Welcome Home Heroes Home Down Payment Assistance For Veterans

Written by on January 27, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Real Estate Down Payment Assistance Available for Veterans

Real Estate for Sale Call Terry

Are you a veteran who will be buying a home this year? Do you know someone who is? If so, read on because there is Illinois grant money available for just this purpose! Earlier this week I attended a seminar outlining the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) Welcome Home Heroes Program (WWHP). This program is a financing package designed to assist veterans and active military personnel in home purchases. Financing assistance is available to help 1000 veterans and active military personnel purchase homes in Illinois this year.

As with all programs, there are eligibility requirements. Here are a few basic requirements:
• Qualified veterans and active military personnel
• Active military personnel must be a first time home buyer if taking advantage of a Mortgage Credit Certificate (explained below)
• Income and purchase price limitations ($89,760 income for 1 or 2 household members, $104,720 for 3 or more. Purchase price limit $373,670)
• Homebuyers must purchase a qualified 1-2 unit residential property within Illinois
• Home must be purchased as a borrowers’ primary residence

When a person qualifies for the program, a Program grant of $10,000 is provided for down payment and closing cost assistance. To avoid any confusion, IHDA does not lend the money for the mortgage but only provides the financing assistance. Borrowers can use a loan type of their choice (VA, FHA, Conventional) and would borrow through an approved lender such as Wintrust.

A Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) is a certificate authorized by the Federal Government and issued by IHDA. It allows the borrower to take 20 percent of the annual mortgage interest paid as a dollar-for-dollar reduction to their annual Federal income tax liabilities. There is a $500 cost for this program and the savings can be huge. As a simple example, if the yearly mortgage interest was $5000, the borrower would receive a $1000 tax savings.

There was much information given at the seminar and I’ve tried to explain it simply. If you think that you or someone you know may qualify for this program, contact me. I’d be happy to discuss real estate available in Lake Zurich, Buffalo Grove and other Lake, Cook and McHenry County areas and put you in touch with an approved lender.

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Long Grove Apple Haus Closing is a Heartbreak

Written by on January 26, 2012 · Leave a Comment

 Let Long Grove Apple Haus Closing Be a Wake-up Call!

Last fall when the Farmside Country Store and Winery in Long Grove closed, I was surprised. It had always been there. A sweet store sitting high on the corner of Old McHenry and Robert Parker Coffin Roads, it has been there in some form since 1869. Sure, the building is still there but it sadly stands empty. When I read the news that the Long Grove Apple Haus closed, I was shocked.

Having lived in Long Grove for over 25 years, I have seen stores come and go. But Farmside and the Apple Haus? These two stores were cornerstones of the village. Many a cider donut has been eaten in our house, brought to friends’ homes and to Coldwell Banker events. Our daughter Kristin rode her bike or walked to her first job at the Apple Haus. I’ve talked with others over the past few days and the sentiment seems to be the same: We haven’t just lost stores, we’ve lost a part of our community.

As a community we need to take action. We can’t just wait for the next small business to close and lament its passing. There are things that we can do right now and the very first is to shop at those businesses. I know that it’s sometimes easier to purchase a greeting card at the grocery store but I promise you that it’s not as much fun as shopping at Diane’s Hallmark in Lake Zurich. The women there are helpful and fun. It’s probably more convenient to run to the mall but have you been to Within Reach in Long Grove for a gift? You’ll be delighted by the beautifully arranged displays of unique items.

Next, tell everyone about your experiences at these establishments. When you eat at Enzo and Lucia’s, D&J Bistro or any of our local restaurants, let your friends know how great the food is. Tell everyone you know about the fine products and experiences at our locally owned businesses. Visit yelp.com and Yelp about it!

Adorable Baby Items at Within Reach

I’m committing to blog about at least one small business in the Lake Zurich area communities each week. If you know of one that you’d like to have featured, contact me. After you’ve read my blog posts, share them on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. Together we can get the word out and help our local business owners prosper.

Friendly Faces at Diane's Hallmark

 

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St. Francis de Sales Lake Zurich Jubilee Garden Fall Sale

Written by on September 28, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Support Lake Zurich Area Food Pantries by Purchasing Pumpkins and Corn Stalks

As I drive down Route 22 in Lake Zurich, I can see the activity at the St. Francis de Sales Jubilee Garden as they prepare for their fall sale. The sale will begin on Saturday, October 1st, from 9 am to noon and continue on Saturdays in October. The Jubilee Garden is non-profit, self-sustaining and relies on volunteers and financial support from the community to stay in “business”. This is their only fund raiser this year. Available for sale will be orange pumpkins from $1-$3 each, Cinderella pumpkins @5 each, and corn stalks @$5 each.

The Jubilee Garden grew approximately 2000 pounds of produce and 500 ears of corn this year that is donated to local food pantries including Emmaus House Community Dinner, St. Vincent de Paul and Alpine Church. The Garden land is donated for use by a local family and garden volunteers come from many organizations including Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Helpers also come from high schools doing service projects. The Lake Zurich Fire Department lends a helping hand by filling the water reservoirs. Hawthorn Gardens provides a variety of plants. It’s great to see so many people in the community coming together to provide fresh, organic, locally grown produce to those who may not otherwise have it.

The St. Francis de Sales Jubilee Garden is located in Lake Zurich on Route 22, about ¼ mile east of Quentin. Pop by and purchase a few pumpkins and corn stalks to decorate the exterior of your home. You’ll be helping to purchase the items needed for next year’s garden. At the same time, you’ll be getting great prices on cool fall items to enhance the curb appeal of your home. I’ll be stopping by this Saturday before the Long Grove Apple Fest. Hope to see you there!

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5 Fun Things To Do This Weekend In and Around Lake Zurich

Written by on September 8, 2011 · Leave a Comment

5 Free or Inexpensive Things To Do This Weekend

The days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler. This is a great weekend to get some outdoor time in before it’s too late! Here are 5 fun and inexpensive things to do this weekend in and around Lake Zurich!

1. Take a Forest Fitness Hike: The Lake County Forest Preserve offers a Fitness Hike each week at a different preserve. This week’s is Friday, September 9th at the Half Day Preserve in Vernon Hills. It goes from 8 am to 9 am and the cost is $1 for residents and $2 for non-residents. For more information, visit their website.
2. Visit a Farmers Market: We only have a few weeks left to support our local markets! Visit one of these:
        *Long Grove Farmers Market – Sundays from 8 am to 1pm through October.  
        *Buffalo Grove Farmers Market – Sundays from 8 am to12:30 pm through October 16th. .
        *Hawthorn Woods Farmers Market – Fridays from 3 to 7 pm through October.

3.      Looking for a little more excitement? Attend the Wings Over Waukegan Air Show on Saturday, September 10th. It starts at 10 am and tickets are $5 for adults. Kids 12 and under are free.
4.  Visit the Chicago Botanic Garden. I haven’t been there in a while and can’t wait to see the changes in the Garden. There’s a plant giveaway today and a Roadside Flower Sale on Friday. Check out the full calendar of events.
5. Last, but not least, simply take some time to have an impromptu barbeque with family and friends. Play a little bocce or bags and enjoy the important people in your lives!

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Realtor Terry Dahlem Reports Lake Zurich Real Estate Results – August, 2011

Written by on September 7, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Real Estate for Sale Call Terry

What’s Happening in the Lake Zurich Real Estate Market?

When watching the national real estate news, it’s hard to understand what’s really going on. As the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reminds us, real estate pricing and activity is local. It varies town by town and sometimes even by neighborhood. It’s important to know what’s going on in YOUR town. Here’s a synopsis of the August real estate activity and trends for Lake Zurich.

The average list price in August was $330,496 with the median price being $299,000. The average sale price was $283,342 which was down 16.8% from the $340,562 that it was in August of 2010. It was up 3.7% from the July, 2011 average of $273,132.

There were 26 sales (closed properties) in August, 2011. That’s up 73.3% from the 15 sales in July, 2011. There was also a 52.9% gain from the 17 properties that closed in August of 2010.

Things can change from month to month and we also need to track the year to date figures and compare them to last year. The good news is that Lake Zurich had the same number of closed properties (139) year to date as it had in 2010. If you’d like all the figures, you can view the full report here.

Lake Zurich is a strong community and a great place to live. With excellent schools and parks, it also offers many community events like last month’s Taste of the Towns. Want to check out some of the real estate listings in Lake Zurich? Here’s a link to single family homes  currently available in Lake Zurich priced from $275,000 to $375,000 so you can see how an “average” home in Lake Zurich looks. If there’s a home you’d like to see, give me a call. I’d be happy to arrange a private showing.

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Kirsten’s Garden at the Lake Zurich Farmers Market

Written by on July 26, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Meet Kirsten Halverson, Young Lake Zurich Entrepreneur and Organic Gardener

Anna (left) and Kirsten

Kirsten Halverson is a young woman who is embracing many things that I love: farmers markets, shopping locally and organic growing. I met Kirsten at the Lake Zurich Farmers Market along with her friend and growing partner, Anna Kaszuba. Kirsten and Anna will be seniors at Stevenson High School this fall. They were kind enough to take a few minutes to talk to me about their vegetable growing business.

Kirsten began growing vegetables simply because she loves veggies! She was encouraged by Robert Boyce, owner of Lake Zurich Florist and Natural Environments Landscapes, to expand her horizons. Mr. Boyce donated a part of his Lake Zurich greenhouse so that Kirsten could have more space and start earlier in the season. He encouraged her to grow organically and sell her crops at the Lake Zurich Farmers market on Fridays and at the Palatine Farmers Market on Saturdays.

Kirsten engaged the help of her friend, Anna Kaszuba. Anna tells me that at first she did it just to help Kirsten out but now she’s really enjoying it. We can encourage Kirsten and Anna by attending the Lake Zurich Farmers Market on Friday afternoons and buying some of their local, organically grown veggies.

The Lake Zurich Farmers Market is held on Fridays from 3 -7 pm at Lion’s Park (81 E Main). This is the first year that it’s been back and the vendors need our support if it’s to continue next year. Pop by; see Kirsten, Anna, and Bob. Tell them Terry sent you!

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Help a Lake Zurich Girl Scout Earn Her Gold Award!

Written by on July 15, 2011 · Leave a Comment

How We Can Help Miranda Flores Earn Her Gold Award

Miranda Flores is a Lake Zurich High School senior and a Girl Scout. She is working hard to earn her Gold Award which is similar to a Boy Scout’s Eagle Scout award. Miranda has chosen the St. Francis de Sales Jubilee Garden as her project. When I contacted Miranda, she explained that the Jubilee Garden benefits the poorer of our community and that she also wanted to help the Jubilee Garden to acquire more volunteers. Read on to learn how our community can help Miranda achieve her goals!

Miranda has organized a Fields of Faith Family Fun Day at the St. Francis de Sales Jubilee Garden to be held on July 23rd from 9 am to 11:30 am. Miranda is asking the community to help her and the garden by joining together and volunteering for a couple of hours in the garden. Volunteers will be helping out with the corn crop. Miranda told me that the corn needs lots of helping hands to weed in order to prosper. Corn provides one of the largest crops for the St. Vincent DePaul food pantry and the Emmaus House Community Dinner. The corn stalks themselves support the garden in fundraising when they are sold at the Fall Harvest Sale in October.

The St. Francis de Sales Jubilee Garden is located on Route 22 just east of Quentin. It is situated on land owned and donated for use by a local family who are also frequent volunteers. Last year the garden produced approximately 3400 pounds of produce which was donated to community food pantries including St. Vincent DePaul, Emmaus House Community Dinner and Faith Acres.

Miranda is a young woman with many achievements. In addition to her activities as a Girl Scout, she  is also involved in the Lake Zurich High School  Interact Club, National Honor Society, Art club, ski club, and band. We can help her to achieve her goal of earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. I plan to be there on July 23rd. I hope to see many of you there!

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Lake Zurich Farmers Market is Back!

Written by on June 24, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Lake Zurich Farmers Market on Fridays

I took a stroll around the Lake Zurich Heritage Farmers Market when it opened last Friday, June 17th. Lake Zurich hasn’t had a farmers market since 2006 and local residents are excited to see it back. Sponsored by the Village of Lake Zurich, Lions Club and Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce, the market is held on Fridays from 3-7 pm at Lions Park. (81 E Main).

There are always interesting people to meet at farmers markets and the Lake Zurich Heritage Farmers market is no exception. I met Robert C Boyce of Natural Environments. Rob is the driving force that brought the market back to Lake Zurich. He is also the owner of Natural Environments Landscape and Design and Lake Zurich Florist. You can read my earlier blog post about Lake Zurich Florist here.

Available last week were fresh cut flowers, herbs, perennials, popcorn and kettle corn. Additionally there were several local business owners offering Tastefully Simple, Mary Kay and Tupperware products. The market is looking for more vendors of locally grown produce or handmade products.

Community support is needed if we want the market to continue. Stop by today and show them that we want them in downtown Lake Zurich. You can pick up some locally grown herbs and fresh flowers for your weekend celebrations. Watch my blog for my interviews with some other very interesting people who are committed to the success of the Lake Zurich Heritage Farmers Market.

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Lake Zurich Real Estate Results May 2011

Written by on June 14, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Pending Lake County Il SalesWhat’s Happening in Lake Zurich Real Estate?

What’s happening in the Lake Zurich Real Estate market? Real estate in Lake Zurich has felt like it’s flying off the market. Well, comparatively speaking anyway! I’ve had several real estate clients looking at single family homes in Lake Zurich and it seems like they’re moving quickly. I took a close look at the market report for May, 2011 Lake Zurich real estate. The statistics don’t look quite like my experience! In May, 2011, 12 single family homes closed at an average sale price of $228,417 compared to 25 closed in May of 2010 at an average sale price of $281,694.

Does this mean that prices have fallen by the 18.9% reflected in those statistics? No! What it tells us is that homes in the higher price ranges have not closed thereby bringing down the average. There are also fewer homes on the market in Lake Zurich this year. In May, 2010, there were 176 single family properties for sale compared to 228 in May of 2010. Market time has also increased. Average days on market (DOM) for May, 2011 were 171. That can see like an eternity to a seller but there are things that you can do to help reduce time on the market. If you’d like, you can access the full Lake Zurich May 2011 real estate report.

For several years I’ve been telling my clients that real estate is a price war and a beauty contest. You have to win at both to sell your property in the shortest amount of time at the best price that the market will bear. That theory is proven by a home that my client closed on in May. It is located in the Chasewood subdivision. The home showed beautifully and was priced competitively. It sold in just 57 days, well below the average of 171.

The most important thing that you can do to sell your home is hire an agent like me who knows the area, is technologically savvy and stays up-to-date on the market. An added bonus is that I’m part of the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage team – leaders in the industry.

All statistics used in this analysis were supplied by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC (MRED). If you’d like a report on your town, I’d be happy to provide it!

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Fun Things To Do Around Lake Zurich This Weekend

Written by on May 27, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Parades, Barbeques and Festivals Around Lake Zurich

Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer activities! Weather.com tells me that it will be a beautiful weekend for traditional celebrations like parades and barbeques. Here are some happenings in Lake Zurich, Buffalo Grove, Palatine, Barrington an even one in St. Charles that is extra special. There’s always something fun happening in Terry’s Towns!

1. Whole Foods in Palatine  (1331 N. Rand),  is offering grilling demonstrations and tastings in their outdoor café today. Stop by on Friday, May 27th from 11 am to 4pm. It’s free and Whole Foods will be featuring kabobs, seafood skewers, veggies and burgers.
 
2. The Barrington Art Festival  is being held on May 28th and 29th from 10 am to 5 pm. Located at Village Center Station and Cook Streets, the event will feature live music, kids’ activities and food vendors in addition to the art offerings.

3. The Lake Zurich Memorial Day Parade  is on Monday, May 30th at 10 am. The parade route is from American Legion 51 Lions Drive, west on Main Street, south on Old Rand Road, ending at 200 Mohawk Trail at the Veterans Memorial, in front of the Police Facility.

4. Paulus Park Beach on Lake Zurich will be open on Sunday, May 28th through Monday, May 30th from 10 am to 8 pm. Season passes for residents and non-residents are available. If you prefer, you can pay by day. Paulus Park offers barbeque area, concessions, bocce courts and sprayground.

5. When I read about “Letters Home: A Memorial Day Remembrance”,  I just had to write about it. Pheasant Run in St. Charles will be featuring two concerts this weekend that will include World War II era music along with actual correspondence between soldiers. Also included are actual letters between a soldier and his wife. Concerts are at 8 pm on Saturday, May 28th and 2pm on Sunday, May 29th. Tickets are $20 and partial proceeds benefit Fox Valley Troop Support and Illinois Wounded Warriors program.

My weekend is full but not too full. I like to leave some time for something spontaneous. I’ll be taking real estate clients out on Saturday. If I finish early enough, I’ll be popping by some clients’ homes with a little surprise. My family is coming over on Sunday for an afternoon of fun and food. That leaves Monday. Botanic Garden?  Lake Zurich Memorial Day Parade?  Hanging out on the deck with a good book? So much to do, so little time. What are you doing this weekend?

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