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Tag: Housing Bulletin
A Gallery of Low Prices
By Dennis Rodkin
Price cuts, short sales, and foreclosures cross my desk in herds these days. Since the start of the new year, it seems that the sellers of houses, townhouses, and condos who are eager to unload their property have become markedly more serious about making it happen.
Today I have pulled together a gallery of low-priced properties in the city and suburbs. Some of these homes are being sold at auction, and others are... Read more
“Dude, Don’t Rent”
By Dennis Rodkin
Most 20-year-olds can’t picture owning a home for at least another several years. For them, Kristen Conradi has a bit of advice: “Dude,” she says, “don’t rent.”
In December Conradi, a 20-year-old college student, bought a foreclosed two-bedroom condo near... Read more
New Life for Dr. King’s Lawndale Dream
By Dennis Rodkin
In Lawndale, at the site of the Chicago apartment where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  lived with his family in 1966, work has begun on the Dr. King Legacy Apartments, a $17-million complex that, when finished, will have 45 units of affordable rental housing, retail space, and a mini-museum dedicated to the efforts of King and others to provide equal access to housing in Chicago. Read more
Easier Loans for Veterans, First-time Buyers
By Dennis Rodkin
It’s been a quandary most of the year: real-estate prices are tantalizing now, but getting a mortgage is rough. The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has a little-known program that makes borrowing easier for state residents; it offers interest rates lower than the prevailing norm for conventional loans, accepts borrowers with credit scores lower than most big lenders now require... Read more
Kane County Subdivision for Sale
By Dennis Rodkin
Just a few years ago, new subdivisions were marching west from St. Charles through Campton Hills toward Lily Lake, a tiny community that lies almost at the center of Kane County. Pairing that movement with a burgeoning interest in building methods that have a lighter impact on the land, a group of developers devised a... Read more
Sale Closes on Scott Turow’s Glencoe House
By Dennis Rodkin
The writer and lawyer Scott Turow sold his lakefront mansion in Glencoe for $5 million on December 17th; he paid $4.79 million for the place when he bought it in 2001. Deal Estate broke the news last month that the house, priced at $5.9 million, was under contract. The buyers are not yet identified in public records. Read more
Vintage Villa for Sale or Rent
By Dennis Rodkin
Mike and Robin Nasatir spent much of the 1990s restoring a country villa in Highland Park that had been built in 1919 for a wealthy bachelor and his paramour, the opera singer Mary Garden. Now, with their two children almost grown, the Nasatirs are ready to move from the 22-room house. Read more
The Two Faces of Steve
By Dennis Rodkin
Some radio listeners might have noticed that Steve Fisher, the new morning host on Fresh 105.9 FM, sounds an awful lot like their real-estate agent, Steve McEwen of @Properties. In fact, the two Steves are alter egos of the same guy... Read more
Thankful in Lockport
By Dennis Rodkin
PJ and Jaime Klacko have 10,000 reasons to be thankful this week—the $10,000 that the city of Lockport will kick in on the purchase of their newly built house, which should finish construction next March. They are among the first dozen buyers to take advantage of an incentive... Read more