North Shore Real Estate Agent Recommendation (sex offenders, brokers, house)

[cohdane]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

Making relevent a buyer's agent's negotiating batting average does not hold water without knowing the local market. That an agent closes, on average, say within 1% of the asking price is irrelevent information unless you know how the asking price stacked up against the facts of very recent closed comps and how badly the buyer wanted the house. One also does not know beans about the seller's assist with closing costs or the increasingly testy home inspection issues, which do not reflect in any data base.

As usual, good point.

I guess I was thinking if there was a trend overall-- but in a market like this, not sure how many agents are doing enough work at $900k to identify trends.

[GolfLover2]

Originally Posted by Mrygal

Hey there,
My husband and I are moving from the DC area to the North Shore area for work at the end of the summer. We're hoping you guys could give us some recs for real estate agents. Personality and experience are huge for us and would like someone who's energetic and amiable and well-versed in the homes selling up to 900K. --we're trying to avoid the slimy or snooty salesman type of personalities. We need someone energetic because we'd like to look at a lot of homes over a small period of time (eg, one or two days). Thanks in advance!

Mrygal: I have a suggestion of a gentleman that is a North Shore Realtor with Coldwell Banker. He is extremely well-qualified, knows the immediate market you seek, and is very personable. I believe that you would be very comfortable and happy with his services. Please write my email for further information, or call. Best of luck to you ...

[Rlest8]

Mrygal-Are you focused on a particular portion of the North Shore? If so where or do you know?

[howardmeyers]

Hi. My wife and I are very experienced, extremely client focused real estate agents who conduct our business through an extremely well respected firm in Winnetka. We have lived on the North Shore for over 25 years and are very familiar with the nuances of the individual towns as well as the big picture issues. We have an extensive list of recent references who would be happy to discuss their experience with us. You can find a bit about us at www.meyersnorthshore.com Our business is built on customer service and referrals from current and previous clients. We'd love to help you find a great home at a reasonable price.

[Mrygal]

Hi all,

Thanks for the input...we are going to be meeting with a recommended agent when we come to town in a couple of weeks. We're looking at Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe and Glenview. We're also looking at Highland Park but we're not sure if that's too far north. We need to be able to easily and quickly access North Shore hospitals. Any opinions on how values in those neighborhoods have changed/are changing?

[US-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Mrygal

Hi all,

Thanks for the input...we are going to be meeting with a recommended agent when we come to town in a couple of weeks. We're looking at Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe and Glenview. We're also looking at Highland Park but we're not sure if that's too far north. We need to be able to easily and quickly access North Shore hospitals. Any opinions on how values in those neighborhoods have changed/are changing?

Oh dear. I hope you aren't coming here to practice medicine! Illinois is a disaster zone for doctors, particularly Cook County.

[Anthera]

They are all prety stable.

If you are in Wilmette/Winnetka you can literally ride your bike to Evanston Hospital. Glenbrook Hospital is about 10-15 minutes by car. Highland Park Hospital would be a bit longer but not much.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Probably true that the inventory is different enough in Lake Forest that an agent in Winnetka might not be the best bet.

Even if you do not have kids / kids are many years from high school it is fairly common to focus on high school attendance area as a criteria for limiting the town(s) you are going to focus on -- New Trier covers several, but many other high schools make it pretty easy to narrow in on one or two, and real estate agents rather frequently do specialize in one area or another as the families wit kids very often do need / want to stay in district...

Its not just the inventory. A LF agent would be in the loop about any issues(road widening, school closings or halfway home for rapists opening) in LF. An Evanston agent would be well aware of the same issues in Evanston but not in LF.

A friend had her house on the market several years ago and knew exactly why local agents weren't showing it (sex offender lived across the street). Seller's agents aren't required to disclose this information, but the local agents all knew about the case and weren't going to show it to their clients.

[Rlest8]

Originally Posted by Anthera

Its not just the inventory. A LF agent would be in the loop about any issues(road widening, school closings or halfway home for rapists opening) in LF. An Evanston agent would be well aware of the same issues in Evanston but not in LF.

A friend had her house on the market several years ago and knew exactly why local agents weren't showing it (sex offender lived across the street). Seller's agents aren't required to disclose this information, but the local agents all knew about the case and weren't going to show it to their clients.

All very good points. Real Estate is very local.

[cohdane]

Originally Posted by Anthera

They are all prety stable.

You're kidding, right?


November, 2008:
Housing Snapshot For Winnetka, Kenilworth, Wilmette & Glencoe (http://ezinearticles.com/?Housing-Snapshot-For-Winnetka,-Kenilworth,-Wilmette-and-Glencoe&id=1671949 - broken link)

August, 2009:
http://tinyurl.com/ylgb5q3 (broken link)

November, 2009:
Real Estate Blog - Chicago Tribune Says Home Sales Up! Is Is True in Winnetka & North Shore Suburbs?


And let's not forget the Fed stops buying mortgage backed securities in two weeks and the home buyer credit only covers contracts through April.

After that?