Chicago and Southern Illinois Real Estate Happenings

Back when I started out in ActiveRain, I said to myself,"This is
gonna help me grow my real estate business......."

Little did I know what changes this network were going to make
in my LIFE, as well as the lives of others in the real estate profession,
as well as those interested in real estate.

It started with getting to know the movers and shakers of the
network at that time:

• Krystal Kraft
• Lenn Harley
• Jennifer Allan
• Jason Crouch
• Margaret Rome
• Cheryl Johnson
• Brad Andersohn

Now, we used to have a feature that would show the most popular
bloggers by number of subscriptions, but I cannot find it at this time, or
I would be able to put more names in the above list.

There are MANY more movers and shakers than I have in my list, so if YOU
were not mentioned, please don't get upset.

I got to know a great many of these people and they helped me in my
blogging style.......

Krystal helped me put pictures on my blog.

Lenn and Margaret showed me how important it is to be consistent in localism posting.

Margaret and Lenn showed me how important it was to be stern in defending my principles.

Jennifer Allan showed me it is a good thing to be more outgoing, even if I was only outgoing with people I knew.

Jason showed me it is ok to me humorus and open up my life to others, including my personal situations as they happened.

Cheryl showed me that even if you hide behind a clip art picture in your profile picture, that is ok also......

Brad taught me to not worry about what other people thought and to ENJOY my blogging, as long as I was living the of the Golden Rule

There were so many in ActiveRain that contributed to my development as a blogger.... but I can not list them all here.

I started by just posting things I knew about real estate. Knowledge to me, was where it was at. I had several domains that I linked to ActiveRain and I learned html coding and website SEO as I grew in my knowledge of blogging.

 

I started the "Christianity and Real Estate" group January 25th, 2007 and since then it has grown to almost 1,400 members.

What is nice are the wonderful friendships that have developed over time as a result of that group.

I got to know great people who live out the Golden Rule every day of their lives:

* Elizabeth Nieves
* Don Draughn
* Andrew Trevino
* Jason Crouch
* Sara Washburn
* Brian Foxworth
* Loreena Yeo
* Lola Audu
* Debe Maxwell
* Bob Sloop
*Hugh Krone
*Nick Golgolucci
*Judi Barrett
*Loreena Yeo
*Diane Rice

 

And SOOoooo many others in the C&RE group.

Many, many, MANY posts in that group still to this day stand out as posts
that changed my life and the lives of others. Here is a smattering of recent
great posts in the group:

 

Raining Friendship
Barb Van Stensel, Realtor - Chicago, Illinois

Some Bold, Some Quiet But All Equally Valued
Loreena Yeo - Broker|Realtor(R) of www.Frisco-TX-Homes.com (214) 783-2210

Are you LED or LEAD?
Diane Rice

Your Ego is definitely Not Your Amigo! Views on Client Testimonials
Loreena Yeo - Broker|Realtor(R) of www.Frisco-TX-Homes.com (214) 783-2210

Motivational Monday - Kites Rise Highest Against The Wind, Not With It. Be a Kite!
Judi and Don Barrett Integrity Real Estate Services in SE Oklahoma

 

The group blogroll would not go past 10 pages... which would have resulted in a far BETTER look into the group at large, but I have all my C&RE posts tagged with "Christianity" in my blog.

So many people have come in to read the inspirational posts and to read about real estate from a Christian perspective.

In the group, we have had and still have featured posts that are simply requests for prayer. MANY great things have happened as a result of these prayers. As I said, I cannot go past the 10th page of posts to see praise reports from the prayers that have happened in the past at C&RE, BUT I can attest that MANY people have been touched as a result of prayers said on their behalf.

Bob Sloops wife came out of cancer surgery in fine fashion.

I got to Chicago, moving from Orlando, Florida with out a hitch and started to work with Diane Rice in her brokerage.

 

 

These two items are just the TIP of the iceburg of GREAT things that have happened as a result of ActiveRain hosting the "Christianity and Real Estate" group.

 

 

 

** Now all this is to say I have had MANY people (clients and prospects) who have visited Christianity and Real Estate, OR taken a look at my blogs on Christian principles and have been inspired to work with me or with others in the C&RE group.

I also have tagged Orlando area listings and Orlando area news  in my blog that many people have commented on to me.

Here is just ONE of my blogs on Christian principles that has lots of links to my other posts on the same subject.

Christianity and Real Estate.... The Kingdom of Heaven #7

 

I have told many people about the "Christianity and Real Estate" group in The ActiveRain Real Estate Network........
a LOT of my posts that are not specifically real estate related have drawn people (potential leads and clients) to this group, just because of the principles contained in the group and in my posts related to Christian principles.

If I had not been able to form the, "Christianity and Real Estate" group.... which almost happened back almost 3 years ago...... my real estate business and reputation would not be what it is today. I am actually in Chicago now because of Diane Rice, who is one of the members of the C&RE group.

 

 

It is because of the great owners and employees of ActiveRain AND the great membership of this network I have worked with that has helped me to leverage my blog and the group I founded to reach many, many people.

 

 

And that's a fact, Jack......

hehehehe

 

 

 

 

 

In conjunction with Diane Rices post about homes for sale
in Chicago for under $30,000.00, here is a post with a little
more meat to it.

In FACT I have 20 of these properties you CAN VIEW from the
Chicago area MLS....

How's THAT for some help in looking for Chicago investment
property at a ROCK BOTTOM price??

Diane said in her post that there are over 400 hundred properties
that can be purchased in the Chicago area for $30,000.00 or less....
and she is RIGHT.....

I have 20 of them HERE.... see Chicago area homes for sale for
under $30,000.00 just click on that link, my friend...

With some rehab and marketing, Rice Property Management and Realty
can help you get a steady stream of rental income for the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For help with your transaction from beginning to end, it is recommended to choose a company that can walk you through every aspect from selecting a profitable rental property, successfully bargaining the purchase of it, overseeing the managing of it, and assisting with it's re-sale if your interest level changes in the future! 

 

Owning real estate is the best way to become or stay financially secure. 98% of millionaires have owned or currently own real estate.

How's that for a fun fact??

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicago has so much to do it boggles the mind! There are also
Chicago homes for sale in all price ranges. The whole thing is..... are you
READY to purchase?

• Is your credit score high enough?
• Have you been on your job a while?
• Do you have money saved?
• Do you know where you want to live and
  what type of home you want to buy?

There are a bunch of other questions that need to be answered, but
the aforementioned ones are tops on the list for prospective home buyers.

If you are NOT ready to purchase a home in the Chicago area, then
maybe "renting to own" is the choice for you. Renting to own has
several positive things in its favor:

• You don't have to wait to live in the type of home you may
  want to purchase.
• You can rent the type of home you want while fixing up your
  credit at the same time.
• You can save money for unexpected things that pop up in life AND
  for things you may need after you close on your dream home.
• You will be adding time to your job while you are taking care of
  the items you need to take care of to purchase a home in the future
  and this makes your credit worthiness better.
• You MIGHT NOT even have to move because you would be buying the
  home you are renting.

 

Come and take a look at Rice Property Managements RPM PLAN......

It is a comprehensive plan to help you while you rent and prepare to
purchase Chicago real estate.

 

If you are an owner of Chicago area real estate and want quality tenant
and rental management, come and see our RPM PLAN

 

We offer:

I have read some statistics for the Chicago area that say
more employers appear willing to hire in the coming months.

That is great news for those who have been laid off and are
waiting for some good news in the tri-cities area of Chicago.

The latest survey from the National Association for Business
Economics, shows unemployment is moderating. It also gives
an improved outlook for hiring over the next six months or so.

78 NABE members working for the private sector and industry or
trade associations showed the percentage of companys
adding jobs doubled to 12% in October from an all-time
low of 6% in July of this year. MORE GOOD NEWS!!

The strongest gains were reported in the services sector,
with 54% of companies reporting higher demand for workers.
Finance, insurance and real estate also posted gains.

This is great news for Chicago area residents who have been
struggling with expenses.

Everyone is waiting for better times to come around.... and it
looks like they are beginning to happen.

 

Thanks to: taxiguy
and www.flickr.com for
the GREAT photo of the
city of Chicago at night

 

WWell, well, well..... have you ever felt like something was
out to get you? It was just waiting to pounce on you at the
least opportune time.... causing you a LOT of hand wringing
and sowing confusion plus worry......

That is what happened to Diane Rice yesterday....

I joined her team a week ago. After getting aquainted with
everything, I got to work getting the office organized.....

• Getting leads to agents QUICKLY!!
  
• Optimizing the company website (A 4+ hour job that
  IS NOT DONE yet)
  
• Getting the company laptop working with the
  network and using it on the weekends to do extra
  things
• Making sure everyone knew I was there TO HELP THEM,
  not just to make money for ME.
• Helping one of our new recruits with her real estate class
  work while she takes her classes and gets ready to join
  the team
• Learning the MLS, phone, network and website screen
  names and passwords
• Going on listing appointments with Diane
• Attending tenant appointments on my own

 

WOO HOO !!!

 

Things are going WELL. Even though Diane has had some things
happen... SHE IS A TROOPER !!!

Once GOOGLE caches our optimized Chicago, Illinois Homes for Sale
real estate website, I can't wait to see how it does in search results!!

 

 

Diane is a lady who will NOT be denied
her success......

I am RIGHT THERE WITH HER!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some interesting facts about Chicago and it's
surrounding communities:

• The Chicago area is the 26th largest metropolitan area
  and has over 9.5 million people across three states.
• The city of Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the United
  States of America.
  
• Chicago was founded in 1833 right near the great lakes
  and the Mississippi river.
• In 2007^[update], the city attracted 32.8 million domestic visitors
  and about 1.15 million foreign visitors.
• Chicago has a heritage for hosting major international,
  national, regional, and local events that include commerce,
  culture, entertainment, politics, and sports.
• The Second City Comedy Troupe was founded here.
• There is upscale shopping along State Street and The
  Magnificent Mile.

 

 

 

 

I will be posting a LOT of relevant information on the Chicago
area in the coming weeks and months.

If you want to see Chicago Illinois Homes for Sale, just click this link.

 

 

Thanks to: doug.siefken and
www.flickr.com for the GREAT
Chicago picture!!

 

 

I saw this post after talking to Hugh.... IT is AWESOME !!!! It also has over 70 comments on it......

I am featuring this in,"Christianity and Real Estate"...... what a GOD we serve!!!

\O/

 

Well now... I have changed my profile and settings to
reflect my move as of yesterday. I  linked up to the
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C. website.

I am now the Office Manager, a Property Manager and
I will be a licensed real estate agent for the state of
Illinois (AND/OR Indiana) soon.

I checked my status and I am in the #1 position for
points earned in the state of Illinois, the City of Chicago,
and Cook County.

I announced this in a previous post, just before I moved, to alert everyone in the area...... a NEW DOG has come to town....

Larry Bettag WAS #1 and I just kind of bounced him to the #2 position. He is still featured and the #1 Mortgage professional in the state of Illinois for points earned in ActiveRain.

 

Diane Rice is the Broker of Record at the company I do business at.

Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C. is summed up as you will see below:

Beginning every transaction with prayer, we are grateful to have the opportunity to service all who have been given to us.  We realize that except the LORD build the house, we labor in vain, and we accept those appointed at this season.  We thank you in advance for initiating what could become a fruitful business relationship!

Licensed in the State of Illinois & Indiana, Rice Property Management & Realty, L.L.C., is a Residential and Commercial Property Management Company. We also serve as an Exclusive Brokerage Firm for both sellers and buyers. We have  Certified  Realtors who have completed the necessary training to  assist you in securing mortgage  assistance for residential loans.

RENTERS:
Rice Property Management has apartments and houses for rent in various locations throughout Chicagoland, Southwestern Indiana and South Suburban Illinois. Most rentals come with appliances and air conditioning. We accept housing assistance vouchers for government approved units. As your landlord, we are interested in directing you to favorable living environments prior to preparation for future ownership. We can place interested seekers with residential rentals listed throughout the state of Illinois and Indiana.

RICE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT......  "Where OUR housing is YOUR home!"  

SEEKING PROPERTY MANAGEMENT?
Our objective is to lease rental property to potential tenants looking for short or long-term leases. We endeavor to fill each vacancy with qualifying tenants to the satisfaction of the owners. Full-Service Management includes: acquiring tenants, collections, lease renewals, annual inspections, eviction preparations, lease enforcement, owner bookkeeping, and handling of all tenant concerns. In addition, we offer EXCLUSIVE OWNER RATES for apartment painting, carpet cleaning, debris hauling, and appliance cleaning through"Rice & Rice Painting & Carpet Cleaning"     www.RiceNRice.com

BUYERS & SELLERS:
Desiring to become YOUR Realtor, Rice Property Management & Realty, L.L.C. offers you our FREE services on this website. As your Exclusive Real Estate Partner, we look forward to helping buyers find the best home in areas of interest within the approved price ranges.

Sellers, with your help, together, we will sell your home for as much as the market will bear and as quickly as possible. Remember, we already have lists of pre-qualifed tenants in varying stages of pre-approval!

INVESTORS:
We can assist you with investment property..... we take the "fear" away by guiding you all the way.... starting with the selection, and aid you through the journey to after the purchase!  If you are desiring to venture in.....call us!  If you are the "seasoned investor" call us first!

 

 

 

You guessed it..... IF you did..... I am currently at #14 in the state
of Florida. Since that state is so competitive, I will have easily beat
my closest competitors in Illinois for the #1 position in ActiveRain©
for points earned once I settle in after my move....

I am moving to Chicago, taking a position with Rice Property Management
as a Property Manager, Office Admin. Real Estate Business Building Coach
and eventually licensed Realtor for that state AND / OR Indiana.

This whole move came as the culmination of 5 months of change in my life...

I so very excited to be making this move with Diane as a person I respect and admire.

WOOHOO !!!