Tower Crossing

The Glen…a “neighborly” place to live

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I’ve lived in The Glen housing development in Glenview Illinois for 13 years, and I’m an original homeowner in the Tower Crossing townhome neighborhood. One of the really fun things about living in my neighborhood is what we call “mailbox parties”. My home is one of 44 homes sharing a large, beautifully landscaped, oval-shaped courtyard. The backs of our townhomes face this serene, park-like setting with lush green grass and large trees. Oh, it also contains…our mailboxes.

From time to time – usually monthly – one neighbor or another announces that a mailbox party will be held on a particular evening with all Valor Court and Valor Drive residents invited. Everyone brings food and drink to share along with big smiles and stories to tell. In the winter, our mailbox parties move inside, sometimes to the Glenview Golf & Paddle clubhouse across the street, sometimes to the Curragh pub, and yet other times to one of our homes. In this way we have created a very neighborly place to live.

Other parts of The Glen have similar traditions. Many of the homes in the Landings neighborhood have adjacent backyards, not only side-by-side, but also back-to-back. It’s common in summertime to see neighbors sharing evenings together “out back”…grilling, sharing drinks, and watching their children run to and fro.

The Chapel Crossing neighborhood is home to Independence Avenue, a long, wide street with a common area dividing its two sides. This green space is a perfect place for neighbors to congregate, particularly on nights when someone has arranged for an ice cream truck to appear at an appointed time. An email goes out to over 800 Glen families announcing the day and time, and there is always a good crowd of neighbors enjoying not only the sweets, but also (mainly) each other.

This kind of thing happens throughout The Glen. Sure, The Glen is known for its beautiful homes, fine restaurants, trendy boutiques, Lake Glenview, and Gallery Park; but the real fun of living here is its neighborly character. It’s a great place…for ice cream socials, backyard bar-b-ques, and yes, even mailbox parties.

If you may be interested in living in The Glen, please give me a call. I am an award-winning Realtor with expert knowledge of the neighborhoods, homes, and lifestyle.

Margaret Ludemann

@properties Realtor

847-401-1802   MargaretLudemann@gmail.com

92 days, 2 hours, 18 minutes, 53 seconds

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OK, this will be a little different from my normal weekly blogs about real estate in The Glen (in Glenview Illinois). Well, actually, it will be a lot different.  This blog is about a piece of real estate that’s diamond shaped and measures about 340′ down the lines and 400′ to center.  Confused?  Well, if you are a baseball fan like me you know what I’m talking about, so read on.

As an active – very active – realtor serving The Glen I have three professional websites. My Glen website is www.homesintheglen.com which will tell you everything you want to know (and more) about this great development. Tower Crossing is the very popular townhome community in The Glen, and it’s where I live. My website – with loads of information about this community – is www.towercrossinghomes.com. I have a more generic website, too, www.margaretludemann.com.

So what’s the baseball angle? Well, if you’re like me you are already counting down the days until baseball’s Opening Day. I used to get out my calendar and count the days, but then I thought…hey, I’ll get an electronic counter timed for that magical day when life in all its glory begins anew.

So on the bottom of the home pages of my three websites you’ll find an Opening Day Counter…by days, hours, and minutes. Oh…seconds too! As I type this blog I see that I only have to wait 92 more days + 2 hours, 18 minutes and 53 seconds.  I can’t wait.

Pretty cool, huh?

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

847-401-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com

Kids in The Glen

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Kids. Lots of them. Right here in The Glen!

In fact we have 1,336 children (ages birth through the 12th grade) in the 1,254 privately owned homes in this upscale residential and retail community in Glenview Illinois. As a long time Glen resident and as a Realtor who focuses heavily on The Glen, I know what a wonderful place this is for children. I have a 15 year old son who has grown up here, and he loves everything about it. Gallery Park, Lake Glenview, soccer fields, tennis courts, Kohl Children’s Museum, Arclight Movie Theater, and so much more.

We have eight developments with privately owned homes in The Glen, not counting Westgate which is under construction. Here is a breakdown of children in each:

Chapel Crossing: 167 homes 284 kids 1.7 kids p/home

Landings: 143 homes 236 kids 1.65 kids p/home

Southgate: 299 homes 413 kids 1.38 kids p/ home

Cambridge: 244 homes 234 kids 0.96 kids p/home

Regency: 148 homes 76 kids 0.51 kids p/home

Tower Crossing: 154 homes 73 kids 0.47 kids p/home

Patriot Commons: 68 homes 16 kids 0.24 kids p/home

Glen Shore: 31 homes 4 kids 0.13 kids p/home

Not surprisingly the developments with the most single family homes have the highest percentage of children p/home: Chapel Crossing and Landings. Southgate and Cambridge have a mix of single family homes and attached housing. On the other end of the spectrum, the developments with the most attached housing (mainly townhomes and condos) have the lowest percentage of children p/home: Tower Crossing, Regency, Patriot Commons and Glen Shore.

If you would like to know more about The Glen please give me a call.

Margaret Ludemann, Realtor, @properties

847-401-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com

The new norm at Tower Crossing in The Glen…prices over $700,000

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Home prices at the ultra-cool Tower Crossing townhome development in The Glen (in Glenview Illinois) are hitting post-recession highs. Built between 2003 and 2007 these 4 story brick, Georgian style homes offer between 3,031 and 4,105 square feet of luxury living. There are 6 basic models and 9 floor plans. In addition to their beauty and size a huge appeal to Tower Crossing townhomes is their proximity to Glen Town Center, The Glen’s popular and upscale retail and dining “main street”. In fact they border Glen Town Center on 3 sides making a walk to dinner nothing more than a short stroll.

Digging into pricing data recently I found exactly what I expected. A materially higher percentage of Tower Crossing homes are now selling for $700,000 or more than in recent years. In 2010 there were no $700,000 sales. In the next two years (2011/2012) approximately a fourth of sales were at this level; and this grew to about half of sales in 2013/2014. But in 2015 (through mid-November) 93% of sales (13 of 14) were at $700,000 or more! The prices of larger Tower Crossing models (such as the Blackstone, Omni, and Biltmore) have been selling well into the $700’s for a few years, but now even smaller homes (for instance Valencias and Drakes) have reached $700,000+ price points. Because these smaller (though still quite large) models are selling in the low $700,000, the prices of larger models are increasing into the high $700’s and even the $800’s. In fact we saw a sale at $800,000 or more in 2014 and another in 2015. I sold both of these magnificent homes, and incidentally…they were worth every penny. I believe I have another $800,000 sale waiting in the wings. Until last year we hadn’t seen an $800,000 sale since at least 2007. Of course what any home will sell for is influenced by its condition, by market factors (including competition) at the time of listing, and by choice of realtor.

For more information about Tower Crossing you can go to www.towercrossinghomes.com or contact me at 847-401-1802 or margaretludemann@gmail.com. I am a Tower Crossing homeowner and an award winning Realtor.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Real Estate

Homeowner associations’ role in a home sale

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Home sale transactions in The Glen generally involve homeowner associations after an agreement has been reached between buyers and sellers. When the Village of Glenview Illinois took ownership of the former Naval Air Station Glenview in the late 1990’s it developed a master plan for its use. The result is what we now know as The Glen with large areas of luxury homes, a retail area known as Glen Town Center, commercial space for corporate and professional offices, and open space as well.

The residential areas were divided into several large parcels, and home builders were allowed to submit bids for development. This resulted in the following neighborhoods being built: Cambridge, Chapel Crossing, Glen Shore, Landings, Southgate, and Tower Crossing. Three additional developments have since been built: Regency, Patriot Commons, and Westgate. The latter two are still under construction. Homeowner associations, generally referred to as HOAs, were created; and they are governed by boards of directors composed of residents.

Generally speaking if a home is being sold in an area governed by a homeowners association – whether it is The Glen or elsewhere – that association will likely be asked to provide governing documents such as articles of incorporation, bylaws, covenants, rules, and regulations. They also are asked for financial information and the status of legal actions. Attorneys representing the buyer, seller, and lender review these documents. It is important for the buyer and the lender to understand the financial and legal health of the association. Among other things they want to know whether there are outstanding obligations that could impact the new owner. If there are lawsuits or excessive debt a buyer may not wish to complete the purchase and/or the prospective lender may choose to deny the home mortgage application.

The HOAs that I am aware of in The Glen are sound, and seldom do I hear of problems that result in a failure of a housing purchase. I am a Glen resident, and I am an active Realtor in the local real estate market. If you may be interested in buying or renting a home in The Glen, please contact me at 847-401-1802 or margaretludemann@gmail.com.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor