Category: Uncategorized
Wilmette new construction open houses
The asking price on 338 Greenleaf Ave, in Wilmette, has dropped from $2,195,000 to $1,995,000. It's open Sunday, June 25, from 1 to 3.
You can see [...]
The first-time buyer: Feels like the first time
As we watched the home inspectors swarm all over our prospective condo and the surrounding building, we realized with homebuying novices we were. We h [...]
Friday night gallery-hopping
Buckle up. This evening we're headed to Bridgeport, the West Loop and Wicker Park (samples below).
Bridgeport (June 2001). Photo by Joeff Davis
Mo [...]
Controversy over condo project and parking lot on Devon Avenue
Residents of West Rogers Park seem to be divided over the merits of a planned mixed-use development at Devon Avenue and Rockwell Street. Developer Tar [...]
The first-time buyer: Watching the detectives
So it was time to let loose our home inspector on the condo we planned to buy. We weren't too concerned - the building is only about nine years old an [...]
Ravenswood is on the South Side
Where's Ravenswood? It's on the South Side of Chicago.
As authority for that proposition we cite 1) the Encyclopedia of Chicago, quoted below, and 2) [...]
The first-time buyer: I want my HBO
Around the time we had decided to make an offer on a condo, my home inspector-to-be urged me to get a copy of the condo board minutes. He says that th [...]
Chicago taxis take on New York look
How about those glowy, triangular advertising doo-dahs that have been popping up on top of Chicago taxi cabs lately--the kind that New York City cabs [...]
The first-time buyer: All's fair in love and real estate
As I said in my last post, we made an offer on the condo, and all seemed to be going well. The seller was due to sign off on the counter-offer on the [...]
Fish are jumpin': catch them with Chicago Scenester neighborhood journal
There's quite possibly no better city in the world to spend a summer than Chicago, but it's easy to suffer from sensory overload. How do you keep up [...]
In south suburbs, take no prisoners approach to neighborhood disputes
And you thought it was bad on your block. Take a look at the situation in the nether reaches of the Southtown community, where somebody has apparently [...]
The first-time buyer: name your price – it's no small beer
Is there anything more anxiety-provoking than making an offer on a new home? How the hell do you come up with your price? We were clueless about the w [...]
Ah, the 'burbs – good schools, good lawns, more gangs
Sure, they have roots here and they have fun here, but when they reach the point where they're starting to get serious, to dabble in real estate and b [...]
Monday, Monday
It's Monday, Monday, manic or otherwise. Let's take a go around the Yo.
Ukranian Village: I will miss you, Edmar's
Hyde Park: Hyde Park murder
Rive [...]
Suburban dinner coupons!
Go to the suburbs for dinner on a Thursday, come home with Andrew Jackson. Sort of. If you dine on a Thursday at Carlucci (1801 Butterfield Road, Down [...]
"Seniors Gone Wild" at Grace Park
Woo-hoo! Who says the fun has to stop when you turn 55?! Not at Grace Park! It's a new seniors condo project where there is more action! and exclamati [...]
Friday night gallery-hopping
Buckle up. This evening we're headed to Edgewater, River North and Irving Park (samples below).
Metropolis, 1039 W Granville Ave (April 2005). Photo [...]
The first-time buyer: the FSBO and her fashion faux pas
So, in the hunt for our very first home, we decided we had looked at enough unimpressive rehabs, with their miserly dive rooms, and we should focus ba [...]
The first-time buyer: navigating the dive room
I'm still in the throes of conducting due diligence on the beautiful condo with the stinky hallway, and I haven't unearthed much today, so in the mean [...]
The first time buyer: On the trail of a (bad) scent
Thanks to those of you who responded to my cry for help yesterday, when I blogged about the God-awful odor in the common hallway outside the condo I'm [...]