation section. So my question was how many relocation buyers source their information directly from a relocation company.</p> <p>The answer was as I suspected. Not many. Only 1% of buyer frequently turned to a relocation company. 2%&nbsp;occasionally&nbsp;used a relocation resource. The rest did not. That's about the same percentage of buyers who use television or a billboard as their source for information. As in previous years the highest resource for any buyer, relocating or not was the internet. 88% of buyers started their search online, which was down 2% from the previous year. In second place buyers used real estate agents and brokers as their primary source with 87% percent. It's fair to say there is overlap, many buyers use more than one resource.</p> <p>Big company or small company, nationally known company or individual broker or agent. There isn't any difference. Relocation buyers go online to search for homes. They'll use a variety of places, national portals, large franchise web sites, individual broker websites all get used by relocation buyers to find homes.</p> <p><strong>I rest my case, relocation buyers are online, they'll find your home if it's listed with a real estate broker, not once, not twice but on hundreds of real estate websites. You are being exposed to all buyers, relocation included.</strong> &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:44:02 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3117232/the-relocation-exposure-myth-buster http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3097807/pricing-your-home-to-sell-be-the-realist-not-the-optimist <p><strong>In life it serves us well to be optimistic about how things are going to pan out.</strong> Whether it's how well we did at a school exam, or our kids, or even hoping the weather will hold off until the gardening chores are done.</p> <p><strong>Selling real estate is different.</strong> Pricing too high and being optimistic is a recipe for disappointment. This was reminded to me again this week as I supported an broker trying to win a listing and it saddens me that one of the main reasons she lost to another Realtor was the issue of pricing. I have talked about over pricing homes several times in the last year and will likely need to carry on doing so for a while to come.</p> <p><strong>As Realtors both my broker and myself own property locally.</strong> We've also lost value on our homes. We've also felt the pain of tax bills going up while values fall. Our pockets hurt as much as everyone else who owns real estate. Our equity has disappeared. As Realtors we remain as optimistic as we can about the state of the real estate market. Just like you we would love to see values start to increase, even just a tiddly bit. Being so close to it, literally every day we are reminded how much our properties are not worth. It's painful.</p> <p><strong><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/1/2/1/5/ar133286222251218.jpg" height="240" alt="sold house" width="300">Our job as professionals is not to get sellers to list low to get a quick sale.</strong> We have a fiduciary&nbsp;responsibility&nbsp;to sellers. We have to be honest with everyone and that often as not, means showing you that your home is not worth as much as you would like. That fiduciary&nbsp;responsibility&nbsp;also means not to agree with your numbers just to get hired and then deal with having to constantly ask for price cuts; unless of course your numbers match ours.</p> <p><strong>We pour over recent sales to find houses that are comparable to yours, that in itself is not as easy as it used to be.</strong> Lack of sales makes it harder and we can spend hours preparing an estimate. An exact number is never possible in our area, homes are all different here. Yet sticking with the same bedroom count, square footage, age range and school district points us in the right direction, especially staying in the same town with the same acreage.</p> <p><strong>Remember too that we have to sell your asking price to three people.</strong> First the buyer must think the home is priced right or it will get rejected and they won't even come and look. If they do come and look, now it's the buyers agent who will do that same analysis to show the buyer what they should pay for the home. Lastly the appraiser will come along and add his thoughts.</p> <p><strong>The home pricing realist will not have much to worry about.</strong> Yes marketing times are still long locally and a correctly priced home may or may not sell quickly. Location, condition, upgrades and emotion all factor in to whether a buyer will pull the trigger on your home.</p> <p><strong>The optimist however will become disappointed fast.</strong> The first month is when the most buyers will come and look. If you get only a few, or lack of interest, or negative feedback, are you going to remain optimistic for a long time? How long will you want to wait before you reconsider your optimism.</p> <p><strong>Beat the average, be a realist and never let buyers low ball you after 9 months because you are becoming stale on the market.</strong> &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:33:42 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3097807/pricing-your-home-to-sell-be-the-realist-not-the-optimist http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3073625/why-deer-park-illinois-is-not-barrington <p><strong>Deer Park Illinois</strong> is one of my favorite places. Having lived in <em>Deer Park Illinois</em> for over 6 years; <em>we only left because we relocated to Florida for a year;</em> I don't understand why other real estate professionals label it as Barrington. Well maybe I know why they do it, but I feel it's disrespectful of the beauty that is <span>Deer Park Illinois.</span></p> <p><a href="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2011/01/DSC05498.jpg"><img src="http://blog.realestateinbarrington.com/files/2011/01/DSC05498-300x225.jpg" height="225" alt="Deer Park Illinois" width="300"></a>If you are not a local let me explain more about Deer Park Illinois and it's association with Barrington. Deer Park is a small village in Lake County Illinois that happens to share the Barrington Illinois zip code of 60010. Why? Why doesn't Deer Park have it's own zip code? The answer is &nbsp;simple. Deer Park does not have it's own post office. It is serviced by the Barrington post office, therefore it shares the zip code.</p> <p>What else does Deer Park Illinois share with Barrington? Schools. Some of the Deer Park real estate falls inside the Barrington School District 220 and some in Lake Zurich School District 95.</p> <h2>Deer Park Illinois is Not Barrington</h2> <p>Now you understand that Deer Park Illinois is not Barrington you should know there are 3 homes for sale today that are marked as Barrington.Does it matter or not? For me yes. Think of the buyers out there that actually want to find homes in Deer Park rather than Barrington. Like me for instance. When we came back from our year in Florida, I wanted to live in Deer Park. So my internet searches looked for homes with a Deer Park Illinois address not Barrington.</p> <p>The question will always remain, were there homes for sale in Deer Park Illinois that I did not get to see because they were labeled Barrington. We could not find a home in Deer Park so opted for our second choice of Lake Barrington. I only had a weekend to find a home to buy!</p> <p>So why are the homes for sale in Deer Park labeled incorrectly? Well sometimes it's because the address on the tax bill says Barrington. Sometimes it's because a listing agent considers Barrington is a label that will attract more buyers than Deer Park, sometimes it's because the listing agent is not local and has no idea which homes are Deer Park Illinois and which are Barrington Illlinois. The last is a great reason to always hire a local deer Park Realtor if you are in the market to buy or sell in Deer Park Illinois.</p> <p>As a local buyers agent, if you are looking for Deer Park Illinois homes for sale, trust me, I will know what addresses are in Deer Park even though they may be labeled as Barrington. You can also read more about the <a href="http://www.realestateinbarrington.com/area/deer-park-homes.php" title="Deer Park Illinois Neighborhoods">neighborhoods of Deer Park Illinois</a>&nbsp;as well as see the available homes.&nbsp;Deer Park is a beautiful place to live.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="agent_signature"> <p><span><strong>Corinne Guest</strong></span></p> <p><span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong><a href="http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=corinne+guest" title="Google Corinne Guest">Google Me</a></strong></span></strong></span></p> <p><span>Realtor &amp; Managing Broker</span><br><span>Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington</span></p> <p><strong><span>Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="http://realestateinbarrington.com" title="real estate in Barrington and the northwest suburbs">Real Estate in Barrington</a></span></p> <p><span><a href="http://luxurysuburbanrealestate.com">Suburban Real Estate - Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove</a></span></p> <p><span><br></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img title="Corinne Guest Realtor" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/8/6/4/6/ar131316815664689.png" height="49" alt="Realtor and Equal Housing Logo" width="103"></p> </div> Corinne Guest - Barrington & Northwest Suburbs Real Estate & Relocation (Managing Broker-Royal Advocate Realty-Barrington) Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:50:57 -0700 http://thehomesearchblog.com/post/3073625/why-deer-park-illinois-is-not-barrington