Bill Bein's (wbein) Blog

1.     Do not put children, even teenagers, in charge of preparing, moving, or keeping track of pets. 2.     Remember that even though you have lived in a home for a few years, for a young child it is nearly a lifetime! 3.     Avoid moving during school.  Ideally, move 1-3 months before a new sch...

It’s now possible to get property listed in the MLS for a low flat fee or perhaps even sell it on your own through Craig’s List. But, without the help of a full-service agent, you would, in essence, be hiring yourself as your own agent. Here are some stories of people who did sell property for th...

It’s now possible to get property listed in the MLS for a low flat fee or perhaps even sell it on your own through Craig’s List. But, without the help of a full-service agent, you would, in essence, be hiring yourself as your own agent. And, for you to do that job well, we think you must be able ...

When you put a home on the market, it’s important to practice some common-sense security tips: 1.  For your own safety, never set an appointment with anyone to see your home unless they have given you their name and number and you have called back to verify that number. An easy way to do this is ...

10.  Number the boxes and keep a list of what’s in them and which room the box goes into.  Pack by room – do not combine items from different rooms into one box. 11.  Reinforce the bottom of boxes with heavier items for added strength. And this is just the start of what you’ll find at www.Chicago...

8.     Place china in plastic bags and stack plates upright on their sides, not flat. 9.     Label boxes that contain fragile items with large red lettering. And this is just the start of what you’ll find at www.Chicagoland2to4Flats.info!!!

5.     Pack boxes to 50 pounds or less. 6.     Pack heavy items into their own smaller boxes and put lighter items into larger boxes.  Do not pack all your books in one box! 7.     Don’t move flammable, corrosive, explosive items such as paint, gasoline, ammunition.   And this is just the start o...

1.     Save all receipts!  Some of your moving expenses are tax deductible. 2.     Figure out how much your time, energy and mental health are worth – then consider hiring movers, house cleaners, carpet cleaners, so on.  Moving is stressful enough without adding other tasks and projects. 3.     D...

“Arm-Chair” Investors are those who do NOT want to live in the property they buy (a more precise term for this would be “NON-owner occupied”). The question we ask here is: Where have ‘arm-chair’ investors like that been concentrating their investments? Our work with arm-chair investors has led us...

An escrow account is a neutral depository held by your lender for funds that will be used to pay expenses incurred by the property, such as taxes, assessments, property insurance, or mortgage insurance premiums which fall due in the future.  You will pay one-twelfth of the annual amount of these ...