Real Estate Tips

DIY Home Projects to Help the Time Fly During the Pandemic

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DIY Home Projects to Help the Time Fly During the Pandemic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:  Special Guest Contributor, Bob Shannon of Seniorsmeet.org

Staying at home more often means you’re doing your part to stop the spread of infection, but it doesn’t mean you have to be bored. When you’re not working or going out as much, there are plenty of DIY home improvement projects you can do to help pass the time. Working on small renovations can help boost your mood by giving you a fresh perspective. It can also boost your home’s value, which will come in handy when it’s time to list. Learn about a few of the best DIY projects you can do while staying closer to home below.

For exceptional real estate service, work with Lisa Finks, Lourdes Arencibia & Carolyn Duris! Call (847) 778-0540 or complete this form.

Give Your Cabinets a Makeover

Doing a full kitchen remodel might be tempting, but it’s a large scale project that requires the help of several professionals. If you’re trying to practice social distancing, it’s probably best to avoid such projects for the time being. Luckily, kitchens can be freshened up with many smaller-scale projects, too.

For example, there are so many possibilities for making your cabinets look like new. Repainting your cabinets or updating the hardware can give your kitchen an entirely new feel. Good Housekeeping says there are a lot of mistakes to be made when painting cabinets yourself, but knowing the pitfalls will help you get the best results. Plan ample time and buy the right materials, and you’ll love your refreshed space!

Revamp Your Master Bedroom

You probably spend a lot of time in your master bedroom, which is why it deserves a makeover every now and then. Looking at before and after is a great way to get inspired. Something as simple as a fresh coat of paint can enliven a dated bedroom. Or you can take it a step further by getting a new area rug, adding storage solutions or updating your window treatments to make the room look bigger.

Update Your Fixtures

One of the cheapest and easiest ways to revive your interior design is to update your hardware and fixtures. Installing new light switch covers, towel bars, door handles or shower heads is a great way to make dated features look new. You can replace all of these things with basic tools you probably already have around the house.

The best part of updating these fixtures is that the parts are small enough to be delivered to your house without racking up major shipping costs. You can also support small local businesses such as hardware stores by calling to order the parts you need. Many local businesses will ship items or allow you to pick up your order outside the store.

Put in a New Door

Many homeowners get fixated on interior improvements because it’s what they see the most. However, many exterior projects can be worth the time and money. In fact, when you consider the return on investment (ROI), many exterior renovations will give you a higher ROI than interior jobs. On top of that, you gain health benefits from being outside that are welcome at any time but especially during a pandemic, like stress reduction and an immune system boost.

Projects such as adding a deck, overhauling your landscaping or putting in a new garage door are great ways to boost your home’s value, but they usually require help from the pros. A smaller job to consider is a front door replacement.

Installing a new steel entry door costs about $1,300, but your return is around $1,200, according to Budget Dumpster. If your current door is in good condition, giving it a fresh coat of paint is a cost-effective way to boost your curb appeal.

When to Call a Pro

It’s not in your or your home’s best interest to attempt certain projects. Roofing, electrical, structural, and major plumbing work is best left to the professionals as tackling these projects on your own could be dangerous and possibly damage your home. For example, if you need a roof replacement or repair, reach out to the skilled and reliable professionals. If you want to surround the perimeter of your property with a fence, work with reputable contractors instead of doing the work on your own, as professionals will be aware of underground utility lines. As you vet fence companies, read reviews and feedback from past customers.

Doing DIY projects is a great way to be productive when you’re self-isolating. Many projects are cheap and easy to do, while also increasing the value of your home. Plus, when you take on small-scale projects, you can usually get the items you need delivered to your door, making it easier to practice social distancing.

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Bob Shannon created SeniorsMeet.org, along with his wife, Mary, to have a website that allows seniors to meet up and talk about topics that are relevant to their daily lives. They hope to build SeniorsMeet into a community of like-minded seniors.

Bidding Wars and How to Win Them!

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The Strangely Effective (and Easy) Way to Win a Bidding War

Which tactics are most likely to improve a buyer’s chances of beating out other bidders? New data show some surprising answers

Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal.

Bidding Wars - Effective Strategies for Winning Your Dream Home

By

Leigh Kamping-Carder

Cash may be king, but words are pretty powerful, too: One of the most effective ways to win a bidding war is to write the seller a letter.

All-cash offers nearly doubled a buyer’s chances of trumping others, while waiving a financing contingency—effectively agreeing to forfeit the deposit if a buyer can’t get a mortgage—boosted a buyer’s odds by 57.9%, according to new data. Surprisingly, penning a cover letter came in a close third, increasing a buyer’s odds by 52.2%. The numbers are more dramatic in the priciest 10% of the market: All-cash offers were 437.8% more likely to succeed, while cover letters increased a luxury buyer’s chances by 75.7%.

The data are based on about 14,000 offers in 2016 and 2017 that involved competing bids and were written by agents at Redfin, a Seattle-based real-estate brokerage. Although the luxury market has slowed nationally, bidding wars are still common in some areas. In December, 45% of Redfin offers faced competition, up from 43% a year earlier.

The numbers underscore the emotions at play. Perfectly rational sellers should choose the highest bid. But often offers that minimize downside risk, like one that doesn’t tie the sale to securing a mortgage, are more attractive than offers that maximize upside—like a higher offer that requires a loan, said Ravi Dhar, director of the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management.
Underlying this is an economic theory known as loss aversion, which states that “losing hurts almost twice as much as winning,” Mr. Dhar said. “If you found $10 in the street, you’ll be happy; but if you lose $5, it hurts even more.” To avoid the pain of losing out on a deal, sellers often choose the sure thing—even if it means accepting less money.

That explains the power of an all-cash offer. It signals that a deal is more likely to close, and quickly. “Today’s seller is tomorrow’s buyer,” said Nela Richardson, Redfin’s chief economist. “When inventory is tight you need a sure thing on the transaction.” High-end sellers, who tend to be less price sensitive, might be even more willing to accept lower prices in exchange for the added security of a cash bid, especially if the offer is above the property’s appraised value. And luxury buyers—including a larger percentage of foreign investors—are less likely to rely on financing in the first place.

A couple won a bidding war over this San Francisco home by writing a letter. It described their two-year hunt for a home in the Noe Valley neighborhood, and praised the home’s architecture and an adjacent playground. PHOTO: OPEN HOMES PHOTOGRAPHY/COMPASS

In addition to flattering a seller’s ego—or assuring him or her the home will be cared for—a letter can also signal that the buyer is serious, which translates into a willingness to follow through even if hurdles come up in the sales process. In this way, the letter is another tool to increase the seller’s confidence. Mr. Dhar likened the exchange to a hospital that requires doctors to wear clean shoes. It is a tangible way of convincing patients of something intangible, in this case the quality of the medical care.

Compass agent Amanda Sharp recently worked with a couple who won a bidding war for a three-bedroom house in San Francisco listed for $2.395 million. Her buyers wrote a letter describing their two-year hunt for a home in the Noe Valley neighborhood, and praising the home’s architecture and an adjacent playground. “You want to convey that you’re a person behind this contract,” Ms. Sharp said.

The sellers, a family with teenage children, accepted the couple’s $2.56 million bid over two similarly priced offers, one of which was all cash from an investor. “In this case, emotion won over my clients,” said Compass’s Lamisse Droubi, the listing agent.

Some bidding-war tactics will fail to improve buyers’ chances because they are too commonplace in competitive markets. Waiving a buyer’s right to revise or break off a deal if a property fails a home inspection, for example, offered no significant boost, according to the data. “Waiving contingencies is something that almost is mandated by how scarce the inventory is, how competitive the market is, and how wealthy most buyers and sellers are,” Redfin’s Ms. Richardson said.

Alexander Joo won a bidding war for this Seattle house. He wrote a letter describing how he wanted to be part of the community and vowed to maintain the house, rather than tear it down. PHOTO: WIQAN ANG FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Conversely, certain tactics are simply not used in some markets. None of the offers in Austin and San Francisco used escalation clauses—an agreement to beat the highest offer by a certain amount—but 71.7% of Seattle bidders used them. While an escalation clause might work in some cities, in other places they might put off a seller or agent unfamiliar with this tactic.

Alexander Joo used several strategies in November when he beat out half a dozen offers for his Seattle house.

Mr. Joo, 32, recently moved back from California for a job at a 3D-printer startup. He fell in love with an airy, cedar-shingled four-bedroom built into a hillside. He and his agent, Kyle Moss of Redfin, put together an offer waiving financing and inspection contingencies. Mr. Joo pledged to pay $10,000 more than the highest offer that the seller would otherwise accept. (The home was asking $735,000.) He also produced a $50,000 deposit, about twice the usual amount. “I understood that I would either have to make compromises or take some risks,” Mr. Joo said.

Mr. Joo learned that the seller was an active local volunteer, and had custom-built the home years earlier. In a letter, Mr. Joo described how he wanted to be part of the community and maintain the house, rather than tear it down. In the end, he paid $822,500 for the property, beating out a higher offer contingent on a home inspection.

Mr. Moss said he advises about half of his buyers—in cases when they have sympathetic stories, or when the owners are selling for a reason other than price—to write cover letters. (He likely wouldn’t advise an investor planning to rent out the home to write to the seller.) He attributed Mr. Joo’s success to convincing the seller she could rely on him to close. “Confidence will save you money every time,” Mr. Moss said.

Taking Advantage of the New Tax Break for Property Owners – Plan Now

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Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal

Taking Advantage of the New Tax Break for Property Owners – Plan Now

Landlords, want to claim a recently added 20% tax break for 2019? You might need to send out 1099 forms early next week and more.

ILLUSTRATION: KIERSTEN ESSENPREIS

By Laura Saunders

Rental real estate is renowned for its many tax breaks, and the 2017 tax overhaul added a new one. Landlords who want to claim it for 2019 should be planning now, because they may need to send 1099 forms early next year.

The benefit is the so-called 199A deduction of 20%. It applies to business income—including rental income—earned by many sole proprietorships, limited-liability companies, partnerships and S corporations. These entities pass through profits and losses directly to their owners’ individual tax returns, instead of paying tax at the corporate level.

Lots of Americans hold rental real estate in these types of firms. For 2017, about 20 million filers reported $344 billion in rental income on Schedule E of their individual returns, according to Internal Revenue Service data cited by the National Apartment Association, an industry group.

Both taxpayers and advisers are confused about the new provision. Tony Nitti, a certified public accountant with RubinBrown in Denver, says that five days before the Oct. 15 tax-filing deadline, when preparers are often frantic, more than 200 people signed up for his seminar on the 199A deduction.

“Nearly two years after the law passed, people are still asking the most basic questions—like who gets it,” he says.

The confusion is understandable. The 199A provision has added new layers of complexity to laws already chock-full of them.

Still, landlords should check out the new provision. Smaller landlords often have income below the threshold where some curbs on the tax break begin, which is taxable income below $160,725 for single filers and $321,400 for married couples filing jointly in 2019. Landlords earning more could also benefit because of last-minute tweaks to the law in 2017, says Mr. Nitti.

Property owners who want to claim the 199A deduction for this year should pay attention now because key filing deadlines arrive early in 2020. Many tax preparers gave clients a pass on these deadlines on 2018 returns because the IRS hadn’t issued final guidance.

“Now we know the rules, and the longer they are on the books, the less leeway tax preparers have,” says Jeffrey Porter, a CPA in Huntington, W.Va.

Here are issues for landlords to consider regarding the new deduction.

Profit or loss? The 199A deduction doesn’t apply if rental owners have net losses from properties. Rental losses aren’t always bad: Some buildings that are appreciating have paper losses because of deductions for depreciation, interest, and other costs.

If there are losses, the owner might benefit instead by qualifying as a “real estate professional,” because those who do can deduct their losses against other income such as wages or capital gains. But the requirements are demanding, such as spending more than 750 hours and half of one’s working time on the real-estate business. Many would-be professionals fail the test.

Tax specialists say that with current low interest rates and longer depreciable lives, more rentals are showing profits.

“Trade or business”? To get the 199A deduction, the taxpayer’s rental income must be from a “trade or business” as determined by tax law.

This is a sticky issue, and 80 years of case law hasn’t resolved when rental real estate falls into this category, says James Hamill, a CPA with Reynolds Hix & Co. in Albuquerque, N.M. The firm has scores of clients who own rental real estate.

Confusing things further, the IRS released “safe harbor” guidance in late September detailing when the agency will automatically accept that rental real estate is a trade or business. But its hurdles are high.

“It’s essentially impossible for a landlord who owns a single property or two to qualify as a trade or business under the IRS’s safe harbor,” says Mr. Hamill.

Both Mr. Hamill and Mr. Nitti think case law provides ample justification for many rental owners, even small ones, to be in a trade or business outside the IRS’s safe harbor, even if they are employees of another business.

1099 forms. These forms are a key requirement for rental owners claiming the 199A deduction. The owner must issue them to providers of most services who charge $600 or more that aren’t corporations and they must also send a copy to the IRS.

For example, 1099 forms are typically due if a plumber does separate jobs on your rental property adding up to $750 in a year.

Landlords who want a 199A deduction for 2019 must send 1099s by Jan. 31, 2020. The penalty for not filing begins at $50 for each form not sent by that date and rises steeply. For forms not sent by Aug. 1, the penalty is $270 each.

Record-keeping. Landlords are sometimes casual about record-keeping. Owners who want a 199A deduction need to keep careful records and not commingle funds, specialists say. For landlords using the trade or business safe harbor, record-keeping requirements are stringent.

Personal use. Owners with substantial personal use of a property can’t take the 199A deduction for it, so it’s not available on the beach or lake home you sometimes rent out. Other tax rules apply to mixed-use vacation homes.

For these properties, don’t forget one of the best tax freebies: People who rent their home for 14 or fewer days a year get to pocket the income from it tax-free.

Heirloom Homes – Saving It For Your Family

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Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal

Heirloom Homes – Saving It for your Family

Passing down a family home can be wonderful but can also be rife with family problems if not well planned

lake home

This four-bedroom house in East Lyme, Conn., was built by Elisha Cooper’s great-grandfather in 1913. JULIE BIDWELL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By Amy Gamerman

Jeremy Wolff, a photographer based in upstate New York, is part owner of a six-bedroom beach house near Hyannis on Cape Cod in Massachusetts that has been in his family since the 1940s. His co-owners? Nearly 30 relatives, including eight cousins and their families, who book their visits on a family website.

“There’s sometimes some tension—like, ‘You always get the upstairs front bedroom’—little squabbly things like that,” Mr. Wolff said.

The joy of having an heirloom vacation home in the family sometimes comes with a side order of angst: costly upkeep, perpetual repairs and ancient yet enduring sibling rivalries. A legacy lake house or mountain lodge may be shared by scads of siblings and cousins, who have to figure out how to divvy up prime vacation weeks and holidays, to say nothing of property taxes and maintenance responsibilities. Basic decisions—like reupholstering Grandma’s sofa—are anything but basic when a dozen or more relatives have to sign off.

lake home

The living room of the East Lyme cottage, partly owned by Elisha Cooper, is lined with pictures, family mementos and books. PHOTO: JULIE BIDWELL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“The process of the family deciding and agreeing on replacing the fabric literally took five years,” said Mr. Wolff.

Elisha Cooper, an author whose children’s book “River” was just published, owns one-sixth of a 2,000-square-foot, four-bedroom cottage with a wraparound porch on Black Point in East Lyme, Conn., that his great-grandfather built in 1913.

“It’s basically a porch with a cottage attached,” said Mr. Cooper, 48, who lives with his wife and two daughters in New York City. The house, which was placed in a family trust in the mid-1990s, is shared by three branches of his extended family, in New York, Massachusetts and London. “I split my branch’s share with my brother,” said Mr. Cooper, adding, “at some point, we’re each going to own a toilet.”

lake home

Mr. Cooper owns approximately one-sixth of the cottage. PHOTO: JULIE BIDWELL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The uninsulated cottage occupies a prime 1.3-acre spot on a grassy hill overlooking the salt marsh and ocean. In 2016, the town assessor appraised its value as $945,000. Mr. Cooper’s share of taxes and insurance comes to several thousand dollars a year. This year, it is his turn as manager of the Black Point property, which involves overseeing its maintenance and the schedule: each branch gets 42 prime spring, summer and fall days, to be meted out among its individual members (the home is boarded up for the winter). Major holidays are divvied up, “so if somebody takes Labor Day, someone else is going to take July 4th,” Mr. Cooper said.

There are pitfalls to sharing an heirloom home that happens to be full of heirlooms. “My cat got obsessed with this old wooden model boat and knocked it off the piano—that was a family drama,” Mr. Cooper recalled. “I had to spend $3,000 to re-rig and fix the boat because it was an antique.” Some of his relatives prefer a more low-tech approach to home repairs: “There’s a broken chair and it’s just left with some tape on it—or twine, done in a nice bow.”

Family summits take place on Memorial and Labor Day weekends.

“We all gather—my aunt flies in from London—and we sit on the porch and we talk. These are big decisions, like ‘Do we cut the field?’ and ‘How is that going to affect the monarch butterfly migration?’ ” Mr. Cooper said. “We never argue, that’s because we are New Englanders. We silently and very politely disagree.”

lake home

Schuyler Grant’s cottage on Long Island Sound in Fenwick, Conn., built in 1868, has been in her family for three generations. JULIE BIDWELL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Some farsighted matriarchs and patriarchs endow trusts so that legacy properties will stay in the family with minimal discord or generational financial strain. Gerry and Del Carrier, who own a 5,000-square-foot mountain ski home in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, created a trust in 2013 so that their five children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren can enjoy the house “in perpetuity,” in Mr. Carrier’s words.

“We estimated taxes, we estimated the maintenance—we are leaving them with very adequate financing so that it will not be a burden,” said Mr. Carrier, 84, a retired dentist who owns a second home in Vero Beach, Fla.

Mr. and Mrs. Carrier, who is 83, acquired the half-acre lot with views of Mount Washington for $1,500 in 1968, building a modest three-bedroom home where they brought their children every weekend. In 2005, they embarked on a $750,000 remodel and expansion, adding a wraparound porch, a dining room spacious enough for 25, a large bunkroom for the grandchildren and a bedroom suite for each of their children—a critical element for maintaining family harmony. There are seven bedrooms in all. At the time they established the trust, the house was appraised at $1.2 million, Mr. Carrier said.

lake home

Jeff Krasno and Schuyler Grant on the steps of their Fenwick home with their children, Phoebe, 15, Ondine, 12 and Micah, 9. PHOTO: JULIE BIDWELL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

His children and grandchildren use the house throughout the year, coming for the fall foliage, skiing in the winter, hiking and kayaking in the summer. The entire clan gathers there every Christmas.

“For as long as I can remember, every Friday night my father piled his five children into a station wagon to go to a retreat where we could just bind together as a family,” said Michelle Carrier-Trial, 59, a lawyer based in southeastern Massachusetts. She and her younger brother are the home’s two trustees: ultimately, each of the siblings will own an equal share in the house. “After my parents are gone, we hope to keep it the same way for our children,” she said.

Sometimes, however, a beloved home can become an albatross for the current generation. As a child, Schuyler Grant spent every summer at her grandparents’ seaside vacation home—just down the beach from her great-aunt Katharine Hepburn—in the Connecticut borough of Fenwick, an enclave of grand Victorian-era cottages on Long Island Sound. Built in 1868, the six-bedroom shingled house has a deep porch, its own pebbly beach and four generations of Grant and Hepburn family history.

“Every time I would come through the door, I was bathed in this smell of the house—it was like a portal to this whole other world of tennis lessons and duck belts,” said Ms. Grant, who lives with her husband and three daughters in Los Angeles. “It was extremely buttoned up—I used to have to dress for drinks every night in Laura Ashley smocks.”

Ms. Grant, 49, founder of Kula Yoga Project, in New York, and her husband Jeff Krasno, 48, founder of Commune, an online learning platform, bought the 5,400-square-foot Fenwick home in 2009 from her aunt, the actress Katharine Houghton, for $1.8 million, public records show. Their family shares the house with Mr. Krasno’s father and stepmother, Richard and Carin Krasno, who contribute toward the costs of maintaining the property and who visit every August and September from their home in Coral Gables, Fla.

lake home

Three generations of the Carrier family use the house throughout the year. PHOTO: RACHEL SIEBEN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“Everybody has to be their highest self—it can get really difficult,” Ms. Grant said of the dynamics. Plus: “There’s always one leak in the house that they haven’t been able to fix in 160 years, so it comes with a certain amount of buckets.”

The family spends nearly $50,000 annually in property taxes, including a Fenwick borough tax. Standard maintenance and upkeep adds another $27,000 every year. That doesn’t include the cost of reshingling the house or replacing its rattling, circa-1970s windows; the latter cost about $100,000. Ms. Grant, who offsets these expenses by renting out the house for part of the summer, reluctantly put it on the market for $3.375 million last year.

“The expense is so great, the emotional and financial upkeep is so massive, that if you are not really there then it’s so hard to justify,” said Ms. Grant. “Our dream is that we find this awesome family that wants to buy the house, but they are a little cash-strapped and have to rent it back to us in August.”

Tips For Keeping Grandma’s House
In The Family

1. Make sure your descendants actually want the house. “It’s common sense: the heirs don’t always have the same values,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants. He advises clients “to really survey their family and have a talk about it—the children should be an active part of the planning.”

2. To head off family feuds, spats over remodeling, prime holidays, or a push to sell, transfer ownership of the house to a limited liability company, with a user agreement that sets out terms and conditions. Or create a trust for the property with its own bylaws. That way, Grandma can make sure that everyone plays by her rules for the cottage long after she’s gone.

3. That roof is going to spring a leak sooner or later. Create a dedicated fund for maintenance, taxes and other costs, supported by annual contributions from family members. Note: If you break a lamp or a doorknob comes off in your hand, fix it yourself or prepare for frost at the Labor Day clambake.

4. Have an exit strategy. Any long-term plan should factor in the possibility that descendants may need to sell. Outline provisions for doing so. “Personal situations are going to change,” said Mr. Miller. “Many of these owners are between a rock and a hard place, trapped between nostalgia and hard economic reality.”

5. Remember: It’s just a house. “It’s really more about the family itself than the real estate,” Mr. Miller said. “Those Thanksgiving meals and family get-togethers were special because of the occupants of the house—not the house itself.”

 

 

 

Compass Concierge on Chicago’s North Shore

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Now available on Chicago’s North Shore! Get funding to front the costs for improvements that increase the value of your home!

Lisa Finks & Lourdes Arencibia are your Compass Concierge experts for Chicago's North Shore. We will ensure you make smart improvements in the most economical way to increase the value of your home on Chicago's North Shore.

Lisa & Lourdes are pleased to bring you Compass Concierge, a game-changing program for home sellers on the North Shore and throughout Chicago.

Preparing for Market:

Getting your home ready for market can seem overwhelming with a long “to-do” list and an even larger hit to the wallet!  We’re here to take the sting out of getting ready for market with this exclusive program for home sellers.

Imagine a pain-free prep period. . .

We can enroll you in the Compass Concierge program so that all costs associated with making improvements to increase the value of your home are fronted by Compass.  You simply pay Compass back at closing, no fees or interest!

Not sure what improvements to make? We’ve got you covered!! As experts in using this program, Lisa & Lourdes will also ensure you make smart choices in the most economical way possible. Today’s buyers have definite expectations and we understand how best to appeal to them. Influenced by HGTV and conditioned by social media (yet short on time and cash), buyers consequently want and need move-in ready homes. The Concierge program helps position your home to meet these expectations.

Reach out to book a free Compass Concierge consultation so we can recommend top improvements to boost your home’s value.

The Nuts and Bolts:

Wondering who will do the work? We tap into our extensive network of top quality vendors to get everything done, Or feel free to use your own trusted folks!  Concierge covers improvements such as staging, repairs, cleaning, landscaping and renovations, up to approximately 3% of your list price!

When to start? Now is a great time! The North Shore housing market begins early, usually right after Super Bowl Sunday. As a result, it’s a great time to start talking and thinking about how to prepare to sell your home.  Also, starting now leaves plenty of time pre- and post-holiday to get the work done!

Finally, you can learn more about Compass Concierge here.

Reach out! We’d love to help unlock the potential of your home!

Realtors as Sherpas?

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realtor as sherpa

Daniel Prudek / Shutterstock.com

So. . .

Ever thought of a Realtor as a Sherpa?

Hadn’t crossed my mind either but the folks at Adwerx have made the connection:  if you were going to climb Mt Everest, you would know what tools to get and you could acquire those tools but you would not know the way to utilize everything or the path to the top so you would hire a sherpa.

The same goes for buying and selling homes.  Clients have access to many resources online and otherwise but don’t always know the best way to make sure the deal hits the closing table so they hire a Realtor.  I am proud to be featured as a Realtor in Adwerx’s ongoing series #BeTheSherpa for exceptional service to my clients.  Read my story here.  Call me if you are thinking about buying or selling as I’d love to open your next door too! @Adwerx.

Retargeting Ads Help Sell Wilmette Homes

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High Tech Marketing: Retargeting Ads Help Sell Wilmette Homes

Ever looked at a pair of shoes on Amazon then had that same pair of shoes follow you around the world wide web?  You know the ones, taunting you, “Buy Me, Buy Me, Buy Me”!  In all likelihood, you’ve succumbed, at least once.  This style of advertising is called retargeting. It works to sell shoes and it works to sell homes too!  I am proud to offer every one of my sellers a 3 week retargeting campaign as part of my service package in order to entice as many potential buyers as possible to come take a look at their home.  My partnership with Adwerx, the largest retargeted marketing real estate company, allows my listings to appear on NewYorkTimes.com, Yahoo.com, USAToday.com, etc. If an individual located near one of my listings has also visited a real estate-related website, they will find my listing popping up as they cruise around the web.  This keeps my listings top of mind for potential buyers and gets my sellers’ homes in front of the people most likely to  buy or sell a home.  With more than 7,000 impressions a week targeting local buyers with a demonstrated interest in real estate, my sellers receive every advantage in the marketplace.  Embracing high tech solutions while incorporating traditional methods is not only wise, but also essential when marketing homes in this highly competitive marketplace. @Adwerx.

Lisa Finks Uses High Tech Retargeting Ads to Market her Listings

Lisa Finks Uses High Tech Retargeting Ads to Market her Listings

Residential solar power spreads in Wilmette | The Wilmette Beacon

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The Drucker Family is believed to be one of the first families in Wilmette to install solar panels

The Drucker Family is believed to be one of the first families in Wilmette to install solar panels

 

Residential solar power spreads in Wilmette | The Wilmette Beacon

Reprinted from The Wilmette Beacon.

Ten years ago, Beth and Harry Drucker installed solar panels on the roof of their home on the 2500 block of Greenwood Avenue in Wilmette.

The Druckers are known around Wilmette for being a green couple. Beth Drucker co-founded Go Green Wilmette in 2006. They drive a Toyota Prius with “Reduce” on the vanity plate, though they ride their bikes when they can. They also have smaller-impact habits: turning off lights and unplugging electronics when they’re not in use.

And the solar panels were yet another way to be green — as well as to inform people about a lesser-known industry. While the Village of Wilmette does not have records that indicate the first residential solar panels installed in Wilmette, the Druckers’ home is believed to be one of the first.

“We wanted to put these things up to have conversations with people,” Harry Drucker said.

The Druckers’ panels, though undeniably noticeable, are quietly effective: Two solar thermal panels face the southern skies, transferring solar energy into heat that warms their water supply. Twelve solar photovoltaic panels face southwest and convert solar energy into electricity.

Heat and electricity production are at the highest during the summer, but the Druckers said the panels will provide half their warm water and electricity over the course of the year.

Since those panels were installed in 2006, similar installations have adorned Wilmette, notated by a detailed map maintained by the Druckers.

It shows most of the 27 residential installations spread across town as far west as New Trier Court and as far east as Michigan Avenue.

Regina Dominican High School and Highcrest Middle School also have solar photovoltaic panels.

Six new installations sprung up in 2015, the probable result of Solar Chicago, a short-lived program that pooled communities — including Wilmette — together to buy panels in bulk.

But increases like these, albeit progress, are still slow to come.

“A lot of us needed to start doing this stuff yesterday,” Harry Drucker said.

Solar in Illinois

Illinois ranks 18th nationwide in number of solar-powered homes, according to current data from The Solar Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to make solar energy more understandable.

Of the approximately 22,090 solar-powered homes in Illinois, Cook County ranks first in the number of individually installed solar arrays (the linking of several solar panels), with 127 as of December 2015.

But not all areas of Cook County are conducive to drawing solar energy.

“When you’re in an area like Wilmette, sometimes it doesn’t make sense [to have solar panels] because of tree coverage,” said Community Development Director John Adler, who helps permit residents who want to install solar panels.

While trees are a boon to property values, they present challenges to those wanting to benefit from solar power.

Bruce and Laurie Davidson live on the 100 block of 17th Street, a road with a smattering of mature trees.

About a year ago, they installed 10 panels on the north-facing roof of their home and eight panels on the south-facing roof. Electricity generation is more productive on the south roof, but Bruce said there was only room for eight panels there.

Paul Doughty and his wife, Kim Rode, live in a home enshrouded by trees and vegetation on the 1900 block of Lake Avenue.

They found installing 20 solar panels on the roof of their detached garage, where they grow vegetables in storage bins on the perimeter, was the most efficient. Their array has been in place since February 2015.

In 2014, the Village of Wilmette eased some regulations required of solar energy systems to make it easier for residents to install the systems.

But still, installation requires diligence.

“I wish the process were more turnkey,” Doughty said. “It’s not quite easy in Illinois yet.”

The politics of panels

Incentives for solar through the federal government are reliable: Residents can receive a 30 percent tax credit on qualified expenditures from their solar installations.

Incentives through the state are less forthright.

Last December, a bill was passed through the Illinois legislature to extend the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Solar and Wind Energy Rebate and Grant program through 2020.

But restrictive permitting and installation deadlines subsequently imposed on homeowners looking for rebates, along with a long waiting period to see whether a system is approved for a rebate, turns some off from the whole process, said Lisa Albrecht, a board member of the Illinois Solar Energy Association.

“People assume solar is a do-gooder decision, but in reality, the numbers have to be there or people won’t make the investment, so rebates were really important,” said Albrecht, who is a renewable energy specialist for Solar Service Inc., a Niles-based solar installation company.

Most of those installing solar systems are from the middle or middle-upper class, Albrecht said.

In 2006, the Druckers, who had Solar Service Inc. install their panels, paid $17,956 out-of-pocket for their 14 solar thermal and solar photovoltaic panels. They received both a federal tax credit and a state rebate.

Harry predicts it will take another five years for the panels to pay off.

The cost of Paul and Kim’s 20 panels in 2015 was $10,488 after a 20 percent discount for taking part in the Solar Chicago program was applied, as well as a federal tax credit and state rebate. They are waiting for the state to release funds for solar renewable energy credits, a program in which they enrolled last summer that is supposed to pay quarterly based on solar production.

Those looking to install systems now may not see as many incentives while funds remain intangible.

“Illinois’ policies have been very broken and they’ve been quite unreliable,” Albrecht said. “You never know if you’re going to get assistance in purchasing a system.”

The benefits of solar

But for those ready to dole out some cash — and patience — for these systems, there are benefits.

An electric bill of the Druckers’ in May totaled 68 cents for electric use — the lowest they’ve seen. At its highest, their bill has been $35.

Paul Doughty and Kim Rode installed their system when their daughter encouraged them to do so after she came home from a field trip with the fourth-grade class at Harper Elementary School to see the Druckers’ system.

“It was daunting at first to learn about this, particularly if you’re not of an engineering bend,” Doughty said. “But it’s a good investment for the home, and it makes it more attractive.”

“People are really curious about it,” Kim added. “Being able to tell others about it has opened a lot of people’s eyes.”

And of course, many value feeling green.

“We look everywhere and we see the opportunity to make clean, renewable energy,” Beth Drucker said.

Doughty suggested looking for those opportunities: “You can do more than filling up your recycling bin to call yourself green.”

Source: Residential solar power spreads in Wilmette | The Wilmette Beacon

Tax Benefits of the CAGE – Wilmette

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Do you know about the huge tax benefits of the CAGE? The CAGE is one of the most desired areas in all of the North Shore, and especially Wilmette.  Its proximity to the lakefront, as well as downtown Wilmette, make its expansive lawns and grand homes very popular.  About 600 homes in the CAGE fall within the Ouilmette Historic Landmark District and this can have a huge impact on the property tax bills for these homes.

Tax Benefits of the CAGE – Wilmette:  Ouilmette Historical Landmark District

When purchasing a home within this historic district, if you spend 25% or more of the home’s fair cash value (as determined by the assessor’s office), you can receive a property tax freeze for 8 years, with a graduated step-up for an additional 4. Purchasing an older home in this historic district can really benefit your pocketbook and maintain an important piece of Wilmette history.  For details about the tax freeze, click here.  If you would like help in finding your dream home in the CAGE or elsewhere in Wilmette, please email or call me at 847-778-0540 – I’d be happy to help!

Ouilmette North National Register District Map