Posted by Annalisa Burgos | October 15, 2009
Live next door to the President of the United States — the Obamas’ Chicago neighbors have put their home on the market.
Apparently, Matt Garrison, the listing agent with Coldwell Banker, hasn’t put an asking price on the house and will let the market dictate its value. How appropriate.
According to a report in The New York Times, the current owners paid $35,000 for the 6,000-square-foot house at 5040 South Greenwood Avenue in 1973. Other homes in the Hyde Park area have sold for $1 million to $2.5 million. But surely the appeal of living next to the President should tack on a few more mil. I wonder what kinds of background checks you’ll have to go through to close this deal.
About the property: The turn-of-the-century home is directly next to the Obama’s home, and the neighborhood is filled with Chicago’s business, political and intellectual rock stars. From this distance, you could ask the President for his famous chili recipe, borrow a cup of sugar from First Lady Michelle, or watch “First Daughters” Sasha and Malia, as the current owners often did.
The home was built in 1906 by A.R. Clark, who was also the original owner of President Obama’s home at 5046 South Greenwood. During World War II, the home was used to house officers, and eventually became a boarding house for a small military school.
The current owners purchased the home from the Colonel who ran the school. The home needs a little restoration, but still has all the original woodwork, stained glass windows, 6,000 square feet of living space, and a hefty yard by Chicago standards. Plus, as long as you don’t mind the occasional security hassles and Secret Service agents milling about, you can’t beat the location.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | October 7, 2009
The housing market can be very scary. Just ask any homebuyer or seller — a seemingly normal situation can easily turn into a nightmare.
In this month’s Top 10, read 10 hair-raising real estate horror stories, from showings gone awry to frightening HOAs to houses plagued with unwelcome guests and ghastly pasts.
Plus, get tips on how to avoid these nightmares and ensure your homebuying or selling experience is drama free.
Happy Halloween!
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | September 18, 2009
Looking for a diverse, family-friendly neighborhood with a thriving arts and music scene? Then look no further than Garvanza in Highland Park, an urban community that offers a suburban feel, just north of downtown Los Angeles.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | September 16, 2009
If you (or your spouse) haven’t owned real estate in the past three years and you’re in a good position to buy a home, it’s time to get your butt in gear!
The deadline to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers is midnight on Nov. 30, and that’s coming up sooner than you think.
READ: You have to close on the home purchase by Nov. 30.
The closing process has been known to take at least 30 days, and now with stricter lending standards and a more complicated appraisal process, delays can be expected. And tack on even more time if you’re dealing with a foreclosure or short sale.
So since you’re trying to close by Nov. 30, and Thanksgiving is the week before, plan to have a signed contract and begin the closing process no later than the end of October, unless you’re an all-cash buyer and don’t need financing.
And remember you don’t have to wait until you file your taxes to get your credit. Ask your mortgage broker or real estate professional about programs that will let you apply the credit to your closing costs now.
For most of the year, first time buyers looking for “bargains” (i.e. distress properties) were the main driver of home sales. Should that group go away with the end of the tax credit, the industry could be in for hard times in 2010.
That’s why the National Association of Realtors is lobbying to have Congress extend the credit and real estate agents are creating a sense of urgency (ex: Prudential Connecticut Realty countdown). And you’ve probably seen all the TV commercials encouraging people to buy.
So what are you waiting for?
Of course, if Congress decides to extend it, then all’s good. But with all the focus on healthcare reform, that’s no guarantee.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | September 3, 2009
Looking for an eclectic, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with tons of history, culture and architecture? Then look no further than Echo Park, a diverse community in the heart of Los Angeles.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | August 20, 2009
I’m in the Seattle area trying to take a couple days of R&R, but wherever I go, I always get sucked back into work. And it’s not just the daily responsibilities of managing FrontDoor’s content.
As a real estate editor and licensed real estate salesperson, friends and colleagues often ask me what I think about the market and whether a property they like is actually a deal.
Sometimes I feel like Howie Mandel on “Deal or No Deal,” except on my game show, instead of opening random suitcases looking to eliminate low dollar amounts, homebuyers are looking through houses hoping to eliminate potential money pits.
They weigh the pros and cons of holding on to their current property — their “suitcase” if you will — or taking advantage of what they think is the “ultimate deal.”
To them, I’m the quintessential expert, on topics like home value and foreclosures, because I don’t stand to benefit from the purchase the way their official agent will and they know I’ll give them a straightforward, honest opinion.
So when my Seattle friends showed me a bank-owned property they were interested in, we talked about what needed to be fixed and how much they would need to put into the property to get it into move-in condition.
The exercise proved helpful. If I posed Howie’s question “Deal or no deal?,” the answer would be a resounding “no deal.”
Buying a home? Try these resources from FrontDoor.com:
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | August 16, 2009
Everyone is so focused on home value these days that we forget that buying a home is really an emotional experience.
Sure staging and price play huge factors in whether we like a place, but house hunting is really about finding a house that fits your current lifestyle and aspirations. What really makes a homebuyer ultimately make an offer is feeling a personal connection to the place, not necessarily its price tag.
Ladies, think of it this way. They say when you’re shopping for a wedding dress, you’ll know when you find the one. It just fits. (And since 90 percent of real estate decisions are made by women, I figure you’d understand the analogy.)
This week, I talked to Eileen Imada and Walter Dixon, who just bought their first house in Newton, a suburb of Boston. After three years of looking for their “perfect” home, they learned a valuable lesson in determining home value and have a great tip for all you first-time buyers. Tune in for their full video on the FrontDoor Unlocked Vlog — coming soon!
Buying a home? Try these resources from FrontDoor.com:
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | August 6, 2009
Our FrontDoor family is growing! Now readers of some of the biggest newspapers in the country — the Boston Globe, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Denver Post and more — will get FrontDoor’s valuable expert tips, advice and videos and browse our 4 million listings.
FrontDoor.com is partnering with 250 newspapers across the country to enhance their Web sites, allowing homebuyers and sellers to browse local listings and real estate content.
In fact, the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com just launched this enhanced content, while the FrontDoor team attends Inman News‘ Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco this week. We hope all you Bay Area folks enjoy it!
Partners include Cox Newspapers, Freedom Newspapers, Journal Register Co. and Southern Newspaper Group.
If you recall, we announced a similar partnership with local television stations to enhance their Web content.
So look out for FrontDoor in a local newspaper near you!
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | August 6, 2009
I hear so many real estate agent horror stories from homebuyers and sellers (and have experienced my own nightmare situations) that you’d think “agent bashing” is some sort of national pastime.
While there are some bad apples out there (as there are in any profession), that shouldn’t reflect poorly on the industry as a whole. In fact, I know many people who rave about their real estate agents and consider them part of the family.
Finding an agent is easy. In any given area, hundreds of professionals are vying for your business. Finding the right agent for you is the hard part.
You’re trusting someone to help through one of the biggest purchases in your life, so it’s important to do your research.
Check out FrontDoor’s Top 10 Strategies for Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | July 17, 2009
In this week’s vlog, we hear from San Diego real estate broker and blogger Kris Berg about her tips for buying and selling a home in today’s market.
Homebuying and selling resources on FrontDoor:
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