For some time now, as a service to my clients, I have been providing additional pictures of some of the homes for sale in Champaign county.

Until recently, for homes with additional pictures, there has been a tab at the top of the home information page that said ‘More Pictures’. (You can see this for yourself by going to my Featured Listings page and choosing one of the homes there)

While this was useful, I decided I could make it better. Now, for any given home with additional pictures, I actually tell you on the tab how many additional pictures that there are. So, instead of just saying ‘More Pictures’, the tab will now say ’24 More Pictures’, or ’19 More Pictures’. This might seem like a small thing, but little touches like this can really draw you into a home listing and encourage you to discover more about the home.

This is just one more way that I’m distinguishing myself from other Realtors around. Contact me. I’d love to have you as client.

I offer a popular mortgage calculator on my website at www.AroundCU.com/calc that you can use to determine what your mortgage payments will be on a home that you are interested in. You can also get to this mortgage calculator by clicking on the ‘Mortgage Calc’ link in the tabs at the top of any home’s information.

From looking at how clients use my website, one thing that I have noticed over and over again is that people quickly change the percentage of down payment on their dream home from 20% to something smaller. Usually 0%. Alas, for the average homebuyer in today’s economy it just isn’t realistic to make that drastic of a change. I’m not choosing 20% as a starting point because I am evilly wanting you to see a lower monthly payment. Read on, dear client, to find out the motive.
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If you have thought about purchasing a foreclosure home because of the allure of getting an amazing deal, remember that in our area, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Last week, I had the opportunity to meet a client at one of the least expensive homes available in Champaign right now, a two-story foreclosure with a basement, priced at $29,950 (there are several homes priced even lower).  I was the first to arrive, so I thought I’d go inside and take a look around before meeting my client.  This home is not for most people, so keep this in mind when you look at the photos.  Remember also that this home is less than $30,000, a rare find anywhere. read more and view photos

Whether you are considering selling or buying your home, it is common to go through times of stress and through times of joy.  Regardless of how stressful things may be, when a home goes pending (a contract has been accepted), it is fair to expect that things will go normally, and in complete accordance with the dates and criteria set forth in the contract.  After all, when everything is written out in black and white, there is no room for mistakes, right? (more…)

When all is said and done, home-buying is a personal choice. You have to be happy with what you are buying, and I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.

Even though it is a personal choice, while you are looking for your dream home, it’s great to have input from people you know on the homes you are considering! Or, you might have found an interesting home and want to share the details with a spouse or other person that will be living there. Last night I added a new feature to home search on my website to make that a little bit easier. (read more and view screenshot)

Some of my buyers are in no hurry to purchase their home. They say something like, "We are willing to wait until a great deal comes along", or "The sellers will get desperate to sell after the home has been on the market for a long time". What does "a long time" mean? Until now, the answer to this question has been some agent’s made-up statistic or vague answer. (more…)

After plenty of rumors and speculation, the details of the government’s economic stimulus package have finally been released.  I have read the real estate portion, and would like to give you a summary. There is now an $8,000 tax credit (or 10% of the sale price, whichever is less) for first-time homebuyers.  You might have heard about the $7,500 tax credit, which is basically an interest-free loan paid back over 15 years at $500 per year.  That credit still applies if you purchased your home between April 9 and December 31, 2008. This new $8,000 tax credit is for home purchases between January 1, and December 1, 2009, and you do not have to pay any of it back (yourself, individually… all of us ultimately will have to pay back the entire $787B… the housing portion is $6.638B).

To qualify for the $8,000 credit, you must meet ALL of the following criteria: (more…)

I was looking through the home search history that people have done on my website, and noticed that today was the day of the 2,000th home search! This is truly exciting, because it was only 1 month ago that the 1,000th home search was done!
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Many of the people that contact me about homes in Champaign are also concerned about the area’s schools. As your Realtor, my job is to stay on top of these important issues. This morning I had the opportunity to have breakfast with the Superintendent of Unit 4 schools and his staff. Among the many issues that we discussed, I would like to share some information about several changes that will be taking place in the near future that will affect Unit 4 schools. (more…)

When you are looking for a new home to buy, do you care how old it is?  Some people do.  Some people only want homes that are virtually new.  Others might like the rustic charm that comes from owning a home that has been around for a century.

I’ve mentioned before that the home search feature on my website is quite popular.  As I talk to people who are interested in buying homes, one of the questions that I always ask is, "What can I do to make my website more useful to you?".  One of the answers that I’ve heard recently is that people have wanted a way to limit their results according to how old the homes are.  So, I’ve been working on an addition to my home search that lets users "pick their age" and today I’m releasing it to the public.

From the search page on my website, there is now an option for ‘Age:’. If you don’t care about the age of the homes you are looking for, just leave the option in its default position. But, if you want to restrict your search to homes that are newer, you can choose one of the options in the drop-down box. The ‘New Construction’ option is special. Realtors typically use it to refer to a house that hasn’t yet been lived in. If this is the particular type of home that you are looking for, choose that option. If you really enjoy older homes, choose the option for homes that are older than 75 years.

I want to be your Realtor. Features like this are just one of the services that I provide. Are you thinking about selling your home? I have a well-visited website. Why not have your home featured here? More "eyes" on your home means that it will sell quicker, for more money.

Leave me a comment if you like this feature, or if you have suggestions for other things that I should add to my site!