If you have decided to sell your Barrington home, or perhaps a home in a nearby suburb so you can buy a home in Barrington, one of the first things I'll do with you is walk through your home with to discuss any glaring problems. One of the most common is floors. Whether it's tired carpet, outrageous colors, broken tiles, old "yellowed" vinyl, un-moveable stains, or a big water accident, it's never a good idea to just hope a buyer will inherit your flooring problem with a smile and a bigger check. If they love your property, yes they might buy, but they'll undoubtedly want to deduct the cost because of those floors. Most likely they will move on to a home where there are no issues. As for previously covered but now bare floors, well that just opens a whole bag of what happened questions.... 11/03/2012

You've decided to buy a home. After looking at a dozen or more you've found the one. It looks very well cared for, everything has been updated and by the looks of it quite recently. The lawns are neatly trimmed, bushes and flowers are showpiece quality, even the sellers left you some drinks and home-made cookies to snack on with juice boxes for the kids. The  price is right, you have literally stumbled across a gem. You make an offer, negotiate a little, reach an agreement and a contract is signed, sealed and delivered. You are patting yourself on the back for finding such a wonderful home, with nothing needed to be done (you think), and although you have 5 business days to carry out your inspections you consider the a home inspection, likely costing somewhere around $300 to $500 (depen... 11/02/2012

Barrington Real Estate - Is My Offer Confidential? When you are in the market to buy a home, as your buyers agent I am required to advise you of several things. It's likely most buyers never really think about many of them, after all why would you, you just want to buy a house. It's why I suggest that we have a meet and greet at the outset in an informal setting, so we can go through the procedure and you can ask any questions. Today I wanted to discuss the confidentiality of your offer. In the business we refer to them as an offer to purchase. As your buyers agent all personal and financial information is forever confidential. I am bound by law to keep it confidential, even after you buy a home; or not. Information I know of that might affect your purchase about the seller or the prope... 11/01/2012

As I watch a property I have knowledge of go under contract as a bank owned home it reminds me to let buyers know that sometimes a short sale may well be the better choice. Why? Well let's back track a little and tell you the story. A good couple of years ago a property was listed as a short sale with a brokerage. The seller did not feel she was getting the best service from her Realtor and contacted me to discuss taking over the listing. For reasons not needed for this story, I did not take the listing. However my discussion with the seller revealed a major material defect in the property. The seller in full disclosure was making this known to all potential buyers. Her asking price dropped and dropped until eventually after not being able to sell as a short sale, the bank came along an... 10/28/2012

How will you know how much you can and should spend on a home? You've probably got an idea about how much you can afford. Great but before we go looking at homes let's talk some simple finance as part of the keep it simple real estate here in Barrington. A budget busting loan may stretch or exceed your monthly expenditure. If you need a mortgage  to buy your next home, contact a lender and get some numbers. First: How much do you qualify for - this is the maximum. What are the costs to close the loan. How much do you have saved. Deduct the closing costs from your deposit, add your loan and that's the most you can spend. Now: How much do you want to spend every month? Find out what mortgage this will pay for. What are the costs for this loan. Set your maximum home price based on what you... 09/14/2012

The table below lists all of the single family detached and single family attached homes currently on the market in Barrington, IL The data lists available homes by price range with average time on market in each range. Included in this list are many Foreclosures and Short Sale properties. Contact us for information on how we may assist you in seeing these properties. Active Listings List Price Range # Listings Avg. Days on Mkt Less than $49,999 1 41 $50,000 - $99,999 1 140 $100,000 - $149,999 19 198 $150,000 - $199,999 30 375 $200,000 - $249,999 28 175 $250,000 - $299,999 24 266 $300,000 - $349,999 26 193 $350,000 - $399,999 31 239 $400,000 - $449,999 18 271 $450,000 - $499,999 20 162 $500,000 - $549,999 9 519 $550,000 - $599,999 32 251 $600,000 - $699,999 46 362 $700,000 - $799,999 4... 09/12/2012

Home Sellers - If you are about to list your Barrington home for sale, you need to walk through with a critical eye; not the eye that is emotionally attached to this wonderful home that you have had many wonderful memories in. Of course we understand that and it can be hard to let go, but once your decision is made, prepare to take your memories with you and put the real estate business eye in place. Poorly maintained homes can be fixed, anything can be fixed. One or two items that need fixing are not too much of an issue. Sometimes as home owners we don't even realize something is wrong. However if you have a home that has been poorly maintained or even not at all over the last few years it's going to be fairly obvious. Buyers critical eyes - If you are priced at market value and your ... 09/06/2012

I often wonder why our map search does not get used very much so I thought I would explain a little more about how it works and also for whom it would work best. Who should Use the Barrington Real Estate Map Search? Think about it logically. You must know the area.  The Barrington real estate area has a village center and 8 surrounding communities. Each are very different in what they offer and the pricing. If you have knowledge of this then a map search could work very well, especially if you have a target area, like Lake Barrington for example, or even more focused on a gated neighborhood like Wynstone. Who Should Not Use the Barrington Real Estate Map Search? If you are not local and have never lived here, or if it's been a long time since you were here, then I suggest a different wa... 09/04/2012

Our last post covered the simple ways you can search for homes on this website. Now we'll talk about keeping the simplicity going by letting us do the work for you. You can continue to visit our site as often as you look to browse but at some point we hope your search will become more focused and that's the time to engage the advanced tools available. Forced Sign Up. We have no link because we don't force our visitors to sign up. Requested Sign Up. Again no link, unlike other sites that tease you with 1 or 3 homes than ask you to sign up, we don't. Photo Gallery Sign Up. Yes another teaser request sign up, we don't have it. We don't believe it serves our future clients well to give up their anonymity until they are ready. As you review your results you'll see buttons or text that say Sa... 09/03/2012

It's never hard to forget that because we know so much about our industry that we perceive it to be simple. After all we do it everyday. Buyers, sellers, tenants, landlords, contracts, inspections, attorneys, loans, contingencies and so on. The reality is we can make it more complex than it has to be. Our job is to micro manage everything we do but our clients don't need to, after all that's what we are being paid to do. I have already created a new category in my blog called Keep It Simple. It's my way of addressing everything that occurs when relocating and buying homes, and later I'll add selling homes. In the future it you need the simple version of what's going on in Barrington real estate all you need to do is click the Keep It Simple Category and find what you need simple answers... 09/03/2012

How can you search for homes at Real Estate in Barrington?  Let's explore the ways and then you can test drive whichever appeals to you most. Basic Real Estate Search First you select the type of property you are looking for, then the city or cities you are interested in. Use the control button to select multiple cities. Then add you price range, minimum bedrooms and bathrooms you want and select search. I suggest you ignore square footage as many of our listings do not have it and they would be excluded. I also suggest ignoring the days on market, it's not a useful addition to a general search. Detailed Real Estate Search Very similar to the basic search our detailed search helps you fine tune your results. Follow the same process for basic but now you'll see many additional options. S... 09/02/2012

With temps in the 93f range and a heat index of 96f, to say summers end here in Barrington seems somewhat ridiculous. However August is the last of the full summer months, even though fall does not start until September 22nd. It's also two thirds of the way through the year, so what better time than to take a look at the Barrington real estate market compared to last year to see if things are looking better. Home sales in the Barrington area from January through August 31, 2012 (v 2011) Number of homes sold so far this year is 381.  Same period 2011 there were 304. That's an increase of 25%. Number of vacant lots sold so far this year is 12. Same period 2011 there were 4. That's an increase of 200%. Average marketing time in 2012 is 211 days. Same period in 2011 it was 241 days. That's ... 08/31/2012

In case you missed part one. As I left part one it was 10.30 pm in the evening and I was adding a lockbox with key for the buyer agent to access the following morning. I asked the tenant to let me know when she had left, it was in her estimation going to be around midnight with the dogs being the final departure. All I needed was a text message so I could read it the following morning than I could let the seller and her daughter know we were going to closing. August 23rd 2012 5.30am my husband brings me my early morning British tea in bed and says, your phone is blowing up. Really! So I haul myself out of bed, and believe me I am not an early bird, and yes Jon has bought tea in bed for me since we got married 29+ years ago, my Dad started that because he did it for me too. I toddle down... 08/24/2012

This post is for anyone that doubts Realtors earn their money. Let me tell you a story, except this is a real life transaction, not fictional in any way shape or form. July 2011 I am contacted about listing a horse property in Unincorporated Barrington. She found me through my blog. She is in town to visit her Mom who lives in Chicago and to discuss the sale of her Mom's property in Barrington. We arrange to meet at the property, also making sure our schedule meets with the current tenant who has 5 dogs so we cannot go inside without her. July 2011 -  A Little Later Values discussed owner agrees to list and paperwork is mailed to her in Chicago. A week or so later, listing agreement is returned. Having been introduced to tenant, who whilst tearful that she has to leave such an awesome p... 08/24/2012

22094 N Countryside Lane in Unincorporated Barrington sold yesterday for $405,000 to a couple very excited to have so much land. Zoned for horses and in unincorporated Barrington made this property attractive at the right price and ownership is now in the hands of the buyers. It was a pleasure to work for these absentee owner sellers and although not the smoothest of transactions, I am always prepared to go the extra mile which was certainly needed for this transaction and appreciated at closing by sellers, buyers, buyers agent and both sellers and buyers attorney. Come back soon to read all about it. For now if you have a horse property to sell in the Barrington area, call the horse property expert Realtor in Barrington, I have horse property buyers visiting my web site every week to ... 08/23/2012

We talk often about relocation buyers, the process of moving from a different part of the country, finding a new community and ultimately a new home. Barrington is not the final destination of all buyers, we have relocation sellers too. So what can you expect from us if you hire RealEstateinBarringtonto sell your Barrington home so your relocation from Barrington succeeds. Success in relocating away is often measured emotionally more than financially. It goes without saying our goal is to sell your home for the highest the market will bear but part of our focus extends to the emotional side of a sale. Included in our consultations: Keeping the family apart for as little time as possible. Understanding your time line and setting calendar goals. Dealing with vacant homes if you've left an... 08/13/2012

The break in weather is a welcome relief from the dry hot summer we have had, and there's only a couple of weeks before the kids start the new school year. But the summer isn't over yet and nor is home selling season. Owners that will be listing their Barrington houses for sale towards the end of summer have an active 3 months of home buying and selling ahead. July and August have been slower than the active spring months but that's normal around here.  When the kids are not in school it's family summer vacation time. It's also camp time, activity time, and if you're not going away on vacation it's just time to kick back and get some well deserved rest. Why does the market pick up again and why can sellers feel confident about listing Barrington houses for sale? We know the reason thing... 08/10/2012

Hunters Ridge of South Barrington is luxury at it's finest! Hunters Ridge of South Barrington is a luxurious area featuring homes currently listed from $899,000, a Short Sale, to as high as $3,870,000 for a 13,808 square foot waterfront home. South Barrington offers incredible luxurious living unsurpassed by almost any other community in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. Downtown Chicago is only about a 45 minute drive which makes this community a great place for those who make a daily commute to the City for work. O'hare airport is less than a 30 minute drive for those who travel a lot by air. Do you like to shop? Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg is about a 10 minute drive from this area. The area offers all kinds of shopping as well as one of the best areas for dining west of Chicago. A ... 08/09/2012

I recently completed some property inspections near The Coves and The Glens of South Barrington.  Witt Road is one of the most scenic slow drives that connects West Penny Road to West Mundhank Road.  While driving in my convertible to complete these inspections I took a video clip to give you an idea of the types of homes and property that are available in this area.  You may view that clip by clicking on the video to the right of this blog that says 'The Coves of South Barrington'.There are currently 5 homes available in The Coves.  The prices range from $589,000 for a 4 bedroom 3 bath luxury home built in 1985 by Perry Bigelow of Bigelow Homes all the way to $3,200,000 for New Construction situated directly on the west side of the 85 acre lake.  This is luxury at it's finest for this ... 08/09/2012

Have you visited The Shops on Lageschulte recently?  This is a thriving area I visited recently while showing real estate in the Village of Barrington.  I shot a few pictures to share and even had a quick bite to eat at a great hot dog stand at the 'entrance' to this shopping area.Hungry for lunch?  Want a quick bite to eat?  Check out this unique place to satisfy your hunger.  You'll still have time to shop without wasting your entire lunch hour.'Dog Tracks' serves up a tasty selection of favorite fast food items that you can enjoy while sitting inside the restaurant.  While inside be sure to check out the unique wall hangings like this one of Wrigley Field.  Or, stroll outside on a nice day and sit at one of the picnic tables with unbrellas and enjoy good conversation with a friend.Af... 08/09/2012