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No-Fail Paint Selections for Staging Your Home
13 Mar 2019 | 2:00 pmWhen preparing to sell your home, it’s important to consider every step that will increase its appeal to potential buyers. While the existing color scheme made it feel like home to you, pressing the reset button to neutral will help potential buyers envision themselves living in the house. Skip the paint research-induced headaches by using these no-fail staging paint selections, and watch the sold sign go up in no time. All-Over Neutral: Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter This greige hue is a go-to choice to create a neutral backdrop in open areas. The grey-beige color can appear both warm and cool, depending on lighting. Pair Revere Pewter with white trim for a polished, neutral look. Suggested rooms: Open spaces, such as family rooms or open concept layouts. Go-To Gray: Sherwin Williams Crushed Ice This pale gray option blends in with virtually every design style. Whether your home is traditional, transitional or modern, Crushed Ice will seamlessly blend in the background, letting your home’s selling features shine. Suggested rooms: This chameleon color can be used throughout the house. Calming Blue: Benjamin Moore Blue Veil Help your home evoke vibes of peacefulness and calm, from the minute potential buyers walk through the door. This cool pale blue has enough color to subtly stand out, but not enough to dominate the space. Suggested rooms: The entryway, gathering spaces or bedrooms. All-Over White: Benjamin Moore Simply White With countless white paint options to choose from, it can be the most difficult color to select. This clean white has both warm and cool hues, making it work with a variety of decor styles and appeal to many different tastes. Suggested rooms: This crisp shade can help entryways or sun-drenched spaces shine. Create Space: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace This bright white can make any space appear larger. Crisp,[…]
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6 Places That Bring Louisiana Spirit to Chicago for Mardi Gras
5 Mar 2019 | 6:37 pmMardi Gras is a time for celebration, togetherness, and more importantly, great food. If a trip to New Orleans isn’t in the cards, Chicago has you covered. We’re sharing six places that bring that signature Louisiana flare to Chicago so you can celebrate locally. Laissez le bon temps rouler (let the good times roll)! Buddy Guy’s Legends Come in to Buddy Guy’s Legends and enjoy incredible blues performances, as well as Louisiana-style Cajun and soul food. There is no shortage of savory options, but our eyes are on their award-winning dishes; Buddy Guy’s gumbo, jambalaya, and catfish po’boys. If you’re looking for dinner (or lunch) and a show, look no further. Café Fifolet Fifolet are mystical legendary blue lights that float above the bayou in Louisiana. Folklore says that following the ball of light (fifolet) will lead to treasure. Follow Café Fifolet’s light to Damen and Division and find treasure in the form of delicious gumbo and jambalaya. Café Touché Café Touché brings some of the most authentic French flavors to Chicago. Featuring brunch, lunch, and dinner, you can find Louisiana-inspired dishes throughout. Enjoy a special menu during the week of Mardi Gras as well as a party on Tuesday, March 5th. Carnivale While Carnivale is known for its Latin-Fusion fare, there is no denying that they know how to celebrate. This year they are hosting a Mardi Gras Celebration where they’ll bring the taste of Mardi Gras. In addition to an exclusive, one-day only menu by Chef Ozzy Amelotti, Carnivale will be bringing live entertainment. Heaven on Seven Chef Jimmy Bannos of Heaven on Seven has a fierce passion for Cajun and Creole and that passion shows in his classic and inspired New Orleans-style dishes. From po’boys to étouffées, you’ll find a plethora of flavor packed bites. Bannos’ goal is[…]
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Agent Spotlight: The Phelps-Hanson Kardosh Group
1 Mar 2019 | 3:54 pmMeet Robin Phelps-Hanson and Amber Kardosh, the two powerhouses behind The Phelps-Hanson Kardosh Group. Both successful in their own right, this ambitious duo made the decision to partner-up once realizing their shared passion for client success; the two have been a match made in real estate heaven ever since. Describe your team in three words. Ambitious, Conscientious, Energetic. What were you doing previous to real estate and how did it prepare you for your current role? Robin – Web start-up coordinator; I learned to manage multiple projects at once, which is what we do everyday in real estate. Amber – Corporate sales; its a very people-oriented occupation, which helped me enter this job with the skills needed to work closely with clients. What sparked the decision to go into business together? We realized we both share the same high energy and drive to succeed for our clients. What is your favorite part of working together in real estate? Being able to call each other 20x per day for advice (and sometimes just to vent)! What do you love most about the neighborhood your team specializes in? We try to not specialize in one particular area, but rather stay educated in most. That being said, Amber is more of the loop girl while Robin covers more of the north side. How does your team stay involved in your community? We’re both very involved in the neighborhood public schools our children attend. What is your team’s proudest achievement to date? When we both made Top Producer status with over $20 million in volume for 2018! We then made the easy decision to become partners and grow our business together. What is the best advice your team has been given? Don’t panic. Don’t react. Do take days off. Do put the client first.[…]
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Introducing @/The Market: Our 2019 Market Outlook
27 Feb 2019 | 7:36 pmBuyers and sellers always have a lot of questions this time of year: Is now a good time to buy or sell a home? Where are prices headed? And what are the local trends that will impact my home search or sale? @properties co-founders Thad Wong and Mike Golden share their insights on these questions and more in @/The Market, our 2019 Market Outlook – the first of four quarterly updates to keep you informed. Set in the award-winning sales center of 1000M, a new luxury condominium development on Grant Park, the first episode takes on a number of questions about the Chicagoland real estate market including: Whether rising mortgage rates would slow home sales in 2019 Why some home sellers are taking on larger rehab projects prior to listing their homes Whether Chicago’s uber-luxury market is in for another record-breaking year Whether 2019 will be a buyers’ market or a sellers’ market in Chicago The webcast also includes data on a handful of Chicago-area neighborhoods and suburbs that are indicative of broader market trends. Wong and Golden, along with @properties vice presidents Kim Kerbis and Jim Barcelona, share their perspective on: Humboldt Park, which bucked the trend of moderate price growth with an average sales price increase of nearly 25% in 2018. Elmhurst, where a wave of new construction is among the key factors driving price growth. The average sales price in the community was up 5.6% in 2018, outperforming the overall market. Lake Forest, one of the markets that is grappling with high inventory as buyers get more selective about the condition and décor of homes they find appealing. North Center, where, counter-intuitively, tight supply may be a factor in the neighborhood’s price compression. Lincoln Park, which illustrates the strength of Chicago’s record-breaking uber-luxury market but also demonstrates[…]
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Spark Joy Faster: A Marie Kondo Cheat Sheet
22 Feb 2019 | 2:00 pmWhether you have heard about Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, or have seen the trailers for her Netflix series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, there is no mistaking that Marie Kondo will have a lasting influence on the way many people view their material possessions. The KonMari Method, Marie Kondo’s custom style of decluttering and organizing, helps you keep items that spark joy and eliminate everything else. If the thought of a certain closet or drawer creates stress, it’s likely you need some Marie Kondo in your life. If you don’t have time for a Netflix-binge, consider this your cheat sheet to KonMari your home. KonMari your belongings at one time To successfully KonMari your home, Kondo advises going through the tidying process at one time, by removing every item from your closet, drawers, etc., to determine what can stay and what needs to be eliminated. She also advises to organize by category, not by room. This means assess all clothes you own, including items you may store in another room. Ask yourself, “does it spark joy?” A simple but effective question, asking yourself if the item sparks joy can bring clarity to whether or not the item still belongs in your home. It may have served its purpose at one time, but now it’s time to part ways. Place this item into the donation pile. Focus on what to keep — not what to eliminate When assessing your items, shift your focus on what you want to keep, not what you want to eliminate. This offers a more edited approach to selecting the items that serve a purpose in your life. Go through every item before moving on to the next category (i.e. tackle all your clothes before moving on to your linen closet). It’s[…]
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Pricing Your Home to Sell This Spring
20 Feb 2019 | 3:25 pmWhen it comes to generating maximum interest and top dollar for your home, setting the right listing price (the first time) is crucial. Why? An overpriced home can scare off buyers, so it’s essential to set the right price during that critical “New Listing” period in which the largest pool of potential buyers will see your property. So if you’re getting ready to put your home on the market, how can you be sure to arrive at the appropriate listing price? Here are three main factors: Comps Your real estate broker will prepare a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) with the best recent comparable sales and listings to help you gauge pricing and market activity. A CMA is one of the most relied-upon methods brokers use to determine a home’s current value. Here at @properties, we have our own digital CMA tool that provides up-to-the-minute accurate data from the local Multiple Listing Service, so you can be aware of how the market is moving at any time. Supply and Demand Today’s headlines talk a lot about low inventory, but that’s the big-picture view. Supply and demand vary based on factors like location, product type and price, so it’s essential to be plugged in to what’s happening in your submarket. For example, Months’ Supply of Inventory (MSI) in all of Chicagoland stood at 3.8 months in January, while some suburbs averaged over 10 months worth of supply during that same period. (MSI forecasts how long it would take to sell off the remaining supply of inventory given the current pace of sales). If you live in an area that isn’t seeing a lot of activity, or your home appeals to a small niche, your pricing strategy will probably differ from someone who lives in a submarket where homes are flying off the[…]
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@gives back Raises Over $250,000 for the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
15 Feb 2019 | 10:25 pmAs part of our ongoing endeavor to help strengthen our neighborhoods, @gives back – @properties’ non-profit foundation – continually partners with local organizations that are dedicated to making a positive impact on the community. Our agents, employees and partners stepped up to the plate again in 2018, successfully raising $257,700 in support of The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation. Founded by Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the foundation raises money for cancer research and provides support to children and families battling the disease. Throughout the year, @gives back held various fundraisers including the Strike Out Cancer event. More than 300 guests attended the event, which featured a VIP reception with Rizzo, live entertainment, baseball-themed bites, and a silent auction with items including an exclusive dugout experience with Rizzo. Check out the video below to see the highlights. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this important cause and helped strike out cancer. Stay tuned for more @gives back announcements in 2019! https://www.atproperties.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Rizzo-Strike-Out-Cancer-V1.mp4 The post @gives back Raises Over $250,000 for the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation appeared first on @home.
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