Chicago Temperature Conversion Chart

A LITTLE HUMOR CAN KEEP US WARM ;-)!

60 above - Floridians wear coats, gloves, and wooly hats.
Chicago people sunbathe.

50 above - New Yorkers try to turn on the heat.
Chicago people plant gardens.

40 above - Italian cars won't start.
Chicago people drive with the windows down.

32 above - Distilled water freezes.
Lake Michigan's water gets thicker.

20 above - Californians shiver uncontrollably.
Chicago people have the last cookout before it gets cold.

15 above - New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
Chicago people throw on a sweatshirt.

0 degrees - Californians fly away to Mexico.
Chicago people lick the flagpole and throw on a light jacket over the
sweatshirt.

20 below - People in Miami cease to exist.
Chicago people get out their winter coats.

40 below - Hollywood disintegrates.
Chicago's Girl Scouts begin selling cookies door to door.

60 below - Polar bears begin to evacuate Antarctica.
Chicago's Boy Scouts postpone "Winter Survival" classes until it gets cold
enough.

80 below - Mount St. Helen's freezes.
Chicago people rent some videos.

100 below - Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Chicago people get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.

297 below - Microbial life survives on dairy products.
Illinois cows complain of farmers with cold hands.

460 below - ALL atomic motion stops.
Chicago people start saying. . ."Cold 'nuff for ya??"

500 below - Hell freezes over.
The Chicago Cubs win the World Series.

HUD FORECLOSURE OPPORTUNITY!!!

Ukranian Village HUD Forclosure opportunity!!!

One of the benefits of being an active member of the GreatChicagoRealEstate.com community is getting first shot at great deals like this. My Real Estate attorney, John Conlon, is also a HUD broker. Periodically he will research HUD-owned properties that have yet to come up for auction in an effort to find some good deals. When he finds them, he passes along the information to me so I can give my clients first crack at it. Here's the most recent opportunity:

2659 W. Walton #2
Chicago, IL 60622

This is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo in a 6-unit building built in 2001. Here is a description of one of its neighbors: http://mlsni.rexplorer.net/CMPS$FLYER/FLYER_NIR_255751_133319_0129104.HTML

Likely the finishes are similar. The outstanding loan amount is $225,000. HUD will likely open bidding between this amount and $250,000 and John seems to think this will go up for auction as soon as tomorrow. Considering a similar unit in the building is currently under contracr at $309,000, this is a great deal!

For more information about how to pursue this property, please call Christie at 773.771.0007 or email me at christie@chicagourbarealty.com.

Home Buyers Seminar

Home Buying: What You Really Need to Know

Are you at the point where you want to stop paying rent and start building up some equity? Learn the secrets and tips you need to know to purchase your own home. RON KNOLL and CHRISTIE DAY, of Property Consultants, will cover the complete home buying process from A to Z. Whether you are buying your first, second, or third home, learn ways to make the process less stressful and more profitable. Bring your questions!

Date: Tue, Feb 17, 7-8:30 pm 1 Class
Course Fee: $35
Location: The Latin School of Chicago, 59 W. North Boulevard (corner of Clark Street and North Avenue)
Phone for registration: 312-582-6035
E-mail: liveandlearn@latinschool.org

RLCA Mortgage Rates

Please contact Anthony Pipitone
for further information
p 312-492-3239
e-mail apipitone@rlca.com

Mortgage Rates for January 28th, 2004

RLCA
The Right Loan, Always

Conventional

3/1 ARM Conventional
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 3.88% 4.01%

5/1 ARM Conventional
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 4.38% 4.52%

7/1 ARM Conventional
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 5.00% 5.02%

15 Year Fixed Conventional
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30 Day Lock 5.00% 5.26%

30 Year Fixed Conventional
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 5.63% 5.78%

Jumbo

3/1 ARM Jumbo
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 4.13% 4.25%

5/1 ARM Jumbo
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 4.63% 4.76%

7/1 ARM Jumbo
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 5.50% 5.64%

15 Year Fixed Jumbo
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 5.38% 5.61%

30 Year Fixed Jumbo
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 5.88% 6.02%

FHA

15 Year Fixed FHA
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 5.00% 5.15%

30 Year Fixed FHA
Rate Lock Term Rate APR
30-60 Day Lock 5.75% 5.89%

-PMI is Private Mortgage Insurance and is usually required on loans with a down payment less than 20%
-You can avoid PMI with a first and a second mortgage.
-All rates are subject to market conditions and may change at any time without notice.
-Final approval subject to credit history, employment history, & Income.

Ask about our:
 No Income verification loans
 $0 Down Loans
 No Application fee
 Free Financial Health analysis
 Free pre-qualification letter

Residential Loan Centers of America, Inc.
2350 E.Devon Ave. Suite 310 Des Plaines, IL 60018

Equal Housing Lender. Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee.

Tips toward closing a trouble-free deal

Courtesy Chicago Tribune
By Ronald R. Rossi
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 5, 2000

If you are thinking about buying a home this year, here is a list of resolutions to help you close a deal. Keep in mine that in Chicago the buyer's attorney often will perform some of the agent's duties listed here.

Get yourself a knowledgeable, honest and aggressive real estate agent.

Pay attention to details when looking for a property – not only the property, but the neighborhood, the construction, the condition of the property and the grounds.

Do roof and home inspections and other inspections as needed.

Be careful buying property "as is."

Don't waive inspection rights. It may come back to haunt you.

Read and review all disclosures: the Transfer Disclosure Statement, the Supplemental Transfer Disclosure Statement, if used, home inspection reports and termite inspection reports. All should be read in detail and questions highlighted and discussed with either the agent or the inspector, or both. If you have an attorney, he or she can advise you on these documents.

Get preapproved for the loan amount for your targeted house. Don't waste time with lenders who will not preapprove you and with whom you have not already established a relationship. (Preapproval means that the lender has examined your finances and is willing to put into writing that he will lend you money to buy the property. Preapproval is not the same as prequalification. Prequalifying is based only on what you say your income and debt is. In preapproval, the lender has taken an application and has verified your finances.)

Make sure you understand the Preliminary Title Reports and the easements involved. If you don't, discuss it with the title company, your agent or your lawyer.

Be careful of advertisements and brochures that appear too good to be true.

Make sure your agent, or someone else, pulls the building permits and explains them to you.

Make sure your agent does everything possible to present your offer directly to the seller and the seller's agent.

Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

New Construction in Chicago

Please give us a call at 773 227-7466 so we can provide you with a list of new constuction developments in Chicago. From new conversion courtyard buildings, new construction hi-rises, to new 3-4 flat walk-up condos, call us to get updated on the always changing Chicago market!!! Ask for Ron or Christie, thanks!

What are Blogs?

Web Blogs Defined, Explained and Understood
by Sharon Housley ©Copyright 2004

What are Blogs?
Having heard the term previously but not having paid much
attention most are just to afraid to show their ignorance
and ask the question, what is a blog? Lets face it; the term
blog does not conjure pleasant images. Blogs are web logs
that are updated regularly, usually on a daily basis. They
contain information related to a specific topic. In some
cases blogs are used as daily diaries about people's
personal lives, political views, or even as social
commentaries. The truth of the matter is that blogs can be
shaped into whatever you, the author, want them to be.

Where Did Blogs Come From?
The roots of blogging can be traced back to the mid 1990's. Who
the very first blogger actually was is unclear, as the art of
blogging did not really take hold until 1999. The original
"weblogs" were link-driven sites with personal commentaries.
The very first blogs were human guided Internet web tours. While
initially thought of as diaries or online journals, blogs have
evolved into the latest fresh web content.

The Future of Blogs
A buzz word in techie circles, "blogging" is the wave of the
future. Whether it's a fad, or proves to be a new way to
communicate with existing and potential customers it deserves
at the very least a cursory look.

Why is Blogging Helpful to Businesses or Individuals?
Just as animated .gifs were once cool, blogging is the trendy
thing to do. That does not mean that it is not beneficial to
businesses. Webmasters struggling to keep fresh, attractive
content on their websites to lure visitors back, have found
blogs to be the answer. Content is a necessity for online
businesses, both for purposes of being found by search engines,
but also because it gives visitors a reason to come back.

Now that we have established that blogs are not only trendy but
also beneficial to businesses, it's important to understand how
they can be used to your advantage. We currently manage and
update two blogs on a daily basis. The first is our new business
blog at:

http://www.notepage.net/blog.htm

This professional business blog allows us the opportunity to
tell potential, or existing customers industry news, updates,
or generally how mobile or paging software can be used in
specific situations to alleviate problems. The bottom line is
we control the content. It's updated daily, which increases the
chances that search engines will spider on a regular basis and
it helps with page rank because it's been submitted to all the
blogging directories. Initially started on a whim, we've found
it beneficial to report tips, tricks or make visitors aware of
new regulations related to the mobile or paging industry.

The second blog we manage is at:

http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html

This blog is less formal and contains marketing tips, or
promotional advice for software developers or online
marketers. We found that we had overflow from our monthly
newsletter. Generating a daily blog required very little
effort and assisted us in creating fresh content which our
readers told us was of significant interest.

Blogs & Your Business
The bottom line is you need to determine how a blog will benefit
your business, determine a schedule and adhere to it. Let your
readers know what to expect and when to expect it. Blogs provide
great supplemental content and direct attention to areas of your
business that you want to showcase; you direct the content but
let your readers guide you.

Creating a Blog
There are numerous online tools that can be used to create a
blog. We found that because of security concerns, it would just
be best to use a standard html program. In our case, we use
Dreamweaver and create daily posts. It's really not much more
complicated than typing an email. The content is then sent via
FTP to a web server. If you want to test the waters there are
online web-based tools that help you publish to the web
instantly. The most popular web based tool is likely Blogger
(http://www.blogger.com).

Other Advantages to Blogs
While you may initially create a blog for your existing
customers, you may find that you can attract new customers by
illustrating your expertise in a specific field. There are
numerous websites that act as "blog search engines". Be sure
to submit your sites to these websites to increase your
exposure. This will also help with your page rank and increase
the likelihood you will receive decent ranking with Google.
You can also create an RSS feed in order to syndicate blog
content and gain additional exposure.

Lofts!

With alot of help from Brent, and even more emails from (you) our clients, our New and Improved "Loft Section" has really been a hit. I would welcome all of you to take a look. Let us know what you think! As always, feel free to contact me at 773 328-7652 with any questions on any of the lofts you see. Happy Loft Hunting... Ron Knoll

Chicago Gardens

It is this time of year in Chicago that you start wishing spring would come. After many days of snow and cold you cling towards the idea of sunshine and warmth. I have found my sunny paradise in the middle of a Chicago winter at the numerous gardens throughout the city. In the heart of Lincoln Park, a north side community located along the lakefront, you will find the Lincoln Park Conservatory and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. At the Lincoln Park Conservatory you can immerse yourself in an indoor topical paradise surrounded by plants from all over the world. You will find everything from palm trees and ferns to flowers. Close-by, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, offers an incredible live butterfly exhibit. It also offers demonstrations and learning exhibits for the whole family. If you are willing to travel just north of the city, you can experience the Chicago Botanic Garden. This garden located in nearby Glencoe, is my personal favorite. They offer, through out the year, amazing displays of greenery and numerous learning opportunities. In the winter, you can catch an art exhibit, explore the greenhouses and even get a cooking lesson with a professional chef. This winter, instead of waiting for spring, do what I do, make your own sunny paradise at one of the many gardens Chicago has to offer.

Demographic Trends

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