How to sell your home fast

Our neighbors recently put their home on the market. They received an excellent offer within 24 hours of listing the property and got more...

Open-house strategies that work

Sellers often think of open houses as opportunity time. They expose a listing to buyers who might not otherwise see it.

Agents shoulder small-business owner's burden

Eight out of 10 real estate agents are independent contractors, not salaried or commissioned employees.

Foreclosure activity falls, but for how long?

In its latest report, RealtyTrac announced that foreclosure activity fell on a year-over-year basis in 84 percent of metro areas with at...

How reliable are home-listing websites?

In the old days, if you were looking for a new place to live, you picked up the newspaper, looked at the real estate classifieds, put on...

Navigating the short sale process

For homeowners upside-down on their mortgage — owing more on the loan than the house is worth — foreclosure isn't necessarily...

Hinsdale home sale goes in loss column

Former Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Scott Linebrink has taken a $70,000...

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  Chicago's elite home buyers & sellers

Pricing a home to sell

During the housing boom, many real estate agents found it extraordinarily tough, if not impossible, to come up with even ballpark asking...

Selling a home: The new realities

I've been hearing lately from homeowners who are preparing to list their homes for sale. They know the market isn't great, but they've...

Surviving a short sale: An insider's view

Chris Willette became a short-sale expert the hard way: He did his own.

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  U.S. foreclosure actions fall in June

What you should know about selling on your own

If you think the greatest question of all eternity is "what is the meaning of life?" then you haven't been in the real estate market lately.

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  Homes for sale by owner

Kitchen design with resale in mind

Used to be when you designed a kitchen, you did it to please yourself. Like it or not, now someone else needs to buy in.

Taking the fear out of foreclosure

People fear foreclosure almost as much as they fear death. But unlike death, foreclosure can be prevented.

The realities of unloading a time share

Q: I recently read your suggestions on how to get rid of a time share. You suggested attempting to give your time share back to the...

Summer tips to heat up your condo sale

Too many condominiums for sale. Prospective buyers are on vacation. Mortgage money is hard to get. Don't let those pesky realities prevent...

Outlook for condo prices not as bleak

The avalanche of housing market data that seems to befall us on a daily basis mostly tells only the story of what's happening in the single-...

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  Mary Ellen Podmolik: 'Pricing integrity' paying off for Renaissance developers

Ex-Bear takes a big hit on home sale

Former Chicago Bears offensive tackle John St. Clair has just taken a major...

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  Elite Street: Chicago luxury real estate

Chicago condo prices see price gains but more needed

Sales prices of condominiums within the city of Chicago recorded a third month of year-over-year improvement in May, a small positive sign...

Home values continue downward churn

March home prices in the Chicago area and nationally sank to lows not seen since the housing bubble burst, and the widely watched S&P;/...

Sinking values prompting homeowners to consider strategic default as best option

As more people do the math, they may decide to walk away from their mortgage, even if it ruins their credit.

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  Illinois lags nation in mortgage crisis recovery

Civil union law extends property owner protections

Richard A. Wilson, a partner at Grund & Leavitt, offers his views on how civil unions would affect the ownership of real estate.

The art of readying your home for sale

In today's super-competitive real estate market, any little edge to help potential buyers envision themselves in the house you're trying...

Gift tax keeps on giving until 2012

Q. In a recent column, you indicated that a giftor's lifetime tax exemption is $1 million. However, after searching this out, I believe that...

Delaying repairs can haunt owners when it's time to sell

Buyers don't expect roofs in need of replacement and major plumbing and electrical issues. They want those fixed, or there's no sale.

FICO tool helps ID borrowers most likely to strategically default

FICO Inc. this spring conceived a scoring tool that not only identifies the type of borrower most likely to strategically default, but,...

Need-to-know tax savings information

There are ways to lighten your tax load whether you're living in your home or selling it.

By ZIP code: Little growth in home prices

At best, Chicago-area home prices are bouncing along the bottom or getting less bad as the depreciation rate slows. At worst, they...

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  By ZIP code: Little growth in housing prices

They did what to that house?!

You've heard of McMansions, but what about Frankenhouses?

Once you rent out your house, it's no longer your home

I have a question and I can't seem to find the answer on the Internet. Perhaps mine is not a common situation.

Practice these safe showing habits

As crime victims go, real estate agents don't hold a candle to taxi drivers, who suffer the highest rate of homicide of any particular...