"You've Caught the NET!"

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!

Hey, you dogs! 

This troubled U.S. Economy - High Unemployment (10.7% here in IL and across the Chicago Area) - has it impacted you?  Hard?  Having trouble making ends meet?  Putting bones in the dish, so to speak?

I am relieved to say I am still the Customer Service Department for Dean's Team Chicago.  When anyone has a beef, or if some of our less-trusting clients fail to see the value in our candid advice - I step in, sometimes bark a bit, and, more often than not, I set things straight for them.

But in case things ever get too tight here for me and my lil' sister, Gracie Ella Moss, we might be able to find new work in the Real Estate Business - as "Detection Dogs"!

As reported in the Angie's List Blog, with photos by Sara Cozolino, many inspectors are now employing specially-trained canines, some like you and me, to sniff out things like termites, bed bugs (ooooh . . . disgusting), mold behind walls, and even defective drywall.

Training for us dogs is tough - often, as many as 2,000 hours until we get certified.  Then, in many states, we have to get re-certified once a year to do our job.

That's a lot of hard work, and considerable studying up, you dogs!   But, if one of us dogs, with our ultra-sophisticated sense of sniff, is able to detect otherwise-hidden defects in a property a homeowner is considering, the savings to that prospective buyer, not to mention the headache, could be immeasurable!

The Angie's List Post follows a couple of Property Inspectors who employ trained detection dogs as routine.  As of this writing, we know of no Chicago Area Home Inspectors who have hired such specially-trained canines.  But the concept is strong, and the need is there.

So, perhaps soon, you'll be able to find a Home Inspector with a Detection Dog here in Chicago.  Will this Lil' White Dog be one of them?

Well, that depends, I guess, on if Gracie and I need any additional bones to keep us adequately treated in the coming months!

Enjoy the weekend, you dogs!

Please read my post via BlogChicagoHomes.com.

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,

BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Chicago Neighborhoods, like most other Real Estate Markets across the U.S., has seen considerable home foreclosures over the past several years.  The sheer number has brought down price medians in many Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs. 

The price drops have not been lost at the office that assesses property taxes across Cook County - the county which includes the City of Chicago and many Chicago Suburbs.  So far in 2010, the Cook County Tax Assessor has reassessed four Suburban Townships north of the city.  Each of the four townships - Evanston, Barrington, Norwood Park, and Niles - have shown median price decreases of over 20%. 

In Niles Township, immediately north of the Chicago City Limits, Tax-Assessed Values fell 20.4% for this triennial reassessment period.  All data compiled in an article in last Friday's Chicago Tribune by Real Estate Reporter Mary Ellen Podmolik.

The assessed value changes are based on a read on the market as of January 1, 2010.  Numbers for the First Quarter, 2010, from the Cook County Assessor's Office, show some moderation of price drops, however - especially among non-distressed homes for sale.

Indeed, single-family sold units for the First Quarter jumped 25.1% versus the First Quarter, 2009, while the median price of a home sold across Cook County fell a modest 1.1% versus the prior year.

Of the 8.092 single-family homes sold across Cook County for the year ending March 31, 2010, 35.2% were either foreclosed homes, owned by the bank, or properties nearing foreclosure, or short sale transactions, where the property is sold for less than the outstanding mortgage balance.  The median price of these distressed properties - $88,500 - 21% less than one year earlier.

However, of the conventionally-sold properties - not in or near foreclosure - the number of units sold rose 49%, while the median sales price fell only 6.7%, to $231,000. 

Cook County Assessor Data includes all homes where a sale is recorded - those sold by Real Estate Practitioners, and those sold privately, or For Sale By Owner.  In the City of Chicago, the median price of a non-distressed single-family home fell 6.5% between 2009 and 2010, to $252,000.  For Foreclosures and Short Sales, price medians fell 23.8%, to $80,000.

In the North and Northwest Suburbs of Cook County, price medians year over year fell 7.4% for homes in distress, to $150,000.  In the South and West Cook County IL Suburbs, the median prices for distressed homes dropped 23.5% year over year, to $173,000.

Frank Lefor, a Senior Research Analyst at the Cook County Assessor's Office, in Podmolik's article, sees annual price declines, to be sure.  But the figures are not quite as dire if your property is sold conventionally.  Perhaps, he points out, good news for many homesellers, but bad news for the banks now owning or soon to own distressed properties across Chicago and the Chicago Suburbs.

Please see our post at BlogChicagoHomes.com.

DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!

Hey, you dogs!  Have you been OK?  I missed you all - have been on Dog Sabbatical, traveling to such exotic haunts as Livonia MI, Cincinnati OH, and Palatine IL.

I sure missed you - dog, human, or other species, and I am glad to be back!

Those of you who know me know I have few vices - The Chicago Cubs, Old Movies from the 1940's, Early Rock & Roll (especially songs from the late rocker I was named after).  

And COFFEE!  Java!  Joe!

What?  You're surprised a dog like me has taken up the caffeine habit?  Well . . . hey, it beats smokin'!  And the stuff helps keep me up when I am working late writing my blog posts, or servicing our Team's many clients.

But something crazy is going on at a couple of the Chicago Coffee Houses I frequent each week.  It's so frustrating, even my normally-sedate friend Angus - my Boxer Bud from the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago - is getting a bit ticked!

It seems that some coffee houses - especially the smaller, independent ones - are pulling the plug on their High-Speed Internet Wi-Fi Connections!

Why?

Well, some folks settle down for a long while, milking a single cup of coffee, spreading out their laptop, notes, and accessories on a table that normally serves four, and camping out for the day!  Some do work, but others spend the time checking Facebook, Tweeting on Twitter, or watching You Tube Video after You Tube Video.

And, as a dog who is also a successful businessman, I know this doesn't result in a lot of revenue to the coffee shops in question.   It can reduce the revenue stream, actually, as Tweeters and Face Bookers commandeer tables that could be used by other, higher-ticket patrons.

As reported by Jessica Gyunn of the Los Angeles Times, as syndicated to The Chicago Tribune, many of the independent Java Houses began to offer free Wi-Fi several years ago to lure customers from Coffee King Starbucks, who used to charge for the service.  Last month, Starbucks began offering Wi-Fi for FREE in most of its U.S. stores, and the competitive advantage the smaller shops offered began to lose its luster.

Customer reaction?

Ooooh . . . generally quite negative!  However, as Jessica continues, many groups wanting to simply talk, rather than to surf, like the experience, as they can now more easily get table space to drink and chat.  Some have defected to the now-free-Wi-Fi Starbucks, or competitive chains, such as Seattle's Best Coffee, who are ramping up their high-speed signals, and installing more electrical outlets throughout the store to accommodate power-hungry laptops.

As for me, my lil' sister Gracie Ella Moss, and the rest of us Chicago Blogging Dogs, no Wi-Fi in our favorite Coffee House is something we would have to get used to.  I guess we'll have to do more work out of the Dean's Team World Headquarters, on the Mezzanine Level, on Montrose and Lincoln Avenues, in the Lincoln Square Neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago.

Or, perhaps we'll just pony up  for one of those 4G WiMax Cards, and sit in the park, with the rest of you dogs, and type away.

That might not be a bad idea, you know.  If we work more in the park, we won't have as far to travel if we have the urge to mark!

Have a productive week, you dogs!  Tell your humans to relax a bit.  Stay unplugged!  And wake up and smell the coffee!

See my post today via BlogChicagoHomes.com.

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,

BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO