Over Memorial Day weekend, my wife and I were first-time attendees at the annual Flavors of Greece Festival presented by St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church in Aurora. This two-day festival is held at the Kane County Fair Grounds in St. Charles and brings together the sights, sounds and flavors of everything Greek.

It’s no secret that I’ve always been a fan of Greek food. Growing up near Detroit, we would regularly go into the city to have dinner at Greektown and Trapper’s Alley. Very early I was introduced to flaming cheese and other Greek dishes at The New Parthenon and Pegasus as well as the sticky goodness of Baklava.

The Flavors of Greece Festival was a great time. We started by browsing a room filled with Greek and Greek-themed goods for sale. But the big draw was the main room that featured the food and dancing. We got to see some authentic Greek dancing put on by the Apollo Dance Troupe. The dancers wore traditional costumes from some of the many regions in the country and were accompanied by traditional Greek music and singing. The day was capped off by sampling some of the great foods available including Souvlaki, Moussaka, Gyros and Ouzo. Over-all it was a great activity to spend an afternoon at and highly recommended if you have a love for Greek food and culture.

Sugar Grove has a reputation of being the “next” community on the forefront of development pushing outwards from Chicago. For the most part, it’s still known as a small farming community. However, in The Lakes of Bliss Woods, what they’re growing are beautiful and stylish custom homes. Located in the northeast part of the community next to the nearby communities of Windstone and Prestbury, The Lakes of Bliss Woods can be reached by heading southwest on Bliss Road from I-88 or northeast from Route 47 and downtown Sugar Grove.

At about 165 homes, The Lakes of Bliss Woods isn’t one of the largest Sugar Grove subdivisions, yet it has a great community of active and responsible residents. This picturesque community features manicured lawns, 3 parks and several ponds. Most of the homes in this subdivision are custom-built by several builders. They often feature some of the latest design styles and range from the low $400,000 to above $500,000. For those who think of Sugar Grove as the sleepy farm town out past Aurora, take a drive through The Lakes of Bliss Woods. What you’ll find is elegance, style and comfort - perfect for home buyers looking for these things in a smaller community setting.

The Tanner Trails subdivision located off of Tanner Road in North Aurora is finally nearing completion despite a bankruptcy filed by the primary builder - Neumann Homes in October 2007. Many residents were concerned with the unfinished status of several of the streets and parks. However, in a decisive move, the Village of North Aurora utilized credit extended on the behalf of Neumann Homes to complete several projects around the community. The end result is an excellent community of just over 500 homes on over 350 acres of land surrounded by several parks, conservation areas and area hiking and biking trails.

Initial construction began in 2003 at Tanner Trails and it instanly became a popular place for buyers seeking large new homes at a reasonable price. Escalating home costs in 2004 and 2005 pushed home values in the subdivision from the low to the high $300,000’s yet interest in the homes remained brisk, even through the beginning of the market downturn in 2006. Currently, Tanner Trails represents a great place to look for resale values. Due to the size of the community, competition from the number of homes on the market continues to drive home prices downwards. If you’re looking for North Aurora homes for sale, make sure you keep Tanner Trails at the top of your list.

If you’re shopping in the $400-500,000 range, you really have the run of the store. You can pretty much choose your community, area and style of home. If a new home is on your shopping list, you might want to consider one of the custom homes located in The Reserves at Tanner Trails in North Aurora. There are currently several spec homes and builder models available in this community of custom and semi-custom homes located at the far western edge of North Aurora real estate.

R.A. Faganel Builders is currently offering a 4BR/2.5BA full-brick-front custom spec home packed with upgrades for around $435,000 and they’re also offering their builder model for sale featuring 4BR/3.5BA and over 3300 square feet with a natural stone front - also packed with upgrades for around $520,000. Another builder currently offering a spec home is Wyndham Deerpoint Builders who are offering a fully-built Richmond floorplan spec home featuring a gourmet kitchen with granite tops, 2-story fireplace and 4BR/4BA for right around $450,000. These prices and availablility is highly subject to change, so if you’re in the market to buy, jump on one of these deals before they’re gone.

This weekend was the annual Cinco de Mayo Festival in downtown Aurora. If you really want to get to know the community of Aurora, one of its local festivals is the place to be. Saturday many Aurorans braved the rain and weather to celebrate the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862. Sunday, the crowds were thicker as the sun and mild weather made it a great day to be out in the city. The festival featured a food court with authentic Mexican food, performances by local musicians and performers as well as a carnival with games and rides for the kids.

Although Cinco de Mayo is traditionally seen as a Mexican-American holiday, it really should be celebrated by all of us. The bravery of the some-4,000 Mexican troops who defeated a French force nearly 3-times its size that day in 1862 helped keep the French under Napoleon III from supplying the Confederate army. This, in turn, helped the north attain victory and end the Civil War two years later. Besides which, Cinco de Mayo is definately another reason for us to all celebrate something and that’s perfectly fine with me.

Parking was great - we followed the signs and parked in the ATA lot behind Walter Payton’s Roundhouse. From there it was just an easy walk through the tunnel to the lot on Spring and Lincoln where the festival was. The stage was set up close to Spring Street and drew a big crowd. There were also several booths serving authentic Mexican food but the real highlight for many kids was the carnival featuring several rides and games. It wasn’t a huge festival but enough to kick off the spring and summer festival season here in Aurora. If you’re looking for a great way to get everyone out for some fun, check out the Cinco de Mayo festival next year in downtown Aurora.

The spring festivals got off to a rather chilly start this Saturday with Oswego’s annual Wine on the Fox Festival at Hudson Crossing Park. With temperatures in the low 50s and a brisk wind, crowds were suprisingly brisk as well. If there’s one thing that Fox Valley residents love, it’s a party, especially with wine. While I’m sure the crowds would have been thicker had the weather been better, many oenophiles (wine lovers) came out to support the Rotary Club of Oswego and Illinois wineries.

Admission was $10 for a souvenier glass and 5 tasting tickets. Additional tastes could be purchased for $1 per ticket. There were perhaps 15 wineries from all over Illinois on location pouring a host of different wines. There was also a central music tent where we particularly enjoyed the music of The Flat Cats - extra kudos to the musicians who braved the cold weather to entertain the guests. There were also a couple places to buy food - I felt there could have been a few more choices and more participation by local eateries.

A couple comments: I would charge a larger admission fee - perhaps $15 per person - and do away with the tickets. I heard from several other participants who had strips of tickets blow away as they were trying to balance a glass of wine, tasting sheets and a carrying case of purchased wine. Also, having to pay-per-taste meant I only got to taste perhaps one wine from each winery - if I didn’t like it, that winery didn’t get any of my business even though they might have had another that I would have enjoyed and purchased.

For those that feel the tickets cuts down on alcohol consumption, consider this: as a wine tasting veteran, at a normal tasting, if I didn’t like a wine, I would take a sip and dump it. Here, since I paid a dollar for a taste, I felt almost obligated to drink it - I actually consumed more alcohol than I would have without the tickets. Many of the folk who come to this festival come for the atmosphere and the fun of tasting different wines - not to get drunk. I also laughed at the wineries that charged two tickets for a taste of port. One of the pourers even said it was “because the wine is fortified - there’s extra alcohol” - I guess they thought the extra alcohol was worth an extra dollar. Suffice to say, I didn’t purchase anything from those wineries - I buy wines that taste interesting - If I want alcohol, I’ll drink vodka - it’s cheaper and quicker.

All in all, it was a wonderful festival and a great turnout. The parking was well-done with at least three seperate lots. I found a parking spot right next to the park and the police were there to direct you. What a great way to kick off the spring with a glass of good Illinois wine and the company of fellow Fox Valley residents. If you missed it, definately put this one on your “to-do” list for 2009.

I’ve seen a lot of folks predicting a lot of things about the housing market. First, know that real estate is local. Market conditions in other parts of the country will change differently than our area. I feel it’s impossible to “peg” the market in general as far as what’s going to happen. However, in our area, I see a lot of optimism for this year. Let’s take a look at the factors:

There hasn’t been a lot of market activity over the past couple years. Buyers have been waiting for a good deal. Foreclosures are moving briskly but there’s an ever-plentiful supply. This has made it difficult to impossible for existing home owners to move. This pressure has created pent-up demand in the market.

Mortgage rates are extremely low right now. Close to the levels they were back in 2005 before Greenspan messed them all up. Lenders have tightened restrictions but those that can buy will be getting a good deal on loan rates.

There is increasing national attention being put on the housing crisis and the extreme number of foreclosures. The government may be stepping in at some point this year to stem the tide of foreclosures. Once the foreclosures slow, values will begin to rise.

Rentals are now getting harder to find and rent prices are rising. Rent prices are now getting higher than the cost of owning a condo or single-family home. This increases the number of buyers in the market as renters decide it’s better to buy than pay more in rent.

We’re now entering the spring market - a naturally busy time. This should reduce inventory as buyers begin to take up the slack. If the number of foreclosures begins to slow, we’re going to see a further reduction in inventory for the fall. This points to the possibility of an uptick in the market beginning this fall. I predict conditions will remain flat during the spring and summer as the existing inventory begins to be eaten up by buyer demand but this fall we should see a slightly better market.

What does this mean for home buyers? If you haven’t yet entered the housing market, now is the time. You want to buy when the market is at or close to bottom - not after it has started to recover. If you’re looking for the point at where there’s the biggest inventory at the lowest prices, put yourself in the position to purchase this spring and summer.

A horse is a horse of course of course…..now the famous Mr. Ed is trying his hand at real estate in Northern Illinois. This week we saw the much-anticipated merger of the MLSNI and MAP MLS - two area multiple listing services (basically big databases of real estate information). In doing so, the area brokers decided to incorporate both systems into a brand new organization. The name of the company they came up with is Midwest Real Estate Data (LLC) - or MRED for short. It’s not known whether the area brokers were thinking of the acronym when they came up with this company, but it’s definately going to be fun in the future consulting the famous MR. ED for homes.

What isn’t known is whether or not they will incorporate the horse’s voice into the program. I can see it now: logging in you’ll be welcomed, “Hello…..I’m Mr. Ed”. Or how about, doing a search would result in “No Properties Match Your Search Requirements…..Willlbuuuuurrrr”.

With the passing of the first day of spring on March 21st as well as the completion of Easter Weekend, the spring market is officially here. Things are looking promising with a lot of activity in the early weeks of March so there are a lot of things to be optimistic about. Interest rates are again low (5.6% at one point last week), home values are at a low point, pent up demand is there, economic stimulus checks are in the mail, tax returns are comming and the government seems honestly concerned about the foreclosure rate - to the point of taking action to reduce it. All of these factors point positive and if you haven’t started to hear rumblings in the media about a possible recovery in 2008, you soon will.

If you’re entering the market this year - whether to buy or sell - this next couple weeks you have to start thinking about how to prepare. Sellers - get those homes freshened up and get them on the market to take advantage of the early activity. Buyers - start contacting your local real estate professional (630 - 346 - 1041) for advice on how to start the process. 2008 should be a defining year for the real estate market as well as the economy - you need to be aware of what’s going on at all times and your local real estate professional is the key to helping you understand the market and how to come out ahead.

Many folks have heard the term “Short Sale” used recently amid the housing downturn of the past couple years. However, there is a lot of mystery involved as to what this is, exactly. I’m here to discuss several of the main concepts of these types of sales. If you watch the property market closely and have always wondered what the ins and outs are of these types of sales, hopefully this post will help you make sense of the process.

A short sale in the basic sense occurs when a property owner attempts to sell a property for less than they owe on it. This is usually due to some type of financial hardship on the part of the property owner or the inability to meet scheduled payments on the home. In essence, here is a rundown of the short sale process:

1. Property owner is late on one or more mortgage payments or is able to prove the inability to pay in the near future
2. Property owner or appointed attorney contacts lender and obtains a short sale packet that lists the requirements the lender has in order to approve the short sale
3. Property owner lists the property for sale with a REALTOR at the home’s actual value
4. Property owner agrees to an acceptable offer from an approved and willing buyer
5. Property owner or appointed attorney contacts lender again with the contract and all short sale documents
6. Lender appraises the property and either approves or denies the short sale or makes the buyers a counter-offer

There are many things that are often misunderstood about the short sale process. The first is usually the list price of the home. Many property owners feel that they can price the home for whatever amount they choose and the lender will approve the sale. In actuality, the lender usually will only approve the amount that the property is actually worth - determined by the appraisal. In many cases where the contract is for a price substantially less than the actual appraised value of the property, the lender will counter the contract at its actual value. The lender always has the final say in the value that they will accept for the property - not the seller.

Another aspect of the short sale that is often confusing is the addition of a second mortgage. If there is more than one mortgage on the property, both lenders must approve the short sale to release title to the property. In many cases, a second mortgage holder has a subordinate lien position on the property - this means that if the property goes into foreclosure, the primary lein holder will be paid first and whatever is left over then goes to the second lien holder (and on down the line). Because of this, it is often in the best interests of second mortgage holders to negotiate with the homeowner and allow the property to be sold BEFORE foreclosure - but the situation puts them at a very weak negotiating position. Often, second mortgage holders are offered a $1,000 settlement on a loan for many tens-of-thousands of dollars. However, because the second mortgage holder must write off on the sale of the property, they do have a final say-so in the ability of the short sale to go forward. In several cases, second mortgage holders have forced property owners to sign personal notes of repayment in order to approve the short sale. When a second mortage is involved, often things become many times more complex.

If you are a homeowner and are having trouble making payments, a short sale may be an option to consider. You have to keep the following in mind: you will almost never get any money out of the property, you have to be able to prove some type of current of future financial hardship and depending on your circumstance, the short sale may or not be successful. Perhaps the two most important factors you should look for if you feel a short sale might benefit you are a real estate agent who knows the short sale process and will advise you properly and an attorney to help you get everything the lender needs together and negotiate with your mortgage holders.

On the other hand, if you are a buyer buying a property through short sale, the primary thing you need to have is patience and an open mind. You are buying a property from a seller who likely has no additional money to put into the property. The sale is always subject to lender approval and time from offer to close may be 3-4 months or more, or even never. You might also end up being asked to pay for property liens and other expenses that the seller of the property is unable to pay. The end result is that you usually get a property well under market value but you have to be patient and put up with a lot. Again, the most important thing for you is to be working with a real estate agent experienced in short sales who can advise you throught the process.

For more information on short sales please call me directly at (630) 346-1041