News About The Glen

Why a home sale falls through

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Home sales are complicated. There’s a lot more to it than putting a buyer and seller together. Things can go wrong. Deals do not always close. And here are the top reasons why some home purchases fall through:

Inspection surprises. Each transaction involves an inspection by a licensed home inspector. Some are very good. Some, not so much. Among the “not so much” group you’ll find inspectors who identify numerous very small issues which, while not material, scare the heck out of the buyers, causing them to back out of the purchase.

Buyer financing. Even if the buyer is “pre-approved” by a lender, it does not guarantee financing. Sometimes when the lender looks more deeply into the buyer’s financial condition, they find issues that cause them to reject the mortgage application.

Low appraisal. During periods when homes are appreciating in value, appraisals are typically not a problem. In soft markets, though, it is not uncommon for a home appraisal to come in lower than the agreed-upon purchase price. In this case, lenders either choose to not make the loan or demand a higher down payment. The buyer can back out or seek a lower price from the seller.

Buyer remorse. Occasionally a buyer simply gets cold feet, and, unfortunately, he usually gets his earnest money back. Bad news for the homeowner and for the Realtor.

An experienced Realtor can help to minimize these risks, though failed transactions can happen to any seller and any Realtor. I even see this occasionally in The Glen (in Glenview, Illinois) where I live and work. The Glen is an upscale residential community with luxury homes…single family homes, condos, townhomes, two-flats, and duplexes. The price points are substantial, so we typically see qualified buyers who are serious about their home search. But, as I say, it can happen.

If you may be interested in The Glen or greater Glenview, please call or email me.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor, margaretludemann@gmail.com 847-401-1802

Home buyers…by the numbers

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I’m a data freak. I love to sift through all kinds of numbers about the real estate market. And I think it makes me a better Realtor.

The Illinois Association of Realtors recently crunched it’s wealth of data to determine who buys homes in our state, and I thought you might be interested in the information it uncovered about home buyers. So here goes…

  • 69% of home buyers in Illinois are married, 17% are single women, 5% are single men, and 8% are unmarried.
  • The median income of a buyer (or married buyers) is just over $90,000.
  • 13% of buyers are veterans.
  • First time home buyers make up a little more than a third of the total (37% to be precise).
  • 92% choose a previously owned home; 8% buy new.
  • 14% of buyers are purchasing senior-oriented homes.
  • Home buyers expect to live in their homes for, on average, 15 years.
  • Particularly important to a Realtor like me, 86% use the internet during their home search; and they found photos to be extremely important to them. (No surprise there!)

It is important to understand, however, that there is no single real estate market in Illinois. These numbers include buyers in small towns, suburbs, and the city of Chicago.   Some buyers buy multi-million dollar single family homes while others purchase starter homes or condos. There are even multiple markets in The Glen (in Glenview Illinois), where I live and work. They are defined by home type and price point. To find a home in a market that is right for you (whether a community, a development, a neighborhood, or even a street), an experienced Realtor can inform and guide you.

Margaret Ludemann

@properties Realtor and Glen homeowner

847-401-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com

Glenbrook South High School #1 in USA for extracurricular activities

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I’m turning over this week’s Glen blog to an article about Glenbrook South’s ranking as the best public high school in the country for extracurricular activities.  That’s #1 out of 26,407.  Imagine that!!! GBS is the high school serving The Glen and much of greater Glenview, Illinois. The Glen is an upscale residential and retail development in Glenview with over 1,000 luxury homes. I am a long time homeowner in The Glen, and an award winning Realtor. Plus, I am a proud parent of a GBS freshman! So, here is part of the article and a link to the full piece.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties, margaret.ludemann@gmail.com   847-401-1802

Niche, an organization that reviews K-12 public schools, recently ranked GBS number one of all public high schools in the nation when it comes to extracurricular activities, which includes clubs, organizations and athletic teams.

Niche.com publishes results for a variety of rankings of schools periodically throughout the year. Information is gathered to determine rankings by compiling data, which is collected and monitored by the U.S. Department of Education.

According to Jessica Hair, Niche’s marketing outreach coordinator, the data for ranking the best extracurricular activities come from reviews from students and parents in addition to school reports about items such as expenses per student, the number of sports and the percentage of female and male athletes.

“Right now [GBS has] the best extracurriculars in the nation; however, [GBS] also stands out across the board,” Hair said. “[GBS is] the number six [all-around] public school in Illinois, [and GBS is] the number 32 public school in America.”

This was written by Karina Benson, Yoon Kim, and Chaerim Park, and here is the link to the full article.  You may have to copy/paste to get the article. 

GBS named number one: Niche placed South as top school in nation for extracurricular activities

Listing your home for buyers with children

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In areas which cater to families with school age children, it’s important to time the listing of your home appropriately. The basic rule is that you need to get it on the market in time for buyers to close, get moved, and settle in prior to the start of the school year. Often sellers list their homes too late, and they miss the real estate market for buyers with kids.

Let’s take The Glen as an example. The Glen is an upscale housing and retail development on the former grounds of Naval Air Station Glenview in Glenview Illinois. It is home to a couple of thousand luxury homes of various types, including single family homes, townhomes, row homes, duplexes, condos, and two-flats. Prices in the Glen range from the high $300,000s to over $2 million.

Children in the Glen attend District 34 elementary and middle schools, including Westbrook Elementary School, Glen Grove Elementary School, and Attea Middle School. For high school they attend Glenbrook South High School in District 225. Naturally, there are wonderful private schools available in the area as well, but for purposes of this exercise let’s look at the public school calendar. From there, we will work backward to determine the best time to list your home.

The first day of District 34 schools for next school year will be August 23; for District 225, it will be August 25. If we assume a family would like to get their kids settled in their new neighborhoods to make friends two or three weeks before school starts, we’re looking at a move-in date of around the first of August. Prior to moving in, we can assume a time on market of a month or two…so to be safe, let’s say two months. After the agreement is signed, there is usually a 45 to 60 day period before closing. So, doing the math we find that getting a home on the market would be best to occur by early-April.

This means that home sellers in the Glen who wish to attract families with children should be moving rather rapidly to get their home ready to be listed. You need to find your Realtor and get your home prepared for showing. There’s really not a lot of time to spare.

I am an award-winning realtor who lives in and sells extensively in The Glen. If you are interested in selling, buying or renting in the Glen (or greater Glenview), please contact me right away.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

847-401-1802  margaretludemann@gmail.com

Glenview, one of the safest cities in the U.S.

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Safety. You’ll find few other factors more important to home buyers. And here’s some great news for homeowners in The Glen, a residential and retail development in Glenview, Illinois. Glenview is ranked the 37th safest city in the United States!

OK, let’s put that in perspective. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, there are 19,354 incorporated communities in the country. So, Glenview is in the top 0.0019% of American cities in safety. Rare air, indeed.

So, where did this ranking come from? As you know, lists of ‘top this’ and ‘top that’ appear regularly, often from sources with, shall we say, ulterior motives and questionable credibility. But that’s not the case here. Neighborhood Scout is a national neighborhood search engine and provider of location-based analytics for real estate investors, mortgage professionals, and home buyers.

The rankings are determined by factoring in data from over 18,000 law enforcement agencies, and ratings are assigned for various types of crime, such as murder, robbery, assault, burglary, and theft. Looking at the list of the Top 100 safe cities, we find that the safest places to live are in areas where residents can afford to relocate for quality of life. These tend to be bedroom communities near major cities, with low unemployment, high educational attainment, and great schools such as those found in Glenview. (In a future blog, I’m going to analyze Glenbrook South High School’s recent high ranking.)

So, if you are a resident of The Glen, rest easy…you’re in a great place. If you are considering buying a home in the Chicago area, take a look at The Glen. I am an award-winning Realtor and a long-time Glen homeowner, so give me a call.

Margaret Ludemann, Realtor, @properties

847-401-1802   margaret.ludemann@CBexchange.com