Evanston IL Real Estate

I want to thank  Dr. Hardy Murphy, District 65 Superintendent and Dr. Eric Witherspoon, District 202 Superintendent for the breakast this morning at Evanston Township Highschool.

 Both Dr. Murphy and Dr  Witherspoon understand that good schools attract people to a community and this is true for Evanston. This breakfast offers realtors the opportunity to learn about the two school districts.

 So with that in mind let me tell you what I learned at this meeting.

District 65 schools gains National recognition:

The Chicago Sun Times listed Willard School among the top 50 Elementary Schools in Chicago.

 The 8th grade Nichols Middle School ranked #1 in a language arts competion with over 225,000 participants and 301 other teams. The 7th grade team finished fourth out of 289 other seventh grade teams.

Three District 65 teachers achieve National Board Certification. Congradulations go out to Sharon Leggett, Chute Middle School, Sally Wiggington,Washington Elementary School, and Demetra Disotuar, King Lab Magnet School.

 Noreen Winningham, a District 65 Middle School Teacher will  be among teachers selected to help write the new Everyday Math Text for the University of Chicago.

Park School was honored by Lt. Governor Pat Quinn for a Cesar Chavez service-learning project for a program where students gave back to the community by helping the Family Focus Food Pantry.

I want to welcome Dr Witherspoon as our new supertendent for District 202. I had the opportunity to talk with him after the meeting and I am sure his enthusiasm is sure to rub off onto Evanston Townhip High school. With that in mind let me tell you what I learned about ETHS.

Evanston Township High school District 202 gets National Recognition.

In 2004, The Wall Street Journal named ETHS one of 65 top high schools in the nation. Out of this list only 27 schools were public schools.

In 2004 and 2005, Goldman-Sachs Foundation honored ETHS for having the best International Education Program in the US which includes global-studies and world languages. ETHS world languages include French,Spanish, German,Hebrew, Japanese, Latin,and American Sign Language.

In 2006, ETHS has 16 national merit semifinalists and 157 finalists for Illininois State Scholars which are based on college entrance exam scores.

In November (2006) the college board honored 190 ETHS students for exceptional achievment on their AP exams. ETHS offers 19  different AP courses. Dr Witherspoon said ” One year in ETHS AP classes is equivelant to 1 year at Harvard”.

In addition to scholastics ETHS offers a variety of extracurricular activities.  The girls track team have been State champs the last four consecutive years. Boys Swimming and girls soccer also recently won state championships. The Chess team won three state titles in the last six years. In music ETHS was honored among 40 + schools nationwide to be named Grammy Signature Schools an honor for the school’s music program.

It’s that time of year when we go up into our attics or down in our basements and bring out the decorations for the holidays.

 No matter how we celebrate special care should be taken because each year hospital emergency rooms treat about 12,000 people for falls, cuts, shocks, and burns due to accidents involving hanging Christmas lights and holiday decorations.

Christmas trees are the cause of about 300 fires annually, resulting in about $7 million dollars in property damage and loss. In addition there are more than 15,000 candle related fires each year resulting in about $307 million in property loss. Following are some safety tips to follow:

 Trees:

• When purchasing a artificial tree make sure it says “Fire Resistant”
• When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fress tree is green and the needles are hard to pull off.
• When setting up a tree at home , place it away from the fireplace and radiators.
• Use flame resistant materials to trim the tree and make sure all materials have nonleaded metals. Leaded materials can be hazertous to children if ingested.
• Avoid breakable glass decorations if small children are in the house.

Lights:

• Use indoor and outdoor lights that have been tested for safety, such as UL or ETL/ITSNA.
• Check each set of lights for broken or cracked sockets, frayed wires and throw out damaged sets.
• NEVER USE ELECTRIC LIGHTS ON A METALLIC TREE because you could become electrocuted.
• Turn off all holiday lights when you go to bed.

 Candles:

•  Keep burning candles within sight
• Always keep burning candles away from children or pets. If you have a cat who jumps avoid lighting the candles.
• Extingquish all candles before you go to bed.

The new trend in kitchen designs is making the refrigerator magnet almost obsolete. Remember how Woody felt when he thought he was being replaced by Buzz Lightyear as Andy’s favorite toy ? Well, the magnet must feel worse because it is being replaced by nothing.

Have you ever thought about investment property? If not maybe you should. According to a survey by Housing Predictors, the majority of the wealthiest families in the nation have made their fortunes investing in real estate NOT the stock market.

If you want to make millions investing in real estate experts say you should start out slow by buying an investment property each year and continue to add to your portfolio for a number of years. Success investing in real estate comes from  investing long-term (more than 5 years). Most investors in real estate make their profit from appreciation when they sell.

If you would like more information about investing in real estate please feel free to visit my website.

If you are thinking about purchasing a home for the first time this year, then you are not alone. The desire for homeownership is deeply rooted as the “American Dream”.  The National Association of Realtors said First-time homebuyers accounted for 40% of homes purchased in 2005 with half of those first timers between 25 and 34 years of age.

Homeownership is thought to be an important element in achieving personal fulfillment. When asked to define the good life, polls have shown that many Americans value owning a home over such factors as an automobile, a happy marriage, high paying job, and or good health.

Other benefits to homeownership:

Home Owners provide stability. Home owners typically stay in their home 12 years while renters stay no longer than 3 years.

Home ownership builds wealth: The median net worth of homeowners is higher than those of renters in the same income group.

Home ownership creates a positive environment for families. Children of homeowners are more likely to become homeowners.

 Beginning January 1, 2007 Public Act 94-741 will require all dwelling units in Illinois to have carbon monoxide alarms to be located within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. This law would apply to all single family, condominiums, coops, multi-family, and mixed use buildings. The law says that the owners are responsible for installing carbon monoxide alarms and failure to do so would be a Class B misdemeanor.

Those persons installing New Carbon Monoxide Detectors should look for those that have battery back up and can be plugged into normal outlets in the home.

If you are thinking about buying in 2007 then have you ever thought about looking in the Winter? Winter time may be the season of choice to buy. Winter is often a slower market than the Spring Market. Slower market means less buyers and competition. Also, Winter time will allow you to inspect a home for insulation, plumbing, heat loss from window treatments, roof or ice dam problems which when added up can be significant costs not thought about by buyers who buy a home in the summer, spring, or fall.

 If you are thinking about buying here are some other tips:

 1. Do not make a Major Purchase of any Kind:  Do not add any more debt on existing credit cards like an auto loan, new furniture, vacations.

2. Do not move money around:  Lenders want to know where you have money for the downpayment. Any bank transfers, deposits, or withdrawals will have to be answered.

3. Do not change jobs: Lenders want to know you have job stability. If you have been employed for a short time do not worry, lenders have  “no doc” loan programs designed for you.

If you have any other questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact me personally.

I was driving to my office one morning and saw this home that had all of these political signs and if you look close enough you will see a sign posted on the tree that says:”Take a Sign!” We Grow these here for you to transplant in YOUR yard.