My big real estate ‘regret’…

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When we think something is impossible, is it really? Or is it just not possible for us because we think it’s impossible? The more years I’m here on this big round ball of air and water, the more I’m realizing that so much of what we think and feel and believe is just programmed into us day after day, second after second, for most of our lives… it’s not right or wrong, it’s just what we know… and if that way of seeing the world isn’t working ~ ie. we think things that we really want are impossible… or that…

Why everyone should treat their house like a flip

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{photo credit: Fixer Upper} You guys, this renovation is stressFUL. It’s also awesome and it also sometimes kind of sucks. But I signed up for this and really, I’m super excited about the project and doing this ‘flip’. Honestly, it might just be my personal preference, but I’d rather take on a huge fixer upper in a house or building that has boatloads of potential, or has ‘beautiful bones’ that has just been a bit neglected, than a newer property. But that’s just me, and the truth is that you don’t have to take on a huge project in order…

The distressed property… what it is, and what it means for you as a buyer.

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So you think you want a distressed property… it can seem like an amazing deal, but is it really? Our team is selling a listing that is a bank-owned property {also known as an REO property}, so I thought it was the perfect time to talk about this type of sale. The house we are selling is listed at $739,000, it’s pretty big at about 6,500sf, and was built in 2006. And even though it hasn’t been especially well cared for over the past decade, it’s not in extreme {or obvious} disrepair, and it’s not an old house where you’re…

Logan Square Cottage gets a big facelift!

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Yesterday was picture day at Carla and Andrew’s sweet Logan Square house, as we get ready to go on the market there soon. {if you want to see more about how they transformed the interior, click here} While they did a lot of work on the interior of their house, one of the simplest, but biggest impact, projects they did was replacing the siding on the exterior. The house looked okay with it’s original grey siding, but didn’t really stand out. And when you got closer than just looking at a photograph, you could tell that it had ‘been around…

A peek inside a BIG renovation, and talking about buying ‘as-is’

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Happy Friday! I got a fun surprise this week, some great friends and clients of mine are letting me share a peek inside the {big} renovation of their new house in Oak Park! {!!!} Ryan and Rebecca are a contractor/architect husband and wife team who both have backgrounds in Interior Design as well. And they’ve been around the block when it comes to renovations, having already done a full gut-renovation on their first house, and two other renovations on subsequent investment properties. I’m a little tired just telling you all of that! Renovations can be a big deal, even small…

Buying Real Estate ~ let’s talk about money

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  Before I became a real estate broker I didn’t know anything about real estate, the process of buying property, or how much money it took. It seemed like something that was out of reach for me right out of grad school as the student loan bills starting rolling in, and then as time went by I that just kind of remained my mindset. It seemed like such a big deal that I was really intimidated by the idea of even reaching out to someone to ask about the process and get more information to even start saving or planning…

Real Estate ~ The Weirdest Investment

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I don’t really think real estate is a weird investment, not in a bad way anyway. But I do think it’s unique and unusual in the way that it’s our largest investment, and it’s really the only one that we can actually touch, feel, be inside, experience, and grow emotionally attached to. I mean, I guess you can be emotionally attached to your stock portfolio, but definitely not in the same way that people get attached to their house. People’s homes are their safety, their shelter, their haven from the outside world. It’s only natural that we have an emotional connection…