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        <title>Weichert Realtors, Kingsland Properties Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/</link>
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            <guid>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/should-you-buy-a-newly-built-home.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/should-you-buy-a-newly-built-home.html</link>
            <author>wrkingsland@gmail.com (Jeff Ristine)</author>
            <title>Should you buy a newly built home? </title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Did you ever wonder what was the best investment, a new home or an existing home?&nbsp; Well Bankrate.com published an article on MSN.com that discusses some of the pros and cons of a new home purchase.&nbsp; Follow the link to read the full article.&nbsp; 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:27:30 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/google-drops-real-estate-listings.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/google-drops-real-estate-listings.html</link>
            <author>wrkingsland@gmail.com (Jeff Ristine)</author>
            <title>Google Drops Real Estate Listings</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
According to Inman News, internet search engine giant Google recently decided to no longer support real estate listings uploaded to its  classifed listings site on Google Maps,&nbsp; Consumers will no longer be able to find for-sale, foreclosure, or 
rental properties through the search function on Google Maps, and real 
estate professionals will no longer be able to upload their listings to 
Google Base, the company's classifieds site, which is being replaced by 
Google Shopping APIs and will not support real estate listings.&nbsp; For more information read the full article at Inman.com.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:53:57 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/seller-mistakes-that-can-tank-the-deal.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/seller-mistakes-that-can-tank-the-deal.html</link>
            <author>wrkingsland@gmail.com (Jeff Ristine)</author>
            <title>Seller Mistakes that can "Tank" the Deal.</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Last time we looked, new home sales were down more than 12
percent and existing home sales were down 27 percent nationally.&nbsp; In part this is due to the economy, the
high rate of unemployment and the end of the home buyer tax credit.&nbsp; However, home sellers have a roll in
the slow home sales as well.&nbsp; In a
recent article by Broderick Perkins at Realty Times, he pointed out several
mistakes that home sellers are typically making that will end up tanking their
deal.&nbsp; 




Pricing
too high.&nbsp; A high listing price
will cause some buyers to lose interest sight-unseen.&nbsp; It may also lead other buyers to expect more than what you
have to offer.&nbsp; Overpriced homes
tend to take an unusually long time to sell, ultimately selling at a lower
price.


Mistaking
refinance appraisals for the market value.&nbsp; Lenders often estimate the value of homes at a higher level
than its actually worth to encourage refinancing.&nbsp; Ask your real estate agent for the most recent information
regarding property sales (similar to yours) in your community.


Forgetting
to &ldquo;showcase your home.&rdquo;&nbsp; When
selling your home, make it look as pleasant and move-in-ready as possible.&nbsp; Make necessary repairs. Clean and
de-clutter.&nbsp; A poorly kept home in
need of repairs will surely lower the selling price and will even turn away
some potential buyers.&nbsp; 


Being
ignorant of your rights and responsibilities.&nbsp; Know the details of the sales contract.&nbsp; They are legally binding documents that
can be complex and confusing.&nbsp; Know
your responsibilities before signing the contract.&nbsp; Can the property be sold &ldquo;as is&rdquo;?&nbsp; How will deed restrictions and local zoning laws affect your
transaction?&nbsp; Not knowing could end
up costing you a considerable amount of money.


Selecting
your agent for the wrong reasons.&nbsp;
We see this happen everyday in our business.&nbsp; Sellers interviewing agents and making their selection based
on the agent who gives the &ldquo;best price&rdquo;.&nbsp;
As a seller, you want an agent that is going to give you a true price
for your house.&nbsp; An inflated price
or the price that you want to hear is only going to result in a long market
time and a lot of frustration.&nbsp;
Sellers should select the agent based upon the marketing plan that agent
offers and the agents knowledge of the market conditions.&nbsp; In this housing market it is more
important than ever that the agent has a proven, successful and thorough
marketing plan.


 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:04:33 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/stunned-by-the-existing-home-sales-numbers-here-is-the-good-news.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/stunned-by-the-existing-home-sales-numbers-here-is-the-good-news.html</link>
            <author>wrkingsland@gmail.com (Jeff Ristine)</author>
            <title>Stunned by the Existing Home Sales Numbers?  Here is the Good News!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
With the news of the drop in existing home sales coming out
two days ago, you may be wondering &ldquo;why even get into the market right now&rdquo;. &nbsp;Well, let me offer you a different
perspective than what you will find in the doom and gloom news media.&nbsp; Granted the news of a 27% decline
nationally is significant, and a 35% decline in the Midwest is downright
shocking.&nbsp; However, there are a
couple of items that we really need to look at before we jump off the
bridge.&nbsp; 


&nbsp;


First, we typically see &ldquo;seasonal&rdquo; slow down in July and August
due to vacations and the beginning of the school year.&nbsp; If you look over the years of data,
there is always a drop from June to July.&nbsp;
The second factor and more importantly, is the effect of the Federal Tax
Credit that expired the end of April.&nbsp;
This tax credit had the effect of moving most if not all of the demand
for housing that we would normally see spread across the summer months and
shifted the demand within the first quarter of the year.&nbsp; The reason I believe this to be true is
based upon the annual sales numbers for 2010 vs. 2009 and even 2008.


&nbsp;


When we look at the sales numbers over the last three years
for the Chicago market, 2010 is out pacing both 2008 and 2009.&nbsp; The year to date sales volume for the
Chicago area is at 46,759 units, which is 2.51% ahead of 2008 and is 22.05%
ahead of 2009 unit sales. (Data provided
by MRED LLC)&nbsp; This is great
news!&nbsp; The drop in unit sales for
July was fueled significantly by the housing tax credit program.&nbsp; 


&nbsp;


We still have a pretty big hill to climb in order to get the
housing market back on stable ground, but I believe we are making some
significant improvements and that the numbers that were reported are not what
they seem.&nbsp; 2010 is our best sales
year out of the last three.&nbsp; We
still need to see unemployment improve and diminished volatility in the stock
market before the housing market can fully rebound, but the housing market isnt as bad as it looks on
the surface.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:03:52 -0500</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/kingsland-properties.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/kingsland-properties.html</link>
            <author>wrkingsland@gmail.com (Jeff Ristine)</author>
            <title>Kingsland Properties</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 

Share | 

 


We have a variety of services, and one of these is the Kingsland Properties&nbsp;Company. This company has been building quality&nbsp;homes and commercial buildings for years and has three lovely groups of townhomes available for sale.&nbsp;&nbsp;A great variety of sizes and styles are available for&nbsp;every type of family from first home to&nbsp;retirement.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Come see these lovely homes today!
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:42:15 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/thank-you-for-visiting-our-new-site.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.wrkingsland.com/blog/thank-you-for-visiting-our-new-site.html</link>
            <author>wrkingsland@gmail.com (Jeff Ristine)</author>
            <title>Thank you for visiting our new site!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Welcome to one and all!


Welcome to our new and improved site!&nbsp; We've made some changes that we hope you'll enjoy.&nbsp; The goal of our new website is to further streamline your home buying or selling experience and improve customer communication.&nbsp; Our new Agents Page&nbsp;gives a detailed idea of who all of our agents are for your convenience.&nbsp; This will allow you a more informed decision in choosing the Realtor who is right for you.&nbsp; Our search accesses listings from the MLS, and you can save searches and your favorite properties by creating an account today!&nbsp; You can also search from virtually any page on our website using the convenient quick search option!&nbsp; Explore the communities in our area, find out more about us, or tell us more about yourself and get in contact with an agent today!&nbsp; There are a great variety of new options on this site, so look around and enjoy!
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:26:09 -0500</pubDate>
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