A notable event is fast approaching in this family’s lives, and especially in my own.   In a few days, on September 2^nd, Gracie, the central blessing of my life, will have been married to me for sixty years!   Every blessing and most joys stem from that event….my whole incredible family and the core of my whole life!  That’s serious stuff!

That’s 60 years with 365 days each, plus 15 leap years, or a total of 21,915 days…(and nights!)

And with just 3 squares a day, that’s 65,745 meals!  (There really were lots more, as meals often were staggered, or we added another into the day….not even modest hungers were ever left untended!)

Seeing those numbers, Gracie said, “No wonder I’m tired!”   But she’s just saying that….she doesn’t look nor act like she is…so after all those days, (and nights,) and all those meals, she’s still fun to live with, a joy to our whole family, and always, very pretty to look at!  Incredible luck.  Every single day that I can remember, I tell her that I love my life with her, and that I’m so grateful that she consented to live hers with me, and she appears to mean it when she tells that to me. It’s really a lot more than that, for she has truly worked hard for me always…sometimes in a losing effort…sometimes when she should not have….but always, she just did it, and she still does!

But life with her has been downright fun, too!  She’s got an awesome sense of humor with frequent wicked quips that often bring me back to earth with a laugh.  She sings when she wakes up….most of the time.  She and her daughters and son have this incredible relationship where they treat her more like a peer, right alongside adoring her as a mother. That is so much fun to watch. 

She has wonderful pet names for me that I often hear, (and when used, it’s a signal I’m on solid ground with her.)   She’s smart.  She’s practical, often having problems solved before I get to the analysis part.  She has a faultless moral compass and is wonderfully wise.  And she’s pretty….did I say that?  I’ve always been so proud to claim her has my wife, the mother of my children and the grandmother to our considerable lineup of eight awesome grandsons.

Which prompts me to try to honor the family she’s enabled.   When our first was born, this verse prevailed; “I’ve found this second love, and strange as it may be, the more I love the second, the more the first loves me!”.   Well, the “first” was followed by “and the second”, “and the third” and then “and the fourth”, and now incredible grandchildren, too.  What honor they all do us, what fun they are to watch, and what pride we feel as we see them attain virtuous, independent, humor filled lives of their own.  All different, we are so proud to call you “our family!” It’s very, very special.

And then there’s the matter of her idiosyncrasies, just to make it still more interesting.  I have this secret file on my computer called, “Aging with Grace” that I’ll share someday soon….some great examples there. She’s the epitome of the virtuous wife, in all ways….and truly a joy to live with…what an honor!  

And did I mention her cooking?   An old German adage states, “Kissin’ wears out; but cookin’ don’t!”  (That’s the adage, and I’m not a grammarian.)  Well those ancestors were half right, ‘cause the kissin’ don’t (doesn’t) wear out neither, (either,) but wow, the cookin’!  The family has created this fictional bit of kitchen alchemy by calling our good old round table the “magic table.”  I know better of course, but it sure does seem like it is!   And the evocative aromas!  Oh, my!

And there are lots of other adjectives I could employ, but I’ve learned the hard way to be careful of one-word descriptions.  A few years back, with the ladies of the family chatting in the kitchen after a great dinner, Gracie’s enduring qualities came into the vocal focus, and not to be outdone, I searched for a word I could add that would sum it up, (and show I was watching and listening, maybe even sensitive…..hah!)  Well the one that came front and center in my mind, then blurted out with such confidence, was ….“durable”!   Well, that was right of course, but I’ve never lived down the aluminum pot comparisons!  (Damage control suggested I try to say that I really said, “adorable”, but they’re too smart for that one!)

One special quality I might add without too much comment would be “patient”, especially patient with me and a few sundry pipedreams that surfaced from time to time.  Noting that Gracie was able to do 90 degree turns with more ease than they, the folks at work have called her “Saint Grace” forever, based on that quality in dealing with me.

I was originally destined to become a bachelor.  Gracie came into my life when she was in the 5^th grade and I was in the 7^th…and watching her tripping down the hall in grade school, banana curls bouncing and recoiling, I knew I had to reform…I was still angry with my sister for coming into my very comfortable life and wasn’t particularly kind to any girl, thinking bachelorhood, like my uncle George, looked pretty good.

Well I quickly changed my mind, (and so did Uncle George, the fink!)  But it wasn’t easy, to change my attitude and in fact, to win her hand.  I first had to win over one tough mother, and beat out a bunch of her mother’s own favorites. For a long time, I didn’t know who I was really courting.  And I did come to love my sister dearly….still do, but it was a lot easier when she and Gracie became friends long before Gracie knew I was on the planet!  And of course, I was tongue-tied if not stammering….not real good first impressions, or even one thousand and one impressions later. 

But in the end, I thusly give her credit for saving me from a life of lonely bachelorhood!   Compared to what I came to enjoy with this incredible family she gave me, that now looks just plain awful!  In my mind, I can even smell bachelorhood, and after the fragrances I’ve enjoyed by being around her and 3 well-scrubbed daughters, it’s even a lot more awfuller!  (So you may well add “always smells good” to the list of attributes I’m itemizing here.)

But a singular fact of our relationship is that once she walked into my life, I was locked in.  I have never, ever dated another female person (nor male for that matter, for the record!)   So we weren’t just high school sweethearts, we were kind of biding time to get out of adolescence!  (I’m not claiming that I had a lot of chances, either, but the fact still remains the fact.)

I don’t know how unusual that fact really is, but when I tell my much-more-worldly grandsons of it, I get a blank stare, unbelieving bordering on shock, and ultimately, an empathetic countenance that says, “You loser, you!”   But I’m the luckiest guy ever!    

Now, I am composing a more appropriate treatise itemizing the incredible gifts she’s given me, and the wonderful joys she’s enabled, but now, for our host of friends, I simply wanted to make this modest statement of unending appreciation for her wife-hood and her love. 

And then, to those friends, we wanted to say that we are not going to have a big, so-called “Open House,” although there was some sentiment for that tradition. We would love to visit with every one of the wonderful people that have contributed joy to our lives, thanking them from the bottom of our hearts for their friendship and love.  What a wonderful and huge bunch you are…incredible blessings to both Gracie and me, and our whole family.  We do hope to find a way to do that individually to as many of you as possible, but it’s not going to be on any one Sunday afternoon soon. Part of this decision comes, I believe, from the fact that we didn’t think we could find a way to do that well, (thank all these friends.)   We will have an immediate-family get together, obviously, but no open houses. Maybe we’ll find a way later. For the moment, rejoice and be glad that we saved you a beautiful Sunday afternoon!  Use it well!

It’s hard to sum up the blessings of 21,000+ days (and nights) and 63,000+ seatings at the old magic table.  Most of you will know that music has been an incredible amenity to our lives….and I’m more than a sucker for a well-turned verse, set to music. They don’t call me, “Sappy Pappy” for nothing.  And while we know of a lot of lyrics and songs that poetically convey wonderful sentiment that could apply…they’re more like the individual colors in the rainbow.

But one song, a decade or two ago, came close to saying it all.  Here is the bottom line, by Collin Raye:

            The only thing that matters has come true.  In this life, I was loved by you!

Hub, what loves you!   Always have!   Always will!

An Overview, in 4 parts: (a bit long…but we hope the serious reader would want to know…)

1)  What We Are Today - 2) In the Beginning - 3) The Enduring Business Plan - 4) Expectations

Today, as originally intended, we still are a small, highly personal, specialized real estate agency,  exclusively for buyers, primarily supporting families relocating into southwest Illinois….executive, military and otherwise.  Our domain is area-wide, but focused on finer homes in the best relocation venues. Paul and Merrill Ottwein, son and father, were and are the principlals of the company.  This basic business model has not changed in these twenty years, except for many enhancements, the plan deliberately and carefully matching the service to the unique needs of relocating families. .

In January of 2011, we will have been in this service niche for 20 full years, during which time we have not taken a single real estate listing.  But we have served more than 3000 home buyer families with consistent win-win results….our buyer satisfactions are consistently high, and so therefore, are ours.  It’s been such a pleasure serving this classy group, and often, their sponsors as well.  Even more than we anticipated, they feel the differences and appreciate the delivery of truly professional services. 

We’ve had comfortable offices in two great communities for nearly all of these years, friendly, functional and easy to find. With decor more brassy than classy, the family atmospher prevails.  Paul is the broker of record in Edwardsville, Merrill in O’Fallon.  While centered in top communities, others are easily accessible.  Resources within have built, too.

We are not very large…just 5 active licensees at the moment, with another on medical leave, but we consider ourselves an elite highly professional team, on the “high road” of real estate representation.  Our long-held measure of service is that we intend to deliver that which we would want for ourselves and our family.  So we’ve always been very focused on quality as opposed to quantity, and we will not compromise the overall level of service for the sake of growth.

In addition to the satisfactions born of delivering top service, our reputation is of paramount  importance to us.  The majority of our clients are referrals from other clients, or from companies that we have otherwise served, a trust we won’t betray.  

We’ve had, in fact, astonishing stability in our staff.  Paul and Merrill have each been here the entire 20 years of course, but three others are all in the range of 15 years to 18 years. (The total years all of us have been in the real estate business is in the high hundreds).  This kind of stability is unheard of in the profession.  We call ourselves in fact, “disciples” of exclusive buyer representation…we obviously like and respect each other, and very much believe we’re functioning at a very professional level, and that’s satisfaction itself.

In the very beginning, more than 20 years ago,

As a market segment, relocating families had, (and have,) attractive characteristics.  They are almost always serious, dedicated buyers, with a short buying-time window.  They tend to buy larger homes.  They are intelligent and educated, and very discriminating in many ways.  They are often very experienced…except they are can be “babes in the woods” in their understanding of a new area. (They therefore are considered a class “vulnerable” to problems with agent representation.)  Their experience often includes some bad events, so many are students of agency relationships.  Finally, we suggest a bit tongue-in-cheek, they are an attractive market segment because they have no cousins in the business.  

We quickly determined that a relocation specialty was worth consideration, but to be done professionally, it would require special characteristics.  So then started the “specification” process for determining the ideal business model.

In approaching that design, we determined the best service would need these characteristics:

        Deep knowledge of the best relocation venues, area wide———-Experience in the business, area wide.——   A highly professional, even sophisticated level of service. ———A deep body of resources, freely delivered long before clients come to town. ——-A willingness to always commit the best agents to one-on-one service when scheduling actual community visits.———Probably, a team approach, to pool the experience and knowledge.——A totally open (now called transparent) service, full disclosure, absolute loyalty. ———-Hospitality that we would want for ourselves….off the chart. ——–In service terms, a level greater than common expectations justify.——-In terms of emotions:  ultimate comfort, confidence, convenience.

As these studies progressed, it was obvious that whatever good intentions otherwise prevailed, the package could not be consistently delivered without eliminating the potential for conflicts of interest, a  policy of NEVER serving sellers. We came to feel that we needed in fact to eliminate not only the reality but also the perception of potential conflicts of interest….that buyers could only be open and comfortable with us under those circumstances.  It therefore had to be absolute….even a few listings would seriously jeopardize the comfort and confidence we intended.  That really upped the ante.

So we considered this most carefully, and had learned there were a few others around the country experimenting with it.   So our research included ranging a bit to distant places, visiting with these other pioneers.   Adding to the magnitude of change this suggested, real estate service in the entire nation at that point considered itself as serving sellers exclusively, and laws supported hat. Adding to the pressure for change was that most buyers thought they were represented but indeed were not.  A watershed study of nationwide consumer attitudes by the Federal Trade Commission in 1983 found that over 80% of all buyers thought they were being  represented, but in fact, were not.

            Finally, we carried from the beginning an attitude that if we were going to do it at all, we were going to commit to doing it well, enhancing the differentiation, serving at the highest truly professional level possible.  We felt that clients would know and appreciate the difference…and they certainly do!

So therefore was the business plan finalized, and it hasn’t been diluted an iota over the 20 years, except that we’ve found additional avenues of service borne of the separation of representation; it’s amazing what additional opportunities we’ve found in that fact.  Of course technology has taken us into a new world, although we still adhere to a lot of old-fashioned stuff….hospitality, for instance.  A good specific example is that we still have a policy of having a human person answer the phone, even forwarding the office phone to one of the principles after hours and weekends and a few other older-fashioned ideas of personal service.  Otherwise, we’ve tried to stay “with it”!  We have great tech support in our offices, and even have a growing presence on Facebook and LinkedIn.  And we have these blogs (soon to get a major facelift and it’s supposed to be a surprise, but a separate new blog is coming called “Family Matters”, for, about,and from our wonderful alumni families. 

And the benefits of this fact were a bit of a surprise: we have this wonderful horizontal relationship to the best relocation targets, as opposed to the average agency’s more vertical relationship with a town or two.  We often do agent-switches to get the best experience to a client, of course always using the whole team for knowledge and opinion. No other agency around can touch this team’s approach to knowing this segment throughout southwest Illinois. 

And we’ve always delivered “Client-Level Service” according to the old, (still valid) Common Law of Agency.  It’sa level of service higher than real estate law requires, which calls only for “Customer Level Service,” basically, honesty and fairness.  Client-Level Service requires undiluted loyalty, full disclosure and more, which obviously can’t be delivered to more than one party in a transaction. (The Common Law of Agency has been in fact, legally abrogated or attenuated for the entire real estate community.  Oklahoma even tried to outlaw the higher-level Common Law service, in 1999, which was quickly struck down by their supreme court as blatently anti-consumer.)             

Of course, at the beginning, serving only buyers was considered a form of heresy, but we quickly got past the suspicious issues on the part of traditional agencies, and we now enjoy, (and cultivate, in fact,) a great relationship with the rest of the real estate world…cooperation to the betterment of both sellers and buyers.

In the beginning, we chose to have offices in the two recognized centers of relocation activity, Edwardsville/Glen Carbon and O’Fallon/Shiloh.  The Edwardsville community enjoyed the presence of Southern Illinois University, and O’Fallon nestled next to Scott Air Force Base.   That decision has been very strongly validated, although there are some great smaller communities around too, that offer a different kind of relocation community.   (Glen Carbon was named, in fact, in 2009 as one of the top 100 communities in the US by CNN’s Money Magazine, and Edwardsville was just selected as one of the top ten in the USA as most desirable in which to raise a family, by Family Circle Magazine.)   We’ve greatly appreciated serving the military community from our O’Fallon office, and almost half of our clients have military connections.  

And we had the opportunity to participate locally and nationally in the “Exclusive Buyer Agent” movement, and especially in the formation of The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.  Formed 4 years after we started our local business, Merrill was a charter member, and in fact, it’s first Treasurer.  Serving on the Board of Directors for more than 10 years, he served as its fourth President in 1998.  We have contributed, and have gained enormously because of this affiliation.  It’s been a great experience for us, especially Merrill.  He still contributes to several national real estate columnists and has a wide circle of industry acquaintances.  (You might google his name sometime.  These affiliations are paramount.) 

So the expectations of our buyer clients may exactly follow the specifications outlined in the above story, although we might qualify a few facets of service.  (Obviously,our sites abound with other supportive information. For overviews, there’s an “Overview” (duh!) item low on the menu, and nearby, “Differences”.)

         Free access to lots of information early still prevails. Our stuff is constantly under construction with major web site revisions on the way, plus enhanced visibility on Facebook and LinkedIn. We still require registration only where rules require, or for certain proprietary products we’ve developed with other agencies, notably, “Homework” and the “Wiser Homebuying Manual.”

            We’ve developed a detailed set of promises that are sacrosanct.  Among them are the promise to give this higher client-level of service, the promise not to assume a comitment to use our services until agreed, sometimes only after an interview, and a certain list of offenses that “We won’t do!.”  The last is based on the fact that not all deception is active….so we’ve tried to identify some passive forms in a reverse set of promises.

            And early in our practice we added a “no hustle” pledge.  We’ve always felt that decisions needed to be “built” so that when the time comes, they’re natural.  And of course, no one likes to be hurried, or “hustled” into decisions before they’re comfortable.  So for lack of a better term, we have the “No-Hustle Pledge”.  (We admit it’s a bit weaker than the successful “No Wine Before it’s Time” campaign.)  And we do not make uninvited phone calls.

            We quickly and greatly elevated the importance of resaleability in the specs of our relocation buyers.   We consider it, for the whole, and especially the military community, an essential  buying goal.  That’s all consistent with the principle that we believe we set our clients up to  make the most money when they resell the home we help them buy!  (We can’t always promise  big discounts from asking price, but we can promise consideration of re-sale potential.)

            Finally, we’re still committed to one-on-one service with an outstanding, experienced agent while clients are in town.  We schedule an “agent-week”, which usually starts on a weekend, or on Monday, with a week being a good conservative average time for a great search to a good conclusion, assuming the client does some homework before arrival, easy nowadays.

            But we can’t schedule more than one client per agent, either.  On occasion, even already lately, we’ve had to suggest an alternative schedule, or a different agent.  And if search times don’t exactly mesh with “agent-weeks”, then we may need to do a bit of tag-teaming with other agents  or sometimes, even refer the clients to another agency, heaven forbid!   So we need to request careful advance scheduling and very much appreciate the consideration.

            There is therefore, a certain incompatibility with local clients, who are in and out over a longer period.  While we do take some locals, we do need to warn them of the potential for schedule conflicts, out-of-towners having preference.

Wow….it seems we’ve covered a lot here, even a recitation of our mission, our policies and procedures and even our intentions.  As we work in our 20^th year, we’re trying to re-work much of our materials, and do hope this is a more interesting way of presenting it.

Enormous thanks goes to all of our former clients, with deep appreciation for their confidence and patronage, and for their many referrals of their friends.  That we recognize as a precious gift and we won’t betray that kind of confidence for anything!  This has been a wonderful journey for us with enormous satisfactions borne of serving simply-incredible people!

Paul and Merrill

There’s also been an interview recently with NAEBA’s president, on Good Morning America.  We should be supplied with a clip of that soon.

But the most recent one indorsement, a very open recommendation from HUD, follows.  Please review it.  Most of us are astonished that HUD first of all knows the difference, but also has the courage to publish it, knowing many main-line realtors will be reading. 

 Applause from Informed Observers: Regularly, there are comments from informed observers in the consumer press that laud the concept of exclusive buyer representation.  Recently, articles have appeared in these publications lauding the exclusive brand of buyer representation:              Smart Money - Newsweek  - USA Today  -  US News & World Report, and Kiplinger’s And….

But in a brand new HUD brochure on “Shopping for your Home Loan”, this text is quoted:

US Department of Housing and Urban Development Releases Latest Version of Shopping for your Home Loan
HUD Booklet advises buyers to search for an agent who will represent their interests in real estate transaction
 
AVONDALE, AZ January 01, 2010 – In its first revision in over 10 years, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) advises home buyers that it is their responsibility to search for a real estate agent that will represent their interests. In Shopping for Your Home Loan - HUD’s Settlement Cost Booklet, HUD states: “If you want someone to represent only your interests, consider hiring an ‘exclusive buyer’s agent,’ who will be working for you.”
 
The National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents (NAEBA) views this as an important element of the new era of home buying.             (Merrill has had a prominent role in the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.  He was a charter member, its first Treasurer and its fourth President…more under “scrapbook”.)
 

Best Places to Live - Money’s list of America’s best small towns.   

Glen Carbon Ranked Among Top 100 Best Places To Live in USA    Glen Carbon is ranked among the top 100 best places to live according to (click link) Money Magazine. Glen Carbon, with a population of 12,500, is praised for its wide selection of affordable housing, abundant vegetation, and its strong community spirit. Money Magazine’s researchers surveyed small towns across America, gathering data on their unemployment levels, crime rates, school systems and housing costs. Based on this research, Glen Carbon is recognized among American’s best places to live!   

—————————————————————————    

(The following is the announcement of the most recent Edwardsville honor, as published in the Edwardsville     Intelligencer, that Edwardsville had been named in the top 10 cities in the nation in which to raie a family….an award from “Family Circle” magazine:)     Edwardsville gets top 10 nod  

The following article is quoted in its entirety.  It was written and published by Amy Hoak, in Market Watch, recently.  It’s a great summary and we generally agree, except that the comments about new home construction does not prevail in our community.  That was worked off a year ago.  Builders are back to building “inventory” homes, but they are not ahead of the real market at all.Could this actually be the best time to buy? It may be moment you’re looking for By Amy HoakMarketWatch CHICAGO—People are afraid to buy a home in times like these, with the economy tanking and home prices continuing to fall.  But if you’re brave enough to stray from the herd, you might be in for the home-buying opportunity of a lifetime. Ask for price reductions, improvements, closing costs—whatever—and the seller, desperately trying to get a contract, is very likely to work with you, said Jay Papasan, one of authors of the book “Your First Home.”  When the market starts improving, your negotiating power starts to diminish, he added. If you’re qualified to buy a home now, the purchase makes sense for your situation and you’re prepared to live in that home for at least five years, there are reasons why you may be headed for a great deal: 1.  Affordability is better than ever.According to the National Association of Realtors’ housing affordability index, homes were more affordable in December than at any other point since the group started the index in 1970.  The affordability index is a measure of the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income. John and Julie Chilman, for example, recently have been able to stretch their dollars in the

This is a re-work of a letter published here last fall, but the sentiment is so appropriate, I thought it justified an update. Of course, you will recall the popular movie of a couple of years ago called The Perfect Storm!   It was an unlikely but memorable name, and The Perfect Rainbow is a lot more positive!  And this is not to say the storm we have had was perfect, but it was a pretty darned good one. So it’s good that we should expect a pretty-darned good rainbow. And that’s what we believe prevails, market wise, so it’s an appropriate analogy.  It’s a bit counter-intuitive, because the media and others have installed high levels of wariness, but we do not recall circumstances any more promising in recent years, and the surge in the market so far in 2010 says that many consumers feel the same. 

·        There is good inventory fromwhich to choose.

·        The values are stable and realistic, and not likely, it appears, to go lower.

·        The asking price versus selling price ratios are getting smaller.

The competition is not yet outrageous, but building.

• Money is easily available, at all-time low rates, (but rates appear anxious to rise.)
• The affordability index is at an all time high.

(please pardon the disparity of button size above….I can’t get them = for anything!)Of course we would more than ever recommend great care in buying; to minimize risks and maximize enjoyment and resale.   That is where we come in.  

But we’re envisioning historically “best times to buy” that may not return even in (some of our) lifetimes!   If you want to talk about it with me, use 800-231-5588.

 Merrill Ottwein

Here….we simply have two new references for you, to help follow the real estate markets in southwest

A great school survey, especially for the military family, is being provided by our friend Cindy Doil, (Rotary-friend that is, our outgoing, wonderful president.)  This should be Cindy’s link, but the url is www.Webpages.charter.net/cdoil.

Then, it was interesting to see that Family Circle magazine, in bestowing the honor of the 3^rd best city in the

www.greatschools.com for their school data.Thanks….Merrill

This therefore is old stuff: 

The purchase deadline for first time buyers to reap the $8,000 tax credit is just around the corner, considering it’s harder nowadays to get around the corner!

While this site is intended primarily for existing home buyers that have been clients of ours in the past, and so are homeowners already, almost everyone knows of potential first-time buyers among family and friends, and those are the ones for which this message is intended.For them, the ticking sound is the sound of time creeping up on the expiration of the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers.Of course, it is only July and the credit does not expire until Dec. 1.  But unless the federal government decides to extend or expand the credit – kind of a long shot — it may be time for potential first time buyers to get the process started.

First, remember the rule:  it is not that a contract must be signed before Dec. 1 or a loan approved by then. The sale has to close before Dec. 1.But even this scenario is tempting fate, but we believe buyers should have a purchase contract signed by mid to late September, so they have 45 to 60 days to safely close the purchase.  Buyers who want to be in a new home by Thanksgiving need a contract by mid September for sure.

Under normal circumstances, buying a home is a complicated process, particularly after the fun of looking at potential homes descends into financial minutia.  The process is normally difficult, especially for first time buyers, who have not been through the process before.

But that process has become much more laborious in these times.   We have seen all kinds of surprises in the appraisal and lending processes.   One simply cannot count on the old timetable.   New appraisal rules have kicked in and we are seeing St. Louis and other out-of-area appraisers groping for local data and statistics, and taking lots of time.  Lenders are taking lots more time and are being super careful about everything.  Also, it can take significantly longer to get an answer back on an offer for a distressed property than a traditional one.  It seems that everything is dragging out and taking longer.

And we want to be very careful ourselves in supporting the search process, making sure that all viable options are considered, and a comfortable confidence is built.   We still want the usual careful analysis of resale potential for all finalists.

The bottom line is that it is not too early to organize the search and get the financing efforts started.   These two functions need to be considered as on parallel tracks, merged at the moment necessary after the search identifies the single best option. 

In fact, some kind of commitment from a lender needs to be in hand before offers are made.  That is a most important tool for us in making the offer look good to the seller. (Sellers are more careful nowadays, too, as they want a deal that really closes, and closes on time.)  So financing surety up front goes a long way, in building buyer confidence, in making it easier for the sellers to say yes and for the whole process to go smoothly.

Then finally, there is little doubt that the $8,000 incentive is working as intended.  All of us in the business have seen a growing interest in taking advantage of that, so many in fact, that last minute congestion at the closing offices (title companies) could even be a possibility.

So we surely do not mean to be discouraging.  We just want to say that under these modern circumstances, it could take longer than usual to close on a transaction, so it is not too early to get it started.  And while it may be formidable, we are there to make it safe and comfortable.   Like a lot of our most challenging lifetime efforts, the reward will surely be worth it!   We hope you might convey this sentiment to family and friends that are in a position to take advantage of the incentive AND get into a new home by Christmas, or even, Thanksgiving. 

Recently, the owners of every parcel of real estate in Madison

First, this is in response to state-managed reviews, township by township, which claim that properties have been, on the average, under-assessed, hence the need for the adjustment, across the board to every parcel.  It’s a process that’s legally required in the state of Illinois “quadrennially”…every 4 years.  It’s performed under state supervision by the County

So what can one do?   The fact is, for this kind of assessment, not a lot.  Ordinary procedures for protesting individual assessments don’t apply here, although they might still be invoked if the overall assessment is simply deemed too high.  Ordinarly, these protests are made on individual parcels after the Assessor does his job and reports to the owner, where objections are somewhat easily filed with The Board of Review itself.  But this equalization process is not in that “ordinary” category. Here, the Board of Review is leveling the “Equalization Factor” against every single property; (In fact, The Board of Review by doing this is indirectly criticizing the Assessor as not having done his job properly…hence the need for the overall adjustment.)  And that makes a great deal of difference in how objections are made: Since The Board of Review is applying the state imposed “Equalization Factor”, an individual owner cannot file an objection with the local board for that reason.  It instead must be done directly with a state agency called, “The Property Tax Appeal Board”, (web site: www.state.il.us/agency/ptab, which web address is on the back of the card.) And the complaint there can only be with the “Tax Equalization Factor” set.  That agency is not prepared to deal with individual assessments otherwise.  In my mind, that makes it nearly impossible, surely improbable, for individuals to win, (visualizing Don Quixote’s “Windmill Tilting”.)   I anticipate that the local Board of Review would also discourage you from making this appeal. 

So this “bottom line”:  Individuals should work through the math and see how it affects them.  Take the assessed value after the equalization factor is applied and multiply it times 3, (because assessed values are 1/3 of real.)  Compare that number with what you’ve paid for the home, or what you think the home is really worth.  In the several cases I’ve worked through, these new assessed values, after “equalization”, are still a bit under the purchase price, making it difficult to lodge an objection.  However if the new assessed value is substantially higher, than I would still go to The Board of Review and file an appeal, (not for the equalization factor, but just because it’s overall, too high.)  You would then need to prepare a presentation for the Board of Review based on “comparables” (valuations of homes equal to yours,) in the ordinary way in which taxes are challenged.  We can help you with this. Sometimes, a “Realtor’s Opinion” will help, (but probably not ours, if we helped you buy the home.)  A purchased appraisal might also help.  We could help select that help. Your protest should be filed with the County