The Woods of South Barrington is a Toll Brothers Community with an active adult 55 gated community called Regency Collection at The Woods of South Barrington in Illinois. South Barrington has long been accepted the luxury part of Barrington and this community is no exception. Setting a higher standard for adult communities is the goal of Toll Brothers and this is the only designated 55 or better community in Barrington. Located close to the new South Barrington Arboretum Shopping Mall and within easy reach of major arterial routes to Chicago and O'Hare Airport, the homes are luxuriously appointed.   Regency Collection Community Features: Gated Community Walking Trails & Preserved Open Areas Resort Style Club House Outdoor Swimmming Pool Tennis Courts & Bocce Ball Court Putting Green & S... 11/24/2009

Homes For Rent in Barrington IL - Townhomes and Single Family Homes Search for homes for rent  in Barrington IL  at my Property Search Web Site There are always a variety of homes for rent in Barrington IL from condos and townhomes to single family homes and even luxury homes. If you are coming to live in Barrington Illinois you might want to consider looking at rentals. Then you can spend up to a year learning more about our beautiful area before you start looking for a home to buy. It will give you plenty of time to find the right home in the right part of Barrington. Here are some ideas when searching homes for rent in Barrington: Condos of which there is a reasonable supply. There may be availability in the village or in Lake Barrington Shores a gated community. Townhomes. Again the... 11/19/2009

Barrington Illinois as well as some of the surrounding communities like Invermess, Kildeer, Long Grove is lucky. Or I should say the residents are lucky. Our area is somewhat immune to the the world of mortgage defaults. I am not saying we don't have any, but our rate of foreclosures is very low. The last time I looked up the data we were still under 2%. If I compare this to some areas in California, Florida, Arizona that have foreclosure rates as high as 40% or more, then yes we are lucky. Barrington is a very popular place to live. With the great school district, lower taxes than some other areas, it is not surprising with all the online and on TV buzz about foreclosures, that buyers have stepped up to the plate and want to buy a foreclosure here. Indeed, this week alone I have receie... 11/17/2009

If you are an investor buying real estate in Illinois as an LLC or INC there are some very important documents that are being ommitted by your Realtors 9 times out of 10 when submitting pucrhase contracts.I know this because I have listings that are REO (Bank Owned) and the lower level prices do tend to attract investors that operate as LLC's. On a current listing I have, every contract submitted as an LLC has not had the Articles with it! You must submit a contract using our usual forms but if the buyer on your contract is entered as your LLC or INC then you must submit the Articles of Incorporation with your contract.  In addition you should be careful how you sign the contract as the buyer. Depending on how you formed your incorporated company dictates how you sign the purchase contr... 11/12/2009

Barrington Illinois Realtor - Where's My Focus So you have read a lot of blogs about Barrington, you visit many web sites, perhaps you are looking to move to Barrington, need help buying or selling perhaps renting. Do you wonder who could help you buy a foreclosure in Barrington, sell a short sale in Barrington? Where is Barrington Illinois and who can help you find the right Barrington for you? With this fun little tool at www.wordle.net I asked it to visit my blog and create a word picture based on the content of my blog. It reads the blog and creates this fun graphic with the most common words being the words that are the biggest. I guess you could say Barrington is my thing! Feel free to click and view the larger image, but don't forget to come back here and read my blog. Search for... 11/09/2009

Barrington Illinois Short Sales - Tips for Sellers - Accepting Offers or Not!In my first short sale blog I talked about Pricing Your Short Sale Listing in Barrington IL.Then I discussed  Advertising Short Sales and how they deserve more effort than some may care to give.You can read why Dual Agency is not suggested for Short Sales in Barrington or anywhere in Illinois.Now we are going to move on to what to do with offers and whther you should accept them.Who Owns the House? You or the Bank? The answer to this is very simple, YOU. It is your name on the title and therefore it is you that makes the decisions.If you receive an offer for your home, you are under no obligation to accept it if it is an unrealistic amount, and you are under no obligation to send it to the lender for their cons... 11/08/2009

South Barrington Homes - Luxury Homes at Nathan's Glen Nathan's Glen in South Barrington is a small 14 lot subdivision of new homes. Currently there are 2 homes for sale ready to move into. There are also  lots available so you can pick your own and have either the builder or your own builder design and build your custom home. Lot sizes are 1 plus acres.The 2 homes currently available have all stone exteriors. Accommodations are about 9000 square feet with 4 or more bedrooms, 6 or 7 bathrooms, 5 fireplaces, 4 car garages and all the luxury features you would expect when buying a home for $2,500,000 and up.$525,000 will buy you a lot, come and pick the best! End of cul de sac locations are available.Nathan's Glen in South Barrington is gated and no doubt once finished owners will require... 11/04/2009

Bank Owned - Vacant Lots in Barrington IL or Deer Park Illinois - Foreclosures? You Bet! There are currently 5 lots in the Barrington Illinois area that are bank owned. 4 of them are in Deer Park and 1 in Barrington. Sizes are just under 1 acre to just under 2 acres and prices are $169,900 for the smallest and $320,000 for 1.77 acres the largest.There is one lot marked as a short sale and the price is currently $755,000 for 6.3 acres. My opinion is this is much too high as some 5 acre lots have been selling for $320,000 to $350,000.If you are considering buying a lot to hold for new construction sometime in the future and you are going to finance the purchase, be sure to check the terms of a loan for a land purchase. You may be required to re-pay it in 2 years time. Will there be more? ... 11/03/2009

Property Management Companies - Barrington - Inverness - Lake Zurich - Lake County - Cook County - McHenry County - Palatine - Hawthorn Woods - Long Grove - Luxury Homes Are you looking for a property manager? Royal Advocate Realty in Barrington has competitive rates for Barrington and the surrounding North Chicago Suburbs including Lake, Cook  and McHenry Counties and specializes in single family homes. Fees: Tenant Finding fee is one months rent. Property management fee is 10% of the monthly rent. Vacant properties assessed individually.Discount of property management fees to 8% if we provide both services, subject to a monthly minimum of $75.00 per month. Services: If Rented: We will drive by and inspect your home monthly. Interior inspections will be carried out quarterley to make s... 10/29/2009

Barrington Illinois Short Sales - Tips for Sellers - Dual Agency - Advisable or Not?In my first short sale blog this month we talked about Pricing Your Short Sale Listing in Barrington IL.Then I discussed  Advertising Short Sales and how they deserve more effort than some may care to give.Now we are going to move on to perhaps what may be a critical decision, Dual Agency.Definition of Dual Agency: Licensed agent acting on behalf of the seller and buyer of the same property.First lets see what a Realtor can do for both the buyer and a seller in any dual agency situation. I am specifically addressing sales so have excluded verbiage related to leasing. Treat all clients honestly Provide information about a property to a buyer. Disclose all latent material defects in the property that are k... 10/25/2009

South Barrington Illinois Luxury Homes - Eastings Mere - Exclusive 18 Home Development on Eastings Way Eastings Mere is located off Route 62 just south of the Palatine Road junction in South Barrington. It is a single street, Eastings Way, which wraps itself around a lake and has been extensively planted with trees.There are 18 homes in Eastings Mere, a South Barrington subdivision.  Homes were built in 1988 to about 1999 and are typically brick homes with 4 bedrooms and sizes from 3500 square feet to 7000. Homes are situated on 1 to 2 acre lots. There is one victorian style home in Eastings Mere. There are no available homes for sale here today. The last sale was in 2007.Eastings Way properties are typical of the type of home you can find in South Barrington with higher end and luxury ... 10/20/2009

Barrington Illinois Short Sales - Tips for Sellers - Advertising The ListingIn my first short sale blog this month we talked about Pricing Your Short Sale Listing in Barrington IL.Now we are going to move on to advertising the home once listed and some things you should consider.By their very nature short sales are to Realtors a more difficult property to sell and one that has a lower chance of success, even if priced well. One might consider that properties listing in the higher points may become even more difficult. Here are the reasons why. No purchase of a short sale is likely to be considered if it is contingent upon another sale. This just adds another level of delay to a sale. Low ball offers may be all that you will get. Buyers can get impatient with waiting for responses from b... 10/18/2009

If like me you mow your own yard, then it is time to put the mowers away for another year. This year has not been one of  week in week out lawn mowing. Typically we have a very active spring when the grass goes wild, followed by a dry summer when the grass goes brown and dry, followed by a more active fall when the rain gets it going again. This year we do not seem to have had as much fall rain, add to that the unseasonal cool temperatures for October and the grass has all but shut down. If it grows any more I don't think it will be much, and we decided following last weekends cut to put the tractor away for the winter.Here are a few tips if you have a tractor. Before storing, clean as much of the dead grass off the cutting deck and blades as you can. Your tractor can be stored outside ... 10/15/2009

The first chart is showing the marketing times for home sales in Barrington Hills for 2009 to date. With only 21 sales to date this iot is difficult to reach any real conclusions about market trends in Barrington Hills alone.The next chart reveals the sales price to asking price percentage. Again it is difficult to see trends with so few sales in 9 months. Barrington Hills currently has 114 active real estate listings with many older homes available at the lower end of the pricing, and if you have $2 and half million or more to spend there is a choice of 34 homes to choose from with prices up to $17 million.  Most of the upper price homes are new construction.Search for your piece of Barrington Hills by clicking the link below and contact Corinne Guest on 847-363-3686 if you have any qu... 10/11/2009

  Pricing - If you have reached the conclusion and decision that you need to try to sell your home and have to try for a short sale, pricing is a key factor for success. It is a little bit of a balancing act and you will need to play the balancing game, but if you do not give pricing the right considerations then your short sale is going to fail. Pricing High - I wonder about those short sale listings I have seen in Barrington Illinois that were priced way above market value. Did they really want to sell or were they posturing to the lender saying they were trying to sell as a short sale and the house was listed for sale with a Realtor. An example of that very situation occured on my subdivision. The house was listed as a short sale at far above market value, almost $200,000 above which... 10/11/2009

The Village of Barrington Illinois and the Different Types of Properties. Our village dates back to the 1800's  and there are still homes in the area that are as old as this. Some of our victorian style homes have been extremely well cared for.  Today The Village of Barrington is changing. There are homes that are being torn down and new larger homes built on the lots. Typically the homes being torn down are the smaller ones, not those larger Victorian beauties. This regeneration has slowed down over the last few years due to the market conditions and there are a number of newly built homes available for sale as short sales. This is sad but a great opportunity to buy a new home in the village at a good price if that is what you care for. The home below was newly built 3 years ago using ... 10/11/2009

I guess the photo says it all, but this is one of my kitties. She is a little girl at only 8lbs, has a big personality and lets nothing get in the way of her ideas. Because she is little in size, she fits into all manner of things. Take some of the water bottles out of a case and she gets in under the plastic to hide and pounce on whoever walks past the pantry door. Now she has decided that Halloween is for her, but I reminded her that if she stays in the treat bowl she may get picked and taken away. A quick boo sent her flying for cover. Trick or treat is coming, make sure you keep your pets safe, they can quickly escape with the door opening and closing a lot. I know every single one of my cats will take any opportunity to get outside.**************************************************... 10/11/2009

Luxury South Barrington IL Homes For Sale. Currently there are 71 Homes for sale in South Barrington, IL a village in the Barrington Illinois area. Out of those 71 homes for sale, 3 are Short Sales and none are bank owned. That shows that South Barrington has a very low incidence of foreclosures and short sales. South Barrington. The name is synonymous with luxury homes and not so long ago you would have needed at least $800,000 to buy a home here. Prices here have dropped like every where else and single family homes start in the upper $500,000's but go to $5 million and higher. Toll Brothers has built a new community called The Woods which comprises single family homes and also an adult community. Homes in the adult community are ranch homes and are availabe at about $500,000. The hig... 10/10/2009

Barrington Illinois is located some 40 miles north west of the city of Chicago. Chicago metro area is very large and Barrington is within the suburbs.  So what does the suburbs of Chicago conjure up in your mind? If you have not been to Barrington Illinois you will not have experienced our beautiful area. So here is a little taste of how Barrington  can actually feel like the county. These 3 photos were taken from my back stoop in Lake Barrington as the sun was setting today.Our trees have started turning all the glorious colors of fall and it wont be long before we start the winter season and snow. Contact me if you would like to find your scenic part of Barrington, there is plenty to choose from.************************************************************************* Search all prope... 10/09/2009

The first chart is showing the marketing times for home sales in South Barrington for 2009 to date. March only had 1 sale and the home went under contract in 9 days, skewing the averages a little. In todays market we do see some properties sell in a short time frame but it is not the norm. In general South Barrington closes approximately 2 to 4 homes per month.The next chart reveals the sales price to asking price percentage. As you can see South Barrington homes are selling on average for about 90% of the final list price. In a good market we expect to see this higher at 95%. ************************************************************************* Search all properties at http//www.realestateinbarrington.com Contact Corinne Guest ABR, e-PRO, GRI, Broker, Royal Advocate Realty Licensed... 10/09/2009