This past weekend the man friend and I headed out to the suburbs. We had a few things on our to-do list - looking at appliances and kitchens. We were pretty successful on both items.
For those Chicago people, we went to Abt Electronics in Glenview. WOW. There were a lot of things to look at. Including a fountain. Their appliance selection was pretty amazing. I had no idea how far dishwashers have come.
We also headed to a home store for kitchen cabinets and counter tops in Aurora. Houses are expensive, but it still beats renting in my book!
On our way out to Glenview we took Milwaukee north from Irving Park, which was an interesting drive. There were lots of Polish delis and other neighborhood spots that you could go for years without knowing.
On our way back from Aurora we accidentally ended up on 290. Per usual, the traffic was horrendous on the way into the city. So, we hopped off 290 at 25th and headed north into Maywood.
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Hopping on to Washington, we headed east toward the city. Maywood proved an interesting community to drive through. Brick bungalows lined the street in a community that seemed quiet. We passed through a brief forest/park and crossed over a river and were suddenly in Oak Park. It was interesting to see the difference a river makes.
Oak Park had beautiful homes that were much larger than the homes we had just seen in Maywood. Each house was on a larger lot as well. With CTA buses and trains in Oak Park, this is one of the few suburbs that I have an interest in living in.
Oak Park's eastern border is the city of Chicago's Austin neighborhood. We decided to take Chicago Ave into the city and discovered a part of Chicago that reminded us of third world countries. I would not make the drive alone or at night.
The street was lined with empty store fronts. The stores you did see were liquor, dollar stores, and the occasional cheap cell phone place. On occasion you would see a fast food style restaurant or a beauty salon. The one thing this stretch of the city has is plenty of churches. There was a store front operation on every other block.
We took this all the way to Western, traveling between Humboldt Park and Garfield Park.
Turning up Western we made our way to Bluebird in Bucktown, our default and one of our favorite restaurants in that area.
Ahh Chicago, you gave us an interesting tour.
May 27, 2009
May 20, 2009
For all those Arts Administrators
Great post from Adam Thurman... His point regarding taking a year is a valid one.
May 5, 2009
The other thing I've been up to...
So about 6 - 7 weeks ago the man-friend and I were cooking dinner and he started talking about these houses in Albany Park that were selling for $150,000. In short, we determined that we should investigate. When again were we going to get the legitimate opportunity to buy a single family home in Chicago at a price we can afford on the brown line?
For the last month and a half we have learned a whole lot about buying a home.
The first weekend we drove around just looking at the outsides of buildings and the areas they were in. Were these places we would be happy with? As it turns out, they were. So then we looked on the insides (luckily we have a friend - Jeremy Segal with @ Properties to show us the ropes). There was one really terrible place and a few others that we could actually see ourselves living in, with enough work.
So then it became about financing, which is when I learned the two biggest take aways I have found thus far.
1. Your credit score is not as bad as you think it is. Ok, that may not be true for some. But for me, I was totally scared that the random times I got caught up with work and forgot to pay my utility bills had ruined my credit score. Not true at all. There are other factors involved, such as assets to debt. I have always maintained low balances on my credit cards and consistently paid them off, this certainly helped. There are things you can do to improve your score, now is the time to do that. Especially with credit cards increasing interest rates and tightening their lending.
2. The myth of "pre-approval." Jeremy hooked us up with a few brokers and we filled out a form. What we then got back from that is a Good Faith Estimate. That means that a broker thinks they can secure you financing at that interest rate. After you decide to make an offer, your broker can provide you with a pre-approval letter.
I guess there could be a third, your offer is just a starting point especially with bank owned properties.
At this point we have made an offer on one property and were asked for our best and final offer due to their being multiple offers. Now we play the waiting game. Either way I'm having a panic attack when we hear.
For the last month and a half we have learned a whole lot about buying a home.
The first weekend we drove around just looking at the outsides of buildings and the areas they were in. Were these places we would be happy with? As it turns out, they were. So then we looked on the insides (luckily we have a friend - Jeremy Segal with @ Properties to show us the ropes). There was one really terrible place and a few others that we could actually see ourselves living in, with enough work.
So then it became about financing, which is when I learned the two biggest take aways I have found thus far.
1. Your credit score is not as bad as you think it is. Ok, that may not be true for some. But for me, I was totally scared that the random times I got caught up with work and forgot to pay my utility bills had ruined my credit score. Not true at all. There are other factors involved, such as assets to debt. I have always maintained low balances on my credit cards and consistently paid them off, this certainly helped. There are things you can do to improve your score, now is the time to do that. Especially with credit cards increasing interest rates and tightening their lending.
2. The myth of "pre-approval." Jeremy hooked us up with a few brokers and we filled out a form. What we then got back from that is a Good Faith Estimate. That means that a broker thinks they can secure you financing at that interest rate. After you decide to make an offer, your broker can provide you with a pre-approval letter.
I guess there could be a third, your offer is just a starting point especially with bank owned properties.
At this point we have made an offer on one property and were asked for our best and final offer due to their being multiple offers. Now we play the waiting game. Either way I'm having a panic attack when we hear.
Long time coming...
Ok, it has been a few weeks to say the least. And I have been busy!
Recently the man-friend and I traveled to outside of Detroit to visit his family. We played with little kids and laughed along with his family. On our way back we stopped in Ann Arbor for lunch at the Arbor Brewing Company. Having so much fun over lunch, we decided to stay the night. We got a room for cheap at the Lamp Post Inn and re-lived the college life for a day. Luckily we timed it on a Monday, during which many of the bars that the man-friend frequented in his college days were holding all day happy hours. Umm, $3 beers? Score. Weather was crappy, but boy did we have fun.
I've been working a bunch for Chicago Sailing. The season started April 11th and it has been a crazy ship to keep running. At the end of each day I crash hard on the couch, as the roommate can attest.
Boomer has a new roommate as well. The roommate's dog arrived this past Saturday. Per usual, Boomer is proving that he is not an alpha dog. It has been awhile since he has voluntarily climbed on my lap without seeking attention. He's done that a couple of times in the last few days. It's fun to watch these two figure out how to play with each other and sort out personalities.
Recently the man-friend and I traveled to outside of Detroit to visit his family. We played with little kids and laughed along with his family. On our way back we stopped in Ann Arbor for lunch at the Arbor Brewing Company. Having so much fun over lunch, we decided to stay the night. We got a room for cheap at the Lamp Post Inn and re-lived the college life for a day. Luckily we timed it on a Monday, during which many of the bars that the man-friend frequented in his college days were holding all day happy hours. Umm, $3 beers? Score. Weather was crappy, but boy did we have fun.
I've been working a bunch for Chicago Sailing. The season started April 11th and it has been a crazy ship to keep running. At the end of each day I crash hard on the couch, as the roommate can attest.
Boomer has a new roommate as well. The roommate's dog arrived this past Saturday. Per usual, Boomer is proving that he is not an alpha dog. It has been awhile since he has voluntarily climbed on my lap without seeking attention. He's done that a couple of times in the last few days. It's fun to watch these two figure out how to play with each other and sort out personalities.
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