About Cook County, IL

One of the items once your home sells is having a home inspection. I wouldn't wait until the home got sold to run this check list of items to make sure your home is running as smoothly as it can, so we need to back up the horse and cart just a bit.

Besides curb appeal, having a home that functions at its highest is the next best selling feature. So, before you get SOLD, make sure that you have the following checked for a smoother home inspection:

1. Mechanicals: Make sure that the furnace is cleaned and that the filter has been changed. Always, always, clean off the top of the furnace as well as the hot water tank.

2. Electrical Panel: Make sure that the outlets are clearly marked. In Chicago, it is illegal to have a tapped outlet and therefore, make sure that you get an electrician in to check your electrical box to make sure it is up to code.

3. Eyes, Nose: Eyes and Nose stands for the placement of your electrical outlets. You should always have 2 slits and then the hole (nose) and they should always be running the same way around the entire room. One of the biggest giveaways for "handyman" type of work is when the nose is first and then the eyes.

4. Are we grounded? You need GFI's in the kitchen area and the bathroom area. However, you don't need one by the washer and dryer as it will continually click off and the mechanics will stop every time you hit a spin cycle.

5. Electrical openings: always should have a cover. Doesn't matter if it is in the kitchen, the basement, the garage, outside ... you need covers over every outlet and box.

6. Water: How does your water run? The inspector will turn on the bathroom sinks, the bathtub and shower fixture at the same time to see if there is any less pressure and how things are draining. The same goes for in the kitchen area and the catch basin, if you have one, in the basement or laundry facility area.

7. Mold: If you have mold around the base of your tub and tile connections, remove it, clean it, dry it and let it air for about 24 hours before you reapply a good anti-mold silicone around the entire tub area. Do not use caulk as it is an inhibitor of mold.

8. Are we on? Light bulbs. Make sure all the light bulbs are working and/or replace.

9. Peeling paint? Scrap, sand, prime twice and paint.

10. Ceiling fans: Make sure your ceiling fans are secured to the ceiling.

11. Appliances: Your stove will be turned on and one of the biggest issues we face is that delay in lighting or uneven burning.

This is just a sample of what the inspector will be looking for when he is inspector your house once it has been sold. Waiting until the last minute, doesn't work because it does take time to make sure everything is in shape.

The deadline is near if you are planning to nominate a home for Winnetka's annual Preservation Awards. Each year, Winnetka honors construction projects that are done in keeping with the history and character of the village. Their are three categories: Restoration, Rehabilitation, and New Construction.

Rehabilitation
The project restores the property to its original appearance using original plans and required research. The project may be a full-scale or partial restoration. An example of a partial restoration would include the replacement of an asphalt shingle roof with original roof material, or the restoration of a porch to its original condition

Restoration
The project is sympathetic to the building's original design. Original plans and research materials are not available, but the project upholds the spirit of the building's style, use of materials and finish. Room additions or garages represent examples of rehabilitation.

New Construction
Emphasizes the project's compatibility with its neighborhood. In this respect, issues regarding style, massing, scale, color, trees and context to adjacent properties feature in consideration.

To obtain an application and read the rules, pleae click Village of Winnetka Preservation Award Application . You may also call Ann Klaassen at 847-716-3525

Previous Winners

Say it isn't so! Even in the desirable areas of Chicago, prices have declined.

2443 N Burling, Chicago declined from $455,000 to $405,000 in the matter of just a few years based on re-sale data of an existing unit. Granted, this is not a 30% decline from peak to trough that so many areas of Chicago have experienced, but nonetheless, that is a lot of cabbage the a condo owner is walking away from to sell the unit and move on to something else.

Needless to say, if this transaction in a desirable portion of a desirable area is any indication, then we are all in store for a rough 2012.

Michael Hobbs, PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy

When one lacks curb appeal or have deferred maintenance on our home, you are decreasing the value of your home by 10%. Here are some maintenance chores (better known as "the Honey Do List") that will dramatically help the look and appeal of your house.

1. Starting with the front of your house: wash your windows insides and out, swipe cobwebs from eaves, and hose down downspouts. don't forget garage doors and parking lots.

2. Wash the dirt, clean the mildew, and general grunge from the outside of your building. Realtors say washing a house can add $10,000 to $15,000 to the sale prices of some homes. But I am going to take it one step further and suggest that if you have aluminum or old vinyl siding that has aged and/or the color faded, this is an excellent time to invest some money into updating the color of your home. Pretty basic as it requires either Gliddens Exterior Paint or a Low Lustre Oil Base Paint that can be sprayed over the current siding.

3. Neaten the yard and garden. A well-manicured lawn with fresh mulch, and pruned shrubs boost the curb appeal. Replace overgrown bushes with leafy plants and colorful annuals. Surround bushes and trees with dark or reddish brown bark mulch, which gives a rich feel to the yard. Put a crisp edge on garden beds, pull weeds and invasive vines, and plant a few geraniums in pots. Green up your grass with lawn food and water. Cover bare spots with seeds and sod, get rid of crab grass, and mow regularly.

4. Clean the carpeting in your condo entries and hallways and be sure the walls aren't marked up. Fresh paint in entries and on walls makes a huge difference. Shampoo the hallway and stair carpets twice a year, one in spring and once in the fall. Be sure the hallways aren't littered up with multiple pairs of shoes outside the unit doors.

5. Makes sure the name labels at the lobby door buzzers look consistent and professional. Handwritten labels of different styles and colors can mislead a buyer to assume it's a building with a lot of turnover.

6. Glam your address! Add a plaque with architectural house numbers to make your building stand out. If your building has wooden stairs leading up to the front door, you might consider adding some really great design style numbers to the riser on the second step to the top landing. Give your mailboxes a face lift with paint. These days, your local home improvement center or hardware stores has an impressive selection of decorative numbers. Architectural address plaques, which you tack to the house or plant in the yard, typically range from $80 to $200. Brass house numbers range from $3 to $11 each, depending on size and style.

7. Add a color splash to please the eye of would-be buyers. In spring, plant a tulip border . Dig a flowerbed by the mailbox and plant some pansies. Place a brightly colored bench or chair on the front porch if there is no room. These colorful touches won't add to the value of your house: appraisers don't lend value for them but beautiful colors enhance curb appeal and help your home sell faster.

8. Frame your back yard, deck or patio by adding a border or low fence. Be sure to maintain the gates in clean and working condition. Replace and tighten loose latches.

Until tomorrow,

From an outsiders's point of view, it surely seems like it is a 'they' kind of problem. It is all too easy to point the finger at someone else or at them. Yet, we all know that when the focus is on 'them', there is very little if any ability to actually resolve the problem.

In the case of the United States housing market, there is ample evidence, data, and support to point the finger at 'them'. The 'them' being a proverbial myriad of characters and companies and agencies which contributed to the current predicament we are struggling with to one degree or another. Even as the cast of 'thems' grows, it does not change the outcome. Each and every one of us is not only impacted by the 'results' which occured from the 'thems' actions, we are left to deal with the results and resolve the results.

As I was chatting yesterday with a very successful Realtor in Chicago at an appointment, she appropriately pointed out that 'their' problem is her opportunity. While many of her fellow professionals complain about the 'state of affairs' in the real estate market she continues to identify new market opportunities. In the short hour or so that we were together for the appraisal of a property under contract, we came up with at least two actions that we both will take to assist each other and put 2012 on a more profitable path for our clients and ourselves. In the short course of our hour together, it was quite apparent that we are doing something about resolving the 'results' of the 'thems' and not pointing a finger at the me's hoping that a change, shift or improvement shows up miraculously.

In the case of our conversation, I am introducing her to a client of ours, Cherry Picker Investments, who has inventory of real estate that her client is seeking (turn-of-the-century houses on higher density sites). And her client is slowly, but successfully bull-dozing those turn-of-then-century houses and constructing new mid-priced single family homes which the market is absorbing.

She is introducing us to her team, at Coldwell Banker Residential, because we provide a specialty appraisal, aptly named, Agent Accelerator Appraisal, that allows motivated Realtors like her to get their long-dated listings closed in a timely manner and assist the homeowner get into their next house sooner. Hence, velocity can now exist where stagnation did exist.

It is not me, it is WE! And together, the more WE in real estate pitch in to help each other, the more WE are going to resolve the 'results' the 'thems' caused.

Each and every day that I read through a couple posts by our Active Rain community, there are multiple encouraging examples that WE are resolving this housing market problem.

Michael Hobbs, PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy