We intend to put our house on the market this spring. We are leaning towards using one particular realtor, but given the current RE market, we thought we would do well to consider other possible agents.

Does anyone know of any realtors who have been comparatively more successful in the current market? Any experiences with agents you would strongly recommend, or advise against?

Thanks. Realize that your input will hasten my departure from this fair burg!

There are some agencies that will put your home on the MLS for a nominal fee ($300-$500) This gets it on the MLS. You choose how much to pay the selling agent generally 2.5% to 3% instead of 5.5% or 6% (i.e. You are only paying one agent not two so the commission you pay will be half, yet the agent who brings you the buyer will make the usual amount) The last house I sold was done this way.

I saved over $10K in commissions. The home sold in 3 months and I was listed on the MLS and had a Realtor sign out front and a realtor lock box on the front door. The realtor showing the house would call me set up a time, or they could come during regular business hours.

quote:

Realize that your input will hasten my departure from this fair burg!

This is the only reason that I will recommend Mo Rooney to you. Coldwell Banker...630-790-1000.

I know that you dislike most people...but you will like Maureen.

Dins if you have a ranch, we would be interested and you could skip the realtor.

Fan, try (for the new year) to be nice to Clam!

He has been very helpful and friendly to me for the past month. He is much nicer in person than he is on this board!

quote:

I'm taking him to the Winter Classic tomorrow.

Let me get this straight....you got the tickets for face value...I am paying you that amount, but because you think you can get $700 apiece for them...you consider that taking me? Is that right?

I anxiously await your one word answer.

Fan, Consider it done, just keep up the informative well written posts that always seem to coincide with my point of view. You have saved my much typing over the past year. I do however have one question. How does Clam spend so much time loitering at Gear Head, the Bike Shop and Starbums and still have time to post so much? He is so laid back in person, yet on this board he turns into the Tazmanian Devil.

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Originally posted by scotty:
Dins if you have a ranch, we would be interested and you could skip the realtor.

Sorry, no.
2-story, 5 bedrooms.
Tho the yard is large enough to run a few head...

New poster here, writing from Raleigh, NC. We're moving to GE in mid/late February. My wife and I spent three days looking around Chicago last November. We came up with a list of addresses from Realtor.com, to use as navigation points in the Garmin to get around. We looked at Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Mt. Prospect, Bloomingdale, and La Grange. However, our first stop was to the Signature Room in the Hancock Tower. As we sat there, eating our lunch and watching sheets of snow come in from the lake, we both looked at each other and said "what in the hell are we doing here?" However, the following morning we started our tour, with GE first. We fell in love with GE the moment we saw it, and said "ok, this is certainly do-able now". Our plan was to take advantage of the current market conditions, and try to enter into a lease-purchase option, instead of outright purchase. My wife had found a house that fit what we felt was a good "Chicago" feel. Contacted the realtor from our home in Raleigh "before our trip," but failed to receive a return phone call. We called her again from the driveway of the house, and again got v/m. She did call us back about an hour later, and we were able to see the house. We liked it, didn't love it. We told her we would be willing to pay their expenses under a lease with option to purchase. She said she would call us shortly, but didn't. However, a MUCH nicer home a block further "and closer to downtown" was on the market as well. Since we were flying blind, we stopped in at the local Baird & Warner office in downtown. Long story short, we were finalizing the details as we were boarding our plane to return to Raleigh the following morning. We're thrilled, the owners are thrilled, and the process was spot on perfect! Our agent's name was Meredith S. with Baird & Warner. By the time I returned to my office, the contract was on the fax machine, and we were in constant communication via the blackberry. She was very responsive, informative, and very nice to work with.

The other house? Well, we have yet to hear back from that listing agent, and it remains on the market, even as the price keeps falling.

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Originally posted by nc211:
the Signature Room in the Hancock Tower..... "what in the hell are we doing here?"

I had the same feeling.

Congrats on your purchase, nc! Hope the move is good for you. You'll notice some of us complain a bit on here but we do love GE and that's why we *itch - we want it to be as great as we know it can be. A pre-emptive welcome to you!

I would add John Miller as a potential agent. He is a friend and I'd think he would be attentive and helpful. Here is his website.

Another friend, Kathy Quaid, is really on her game and attentive too. Here is her site.

NC211, What are you doing??
My Raleigh friend contiunes to try to get me to move south. But, welcome! GE is a very nice place to live.

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Originally posted by Buggy24:
NC211, What are you doing??
My Raleigh friend contiunes to try to get me to move south. But, welcome! GE is a very nice place to live.

Hahaha, I'm not really sure! But considering the way things are going in the economy, specifically in my sector, Chicago is the rock that I am going to hide under until things blow over. Charlotte was my backup plan for many years, but it too has taken a severe beating, since BofA and Wachovia are both based there. Who knows what's going to happen with Wachovia "or it's former shell of operations", and BofA is laying off 35,000+ over the next 36 months. I'm in commercial real estate, and 09' is lining up to be the year that shoe drops. So, it's one in the hand, two in the bush time.

You'd like Raleigh, we do. But, in all honesty, after a few years, Raleigh can become quite boring. It's a second tier city. But, you can't beat having the outer banks 2 hours east, and the blue ridge parkway 2 hours west. It's also quite affordable. What would cost in excess of $1.5m there, would be about $800k here, plus lots of land and elbow room. But, no real traditional neighborhoods like GE. It's mostly PUDs. I will miss the smooth blacktop roads though, with twists and turns. Great sports car town. My comute now is 20 miles of beautiful back country roads to Chapel Hill. The only traffic jams I see are if someone's horses got out.

But, if you live here, you've got to put up with Clay Aiken, and John Edwards. Oh, and Duke University, in general.

I'm a-ok with folks *itching about stuff! It just means that folks are paying attention! Nothing kills the charm and attractivess of an area worse then a population base that just doesn't care what happens to/in it! So, *itch on!

I grew up in my early childhood years in Indiana. Have family still in Indiana. I'm a UNC Tar Heel fan for basketball, Alabama for football, like the Bears, and love the.....CUBS!

Hahaha! Considering I'm a grad of the UNC system, a former Birmingham resident, and the only other place I've lived that had a professional baseball team was Kansas City, two out of three ain't too bad. Trust me, being a Bama football fan hasn't been easy over the past several years. We've earned this year's performance, finally. Hey, at least I didn't mention my hockey pref! I figured I'd at least wait until I'm there before having my house rolled with toilet paper!

Such a strange coincidence, NC. A friend of ours who moved from Raleigh to Glen Ellyn 11 years ago just moved to California. They have family in Indiana and leased their home here in GE a few months ago to someone from out-of-town, lease to own deal, just like you've described! Small world.

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Originally posted by Amy:
Such a strange coincidence, NC. A friend of ours who moved from Raleigh to Glen Ellyn 11 years ago just moved to California. They have family in Indiana and leased their home here in GE a few months ago to someone from out-of-town, lease to own deal, just like you've described! Small world.

Hmmm..the tenants in the house now? If not, did they happen to move to West Hollywood?

The tenants are in the house. They moved to Encinitas. Pretty strange coincidence though, don't you think?

Really think leaving NC for Illinois is a bad move. North Carolina is still a growing state. Illinois has been and will continue to lose population. It like the rest of the Midwest is basically in a state of decline.

Chicago and its suburbs will be better off than most of the Midwest but eventually the overall weakness will affect Chicago and its Suburbs even the tonier ones like GE.

If you looking for a home there are over 100 homes in GE in the foreclosure process. So look there.

Also anyone selling his home now is desperate. So low ball the hell out of them. Take 25-30 percent off their listing price. Show no mercy.

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Originally posted by taxpayer:
Really think leaving NC for Illinois is a bad move...


Also anyone selling his home now is desperate. So low ball the hell out of them. Take 25-30 percent off their listing price. Show no mercy.

Thank you Mr. Diplomacy. I bet Dinsdale is truly pleased at your attack on his equity.

That said, my short sale business has never been better. And isn't it interesting that with all the purported bankruptcy reform of the past years, the bankruptcy business is booming?

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Originally posted by taxpayer:
Really think leaving NC for Illinois is a bad move. North Carolina is still a growing state. Illinois has been and will continue to lose population. It like the rest of the Midwest is basically in a state of decline.

Chicago and its suburbs will be better off than most of the Midwest but eventually the overall weakness will affect Chicago and its Suburbs even the tonier ones like GE.

If you looking for a home there are over 100 homes in GE in the foreclosure process. So look there.

Also anyone selling his home now is desperate. So low ball the hell out of them. Take 25-30 percent off their listing price. Show no mercy.

NC isn't really doing all that well. It has been holding up pretty well, but the bad times are coming, and in fact are beginning to appear right now. We have 3 primary sources of employment "outside of the university system" Banking in Charlotte, IT here in Raleigh, and textiles "furniture and such". We all know what's going on in the banking sector. IBM and Lenovo are starting to make deep cuts here now, and Bush's policy of shipping out the textile jobs has pretty much wiped out several of the smaller communities. It's a beautiful state, probably one of the most in the country actually. Several folks here from up north, and Florida "half-backs". Half-backs are those who retire to southern Florida from NY, OH, Il, only to be greeted by their first August, melt, and run halfway home...to North Carolina.

For me, staying here = taking my place with the tens of thousands looking for a job in the financial sector. Moving to Chicago = promotion, significant increase in income, and survival of the whipping the economy is dishing out, in true comfort. It's a no brainer for me. Although, we did just sign the papers with the realtor today to list our house here...a very sad day for us.