About Chicago's Norwood Park

This is the living room at 4951 N. Nordica, in Chicago's Norwood Park Neighborhood.

The Living room appears to be inviting until one has approximately 14 Realtors showing the property and there were a bunch of squiches with the nose on "How do you get those beams down?"

I had enough and as mentioned in a previous post, I took a meat tenderizer/cleaver to those beams.

This is the latest transformation of that same living room at 4951 N. Nordica, in Chicago's Norwood Park Neighborhood.

Granted the ceilings where the beams need to be sanded, primed and the walls repainted. But some pretty simple things that open up that Living Room to make it more warm and inviting.

Here is the kitchen to 4951 N. Nordica.

Some small changes were made ... tell me what you thing we did?

Here is the newer look to the kitchen. Granted that small border print is driving me crazy but there is a big difference.

What did we do?

Here is the "hallway" at 4951 N. Nordica.

No more carpeting, the beams were removed from the ceiling.

Still thinking about removing the door to the kitchen. Thinking ....

Some of these small things makes a huge difference when drawing the eye of the buyer to your home and can make the difference between writing a contract on yours or your neighbors.

Home Staging with a Meat Cleaver

Here is 4951 N. Nordica, located in Norwood Park here in Chicago, Illinois.

The property just turned into an estate.

One of the first things I did was rearrange the furniture as it was all lined up against the north side of the living room area!

But that wasn't enough after 20 showings in one week and not a contract on the table.

Most everybody commented about the beams on the ceiling. "How can you take them off?" "Will it damage the ceiling?" "It makes the room look small."

I hear enough of those comments and so while I was in the middle of three showings late this afternoon, I already had discussed it with the Executrix on the file about the changes that needed to be in place and so, I began to look for a hammer. Then a screwdriver. Then a spatula. Nothing! Almost everything that would get me going on the removal of these beams has been packed away. But then I opened up on drawer and there it was.

The Tool!

A Meat Tenderizer/Meat Cleaver all rolled up into one pretty nifty little tool that helped me tap at those styrofoam beams and

well.... here's the result in the next photo

There is one of those styrofoam beams that was glued to the ceiling.

Such a simple enhancement such as these "beams" can make a room look smaller.

In this house, I had 18 buyers question how you got them down.

Well, after the second to the last showing tonight ... they are down.

This is after the beams were removed. The ceiling has to be sanded to remove some of the residue left on the ceiling but it is only about an hours worth of time.

The exposed ceiling areas where the beams once covered will then be primed and the entire ceiling painted.

After that, the carpeting will be removed as there are hardwood floors under that nasty looking carpeting.

And those three mirrors? They are coming down. I bet there are three teenage girls that will be thrilled to have one of those mirrors on the inside of their closet door.

Stay tuned as we make some simple changes (and yes the lamps should be removed but there is no lighting from the ceiling ... so those lamps must stay for now.

While on the humerous side, that meat tenderizer/cleaver came in pretty handy for me tonight!

Best part is, I received a call after the final showing late tonight and the agent wanted to know how hard it was to get those beams down because her buyers really liked the house and that was one thing from moving forward. I told her I took the Meat Cleaver against the beams. She's waiting for this post to see the living room without them.

Specializing in selling Estates here in Chicago is one of the most rewarding experiences because I push to obtain the highest market value through staging that home, making small adjustments to the property (landscaping - trim); removing any peeling paint (if it is minor), and dealing with those that the deceased trusted to handle the closure of that estate.

People rarely think about what to do or where to go when one has to make that decision for a family member who has been put into a nursing home and the property is now vacant. Funds are short sometimes, and the property must be sold. If, at all possible, one needs to consider renting the property out but usually that rarely works because of the tenant, even if it is a close family member, will not regard that property as their own and hence may not take as good care as the administrator, executor or the executrix.

It is a time of serious change.

Some of the things I discuss with those who are in charge of these type of properties are:

1. Please change the locks on the doors. You are responsible for the personal effects as well as the property itself. One has no idea who has keys and it is for the best interest that the Administrator, Executor or Executrix maintain absolute control. Granted, there are those family members who will speak out and demand access into the property, like the call I received today.
2. Do not assume that the "junk" in the house isn't somebodies keepsakes. Do not throw out or remove the items in the house until the immediate family members can get together and if not designated prior to the event of death, then put their names on the items that they would want.
3. If the deceased was using any type of mobility equipment, then give serious consideration to reaching out to a local community for seniors whose patients are in need of these types of equipment.
4. Left over medicine? Reach out to your doctor and he will tell you a facility that will recycle those medicines for someone who cannot afford to pay. This is giving back.
5. Do not think just immediate family but look at the grandchildren, if there are any. Let them pick out items that would remind them of their loved one. If there are no grandchildren, then I strong urge you to box up the dishes, the pots and pans, silverware, glassware and donate them to a facility that does not resell but distributes those items to those who are in dire need of these day to day items.
6. Recyle eyewear. I cannot emphasize this enough.
7. If the estate needs the monies, then have a garage sale once the family members have taken a small token in remembrance of their loved one to help cover costs.

With the property, itself:

• Motion detectors on the front and back doors/garage to protect the property.
• Have the mail forwarded to your house (but pick up mail every two to three days for security reasons)
• During the winter time, turn the heat down low to reduce the heating bills but not low enough so as to cause harm to the property. Prior to the property being shown, the heat can be raised for showings only and then reduced right back afterwards.
• Do not, and I repeat, do not allow lockboxes on your homes if you are going to sell it. This was somebody's home and it needs to be protected. What makes you so sure that the showing agent knows or makes sure that the house is truly secured after they leave? Will they turn the heat back down or will the heat still be elevated? What if they want to know if there are hardwood floors underneath your carpeting and decide to cut or pull the carpeting up just to check? Checking the water pressure in the sinks and then forgetting to turn the water off and then you have water problems. Shall I go on?
• Take and pack all personal properties, momentums, photos.
• Remove all draperies that make the home appear dated, even though cherished by the former owner.
• Clean. Get the house cleaned.
  
• The landscaping: If overgrown, trim it!
• Silk and plastic flowers ... they go. (It happened with my Mom this past spring, so I am speaking from experience)
• Deal with code issues in the house: Have GCFI's installed in the kitchen and bathrooms.
• Sell the house "as is" and that means that you will only handle the code issues - but I have an electrical and plumbing contractors come to your property to make sure that the house doesn't have any issues that could harm the final price or worst, keep the house from getting financing because those items will be mentioned along with photos to the new lender and you will be conditioned.
  

I have liquidated estates where more then one property was involved and the estate has some monies to do some light curb appeal items, generally under $2,000 and sometimes under $800. When the buyer looks at your property, they won't see the bill that the electrician gives you, they multiply your cost times 4 or 5 and that is the figure that they use to either ask for a credit or reduction in price.

Simple things can be done, like staging all that furniture so the home has balance. Removing that pink swan soap figure in the bathroom so as to take any and all mindset about the previous owner. This allows the new buyer to create dreams of owning your loved ones home.

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Related Terms & Definitions.

Short Sale (Pre Foreclosure Sale - Short Sell - Short Pay).
Definition: Short Sale is a Real Estate Sales Transaction where the proceeds of the sale fall short of the property owner's outstanding real estate debt obligations.

A borrower who is unable to keep the property due to financial hardship can ask the lender to allow a short sale.

In a Short Sale the lender issues an approval to sell the property for less than is owed on the mortgage(s). The lender may agree to accept less than a full payment in order to get the property sold and avoid foreclosure, usually forgiving the difference if the seller can prove a true financial hardship or must relocate and a short sale is the only way to get the property sold.

Loan Modification / Forbearance.
A borrower who is willing to keep the property but is unable to make full payments, may request a loan modification or forbearance from the lender.

Loan Modification - the interest rate is usually adjusted to make mortgage payments more affordable.

Forbearance - allows payments to stop temporarily or decrease in amount for a specific length of time. The lender may grant forbearance of principal, interest or both. The borrower is responsible for repayment of accrued interest charges.

Foreclosure.
Definition: Repossession of a Real Property. A legal process by which the lender forces a sale of a mortgaged property because the borrower has not met the terms of the mortgage.

REO.
Definition: Real Estate Owned. Refers to bank or corporate owned property aquired through foreclosure. If a property is foreclosed upon and does not sell at the foreclosure sale/ sheriff sale/ trustee sale or auction, it goes back to the lender and becomes an REO.

BPO.
Definition: Broker Price Opinion of Property's Current Market Value. Banks order BPO's or Property Appraisalls and compare with purchase offers received.

Real Estate.
Definition: Immovable Property. Real Estate includes land and anything permanently attached to the land, such as buildings.

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