Carpe Diem. Residential construction spending boom and remodeling lessons learned by DIYers

Carpe Diem...Real Estate Update

GENERAL News & VIEWS   NAHB: 2014 TO BE A STRONG YEAR FOR HOUSING With the spring buying season in the housing market right around the corner and stronger employment numbers reported, confidence is gaining that economic recovery is right around the corner.  MORE   THE FUTURE OF THE HOUSING FINANCE SYSTEM The future of the housing finance system is a key issue for the housing industry and the economic makeup of the middle class, given the importance that housing wealth and access to rental housing play in our economy.  MORE   RESIDENTAL CONSTRUCTION SPENDING BOOM Residential construction spending has increased by almost 50% in the three years ending last February. And with warmer weather we're likely to see even further gains in the months to come.  MORE         It’s nice to know that even these seasoned home DIYers have had some coulda-woulda-shoulda moments. Here’s what they can teach us.     BUYER Home Checkup SELLER 5 Seller Tips AT HOME Sneaky Mold Ron Goldstein MBA, EcoBroker, QSC phone: (312)264-5846 mobile: (312)771-7190 LISTINGS UPDATE Featured Properties 865 North Lasalle Boulevard 2409 North Clybourn Avenue Search Thousands More WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT WHEN PURCHASING A HOME? PURCHASE PRICE LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION FLOOR PLAN & FEATURES EXPECTED MAINTENANCE COSTS Featured Videos Clean Up Lawn Fertilizer Strange Houses

Top 50 Chicago Spring/Summer Festivals

Top 50 Chicago Spring/Summer Festivals

 
May:
16-18: Mayfest – 3100 N. Ashland Ave.
24-25: Randolph Street Market Fest– 1350 W. Randolph St. & 1340 W. Washington Blvd.
30-June 1: Do-Division Street Fest– Division Street between Ashland Avenue & Leavitt Street
30-June 1: Millennium Art Festival – Lake Street & Michigan Avenue
June:
6-8: Ribfest Chicago – 4000-4185 N. Lincoln Ave.
6-8: Andersonville Midsommarfest – 5200-5500 N. Clark St.
7-8: 57th Street Art Fair – 57th Street between Kenwood Avenue & Woodlawn Avenue
7-8: Belmont/Sheffield Music Festival – 3200 N. Sheffield Ave.
7-8: Printers Row Lit Fest – Dearborn Street & Congress Parkway
13-15: Chicago Blues Festival – Grant Park
13-15: Taste of Randolph Street – 900-1200 W. Randolph St.
13-15: Spring Awakening Music Festival – Soldier Field
14-15: Wells Street Art Festival – Wells St. and North Ave.
14-15: 6 Corners BBQ Fest – 4000 N. Milwaukee Ave.
19-20: Chicago Craft Beer Fest – Sheffield Avenue between Webster Ave. & Fullerton Ave.
21-22 Chicago Pride Fest – Waveland Avenue & Halsted Street
21-22: Green Music Fest – Damen Avenue between North Avenue & Schiller Street
27-28: Old St. Pat’s World’s Largest Block Party – 700 W. Adams St.
27-29: Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival – 2800 N. Kimball Ave.
28-29: Chicago SummerFest – Clark Street & Armitage Avenue
July:
5-6: Rock Around the Block – Lincoln Avenue and Belmont Avenue
9-13: Taste of Chicago – Grant Park
10: Bastille Day 5K and Block Party – Cannon Drive & Fullerton Parkway
12-13: West Fest – Chicago Avenue between Damen Avenue & Wood Street
12-13: Roscoe Village Burger Fest – 2000 W. Belmont Ave.
12-13: Summer on Southport – 3700 N. Southport Ave.
18-20: Pitchfork Music Festival – Union Park
18-20: BenFest – St. Benedict Parish, 3900 N. Leavitt St.
19-20: Sheffield Garden Walk & Festival – 2200 N. Sheffield Ave.
20: Chinatown Summer Fair – 2200 S. Wentworth Ave.
26-27: Wicker Park Fest – Milwaukee Avenue between North Avenue & Paulina Street
26-27: Taste of Lincoln Avenue – Lincoln Avenue & Fullerton Avenue
26-27: Taste of River North –Montgomery Ward Park
August:
1-3: Lollapalooza – Grant Park
2-3: EdgeFest – 5925 North Broadway
2-3: Wrigleyville Summerfest – 3550 N. Seminary Ave.
8-10: Ginza Holiday Festival – Midwest Buddhist Temple, 435 W. Menomonee St.
9-10: Northalsted Market Days – Halsted Street between Belmont Ave. & Addison Ave.
9-10: Retro on Roscoe – 2000-2400 W. Roscoe St.
15-17: North Side Summerfest – 4000 N. Lincoln Ave.
16-17: Chicago Air & Water Show – North Avenue Beach
21: Clark After Dark – 100 W. Hubbard St.
22-24: The Boulevard – 3000 W. Logan Blvd.
28-31: Chicago Jazz Festival – Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park
29-31: North Coast Music Festival – 1501 W. Randolph St.
30-31: Ravenswood Remix – Milwaukee Avenue between Fullerton Ave. & California Ave.
September:
6: Guinness Oyster Fest – 2000 W. Roscoe St.
6-7: Ukrainian Village Fest – Superior Street & Oakley Boulevard
26-28: Oktoberfest Chicago – Southport Avenue & Lincoln Avenue

Ron Goldstein,MBA
Certified Luxury Broker@KoenigRubloff-Berkshire Hathaway affiliate
Principal, Silver Professionals

chicagoluxuryrealty.com silverprofessionals.com
(o)312-264-5846 (c)312-771-7190 (f)312-264-5746
Offices in Chicago and St. Petersburg
Connecting people w/ jobs & homes!

Holiday Shores Resort Motel. 1+ acre of opportunities on the Mississippi River priced right!

e Ron Goldstein,MBA Certified Luxury Broker@KoenigRubloff-Berkshire Hathaway affiliate Principal, Silver Professionals chicagoluxuryrealty.com silverprofessionals.com (o)312-264-5846 (c)312-771-7190 (f)312-264-5746 Offices in Chicago and St. Petersburg Connecting people w/ jobs & homes!   HOLIDAY SHORES MOTEL 1.3 Acres of owned Mississippi River frontage  is a rare find that offers a myriad of opportunities. McGregor, Iowa Price Adjusted @ 900K   This unique property is one of the few within hundreds of miles of Mississippi River frontage. Located within the 261 river mile long Upper Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Refuge, a development protected national park, it is situated on the main channel in the middle of a major tourist destination. Locally, the original home of Ringling Brothers Circus, there sits the Lady Luck Casino within one mile.  Pikes Peak State Park and Effigy Mounds National Monument are both a short drive from the property. McGregor Iowa is a quaint river town with its streets lined with beautiful historical buildings housing many specialty shops and restaurants. Directly across the Mississippi River is historic Prairie du Chien (Wisconsin’s second oldest city), featuring the Villa Louis Mansion, historic Fort Crawford Medical Museum, and Wyalusing State Park. Tens of thousands of tourists visit this area each Spring, Summer and Fall. Potential investors would have multiple options of running or developing the property further. The current boat docks could be expanded to create slips for 25-35 boats.  The property also offers the potential to be developed into Condominium units. Condo Development plans available upon request (either independent or as JV). The motel can be sold as an existing business.  Seller finance options available. Brokers/Investors: Feel free to spend a night at the property to check out this fantastic location and surrounding area. For more information, please contact: Ron Goldstein rgoldstein@koenigrubloff.com

New BH signs

Love our new signs! Happy Good Friday--Passover--Easter. Have a great time w/ family/friends

 Ron Goldstein,MBA

Certified Luxury Broker@KoenigRubloff-Berkshire Hathaway affiliate
Principal, Silver Professionals

chicagoluxuryrealty.com silverprofessionals.com
(o)312-264-5846 (c)312-771-7190 (f)312-264-5746
Offices in Chicago and St. Petersburg
Connecting people w/ jobs & homes!

14 ways to RECLAIM lost counter space

By Tracy Anderson

Counter space. No matter how big the kitchen, you hardly ever hear anyone complaining that there’s too much of it. Especially in a compact kitchen, clear counters are a precious commodity worth fighting for. Luckily, there are lots of smart storage ideas that can help you reclaim lost counter space. Here are 14 great solutions that are just begging to be a part of your kitchen expansion.

Roll me away

If you’re striving to save space, a rolling cart with a butcher-block top does double duty. Use the top for prep when you need it, and give dishes or other supplies a good home on the shelves underneath.

Get some hang time

Most kitchen utensils have a notch on the handle, perfect for perching up high. This way, you can save your limited drawer space for something else.

Source: Zillow Digs

Climbing the ceiling

Similar to the elevated utensil concept, hanging your pots and pans from a ceiling-mounted rack keeps them nearby and easy to spot. Even better, the cabinet they used to occupy gets freed up, making room for items that used to live on your counter.

Sink in

When you’re chopping, you can’t be washing, so why not use your kitchen sink as a prep area? Any cutting board slightly wider than your sink will do the trick.

Slide into home

If you’re lucky enough to be in the design stages, why not sneak a few pull-out surfaces into the mix? It’s a great way to gain extra space that appears only when you need it.

Beyond the block

Let’s face it, traditional knife blocks are counter hogs. A simple solution is to store knives on the wall with a magnetic holder, but make sure you dry your knives thoroughly before storing and place them carefully on the strip.

Source: Bright Designlab Interior Design

Top-shelf idea

Open shelving — whether it’s set on the backsplash, mounted on a painted wall, or even free-hanging from the ceiling — can greatly increase your kitchen storage capabilities. Although you’ll want to choose eye-pleasing items to house there, the net result will be an increase in space down below.

Trash it

Made famous by Rachael Ray, the “garbage bowl” can help keep peels and trimmings under control as you cook. Scraps go in the bowl until they’re all ready for the trash or composting, and the counters stay free of debris.

Another way to look at it

Having a limited amount of kitchen real estate can inspire creative, and at times beautiful, solutions.Mounting a few shelves inside a window not only gains surface area for storage, but also captures a stunning backdrop for anything placed there.

Island idea

Make your kitchen island work a bit harder for you by adding shelves for books, or bars for hanging towels or utensils.

Source: CBI Design Professionals

Hole in the wall

Even if your kitchen’s footprint is small, you may uncover a treasure trove of storage possibilities between the studs. In many cases, reclaiming this hidden wall space requires remodeling only this one area instead of the whole kitchen.

Corner pocket

Freestanding shelves like these from Beyond the Rack give you a clever, efficient way to use that often-neglected corner space.

Have your cake and eat it too

Use a simple cake stand to hold high-use items like salt, pepper and olive oil. If you need more room, you can easily transfer the stand to another spot in the kitchen.

Jar ingenuity

Ah, the all-purpose Mason jar. What a great idea: Affix the metal lids to the underside of a cabinet, and screw the jars on and off as you need them.

Ron Goldstein,MBA
Certified Luxury Broker@KoenigRubloff-Berkshire Hathaway affiliate
Principal, Silver Professionals

chicagoluxuryrealty.com silverprofessionals.com
(o)312-264-5846 (c)312-771-7190 (f)312-264-5746
Offices in Chicago and St. Petersburg
Connecting people w/ jobs & homes!