Did you buy a house around 2010? If so you're house wealthy

 

The sun has been shining on home ownership over the last decade

A recent report by the national Association of Realtors researches shows homeownership brought tremendous wealth gains over the past decade:

• A homeowner who purchased a typical single-family existing home 10 years ago at the median sales price of $162,600 is likely to have accumulated $229,400 in housing wealth
• Total housing wealth rose $8.2 trillion from 2010 through 2020, with 6.3 million more new homeowner households.
• From 2010 through 2020, the metro areas with the greatest increase in middle-income homeowners were Phoenix, Austin, Nashville, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Orlando, Portland (Oregon), Seattle and Tampa.
• The aggregate value of housing wealth rose across all income groups, but those in the high-income group gained 71% of the increase in housing wealth.

If you bought just about anything in Chicago in over 2010-2012 you are doing really well on re-sale.  This is not always the case.  Often too many people look at their home as an investment rather than where they really need or want to live.  However it is undeniable you have a chance to gain wealth over time by owning your home. You almost always get something back when selling real estate after holding for a little while... never the case when renting.

Old building blues Lincoln Park

An old oil tank sits in the dug out hole of an old Lincoln Park building.

We had some business in one of our favorite areas over the weekend. North Geneva Terrace and West Fullerton area of Lincoln Park has beautiful vintage homes and buildings. With old buildings comes strange maintenance from time to time.  This owner/ landlord is in the process of removing an old oil tank. My guess is they may have had a sink hole and discovered the hollowed out area around the tank.

Watch your step!

North Geneva Terrace has some pricey homes! It is a charming throwback block to a bygone area. Only a couple properties have sold for the last two years on the 2400 to 2600 North Geneva Terrace. 2469 N Geneva is a single family home that sold for $1,250,000 in 2017.  2424-2428 North Geneva Terrace is a conjoined property (two separate vintage units) that sold for $1,520,000 in 2017. 

Rod your sewer or face the back-up!

Home maintenance is boring and we cringe at some of the costs; furnace/ boiler maintenance, gutter cleaning, caulking windows, roof flashing, painting to name a few. In my fifteen years experience working with property owners sewer rodding is at the top of the list for neglected maintenance! I stopped by my neighbor's Lincoln Square house who has learned the hard way.



Just prior to the near record cold temps they experienced sewer back-up in the basement.  The sewer line was clogged and now further exasperated by freezing pipes holding up the repairs! They've been out of the house for several days. Oy! 

I was out this morning in negative seventeen degree weather  (I won't even talk about the wind chills) to check on a few properties. We warned many of our client's to take precautions prior to the record cold temps heading into Chicago.  Additionally, some of our properties are in different stages of completion with most projects just plain stopping for a few days. 

Much of the city is on lock down for the next two days. Stay safe!

It is 46 degrees today... Get your furnace cleaned and serviced!

Home maintenance is fun!

I usually get my dual furnace system cleaned and checked every couple years. Today's cold temps are a good reminder to get a service check before something goes wrong on the coldest day of the year.  I keep a log taped to the a wall near the furnace with dates of our last HVAC service, sewer rod, smoke and carbon monoxide detector checks, lawn fed and fertilized etc...

There are many HVAC service options from larger companies to independent providers.  Some companies may set up a service contract with extra benefits.  If you own a condo it is always a good idea to get group service rate with the entire association. Service contracts often allow for free sevice visits and discounted parts and labor. 

We've dealt with many companies.  We've always had a very good experience with Ardmore Fresh Air in the Chicago area. Give them a try!

Slow news day? Ask Patrick about Chicago property tax exemptions and appeals

You own your attractive (maybe expensive) Chicago home. Now save some money on taxes! (Photo Eric Rojas, Broker in Bowmanville, Lincoln Square Chicago).

Wow, totally nothing going on today.  I figure I'll mention some news you can use! Many of our clients (despite our advice) are losing money each year by failing to apply for exemptions or to appeal their property tax.  Now (after our recent property tax increase) more than ever please reach out to real estate attorney Patrick Loftus of Loftus Law. He will help you understand how to take real estate tax exemptions and how to appeal your assessments.  Seriously, just contact him at   773-632-8330.
 

A couple years ago I took the time to meet face to face with some County Commissioners and Board of Review folks at the 47th Ward service office in North Center to appeal my tax assessment.

Check out Patrick's blog for some great info!

Bob and I have personally worked with a few real estate attorneys over many years that have been amazing advisers for us and our clients. We maintain the relationships because they possess a great ability to be responsive to clients and calming in both difficult and simple matters. Give attorney Patrick Loftus a call or email concerning buying, selling, current home ownership issues, bankruptcy, buiness filing and more.  

Sewer rodding? I gotta guy!

Gross! Roots pulled out of my house sewer line this week.

Here's another reminder to get your sewer rodded by a good sewer/ plumbing company every year.  We don't have a sump pump or drain tile.  However, we have a relatively shallow full basement and great "water management" around the house keeping it dry.  Our clean sewer lines prevent back-ups during heavy rain. Your technician can make quick checks for any other red flags as well.

Neighbors need a good sewer contractor?  Call me, we gotta guy! 

Ravenswood, Chicago resident creates hand drawn home and building illustrations, portraits

Phil  and Katie are blog readers of ours and local Ravenswood residents . Check out their home and building illustration service.  Tell them you learned about his company here at ericrojasblog.com

 

My name is Phil Thompson, and my wife and I are behind Ravenswood-based Cape Horn Illustration. We create pen and ink home and building portraits for individuals and businesses who want to give their place of residence a lasting legacy. We've worked with clients getting home and business portraits for gifts and marketing pieces. 

As readers of this blog know, Chicago is a rich place for residential architecture. There's so much to uncover about Chicago beyond the well-known landmarks in the loop. Our illustration work has brought us face to face with the distinctive styles of the city: The bungalows, two-flats (as above), A-frame cottages, and more. You can view a collection of examples here to see how what styles are represented in our work.

All work is pen and ink on a heavy paper stock, and everything is drawn by hand. We prefer the classic, "etched" look because it exposes the labor of the work, each line and hatch-mark, behind a given home portrait. This method also gets us close to the details of the built environment; each building stone and ornament requires careful attention and concentration. 

For more examples of work, or to get in touch about getting a home portrait, check out our site. 

 

We saved our Sycamore tree from the City of Chicago

The extreme winter temperatures (the polar vortex!) in Chicago the past couple days have yielded many bizarre stories, beautiful pictures and wacky behavior.  Mostly, people have been throwing boiling water into the are to see it vaporize.

We had to save our Sycamore tree.  Technically, it's the City's Sycamore tree in the parkway.  But, you know what I mean.

Extreme cold weather may have caused this Sycamore tree and others to split from the trunk up a couple dozen feet  ( The tree pictured is located in the City parkway of our house).  This tree has split and closed up many times over the years.  There is a beer can still inside that someone placed in it from 1969.

I learned when we bought our current house that our parkway Sycamore tree may split at the trunk in certain weather and then close up again. When we first moved into the house almost 4 years ago there was no evidence of a "hole" or split in the tree.  We really did not understand what neighbors were explaining.

Our tree started cracking on Sunday.  Someone reported the trees to the City and they were quickly inspected by the City and marked to be torn down. TOMORROW. This all happened over Monday or Tuesday while we were shut-in by the cold for two days with our three young kids. No one was told the trees would come down until an orange sign was posted today.

In a weird and quick serious of events, a few neighbors and I talked breifly and called the Bureau of Forestry, the local Streets and Sans supervisors and the 47th Ward Alderman's office.  The Forestry department guy immediately pulled up the reported trees.  He said he also knew the trees split and close up from time to time and was disappointment the trees were ordered to be removed by their inspector.  The removal order was cancelled.

Our parkway Sycamore tree is a wonderful umbrella of green leaves in the smmer

Someone came back out to the house a little later in the evening and took some more pictures.  We may not be out of the woods yet.

 

Our Sycamore may be the oldest tree on the block.  If it was not for some great neighbors looking out our immediate landscape would have been vastly altered. As a home owner, be helpful and get to know your neighbors and local City officials.  It could save your tree!