North Shore Views

Archive for December, 2009

Wallace Bowl in Winter

I couldn’t resist the graphic quality of the snow-covered Wallace Bowl in Gillson Park.

The bowl, designed by Gordon Wallace and built as a WPA (Works Progress Administration) project in 1937, doesn’t see much action this time of year. But in summer it’s home to the Starlight Theatre, which puts on free plays and concerts in the evenings from late June to mid-August.

Tags: Gillson Park, Starlight Theatre, Wallace Bowl

More Ice for Winnetka and Wilmette

If you figure skate or play hockey, you know that ice time is a precious commodity. There  never seems to be enough of it to accommodate all the games, practices, clinics and lessons, and skaters are often forced to practice at odd hours in order to pursue their sport.

Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of a few folks, the communities of Wilmette and Winnetka  have much more  ice time available with the construction of the North Shore Ice Arena (NSIA). The arena is jointly owned by the Winnetka Hockey Club and the Wilmette Hockey Association, whose teams practice and play at NSIA as well as at the Winnetka Ice Arena and Centennial Rink. The North Shore Ice Arena is also home to the DePaul Hockey Club and the New Trier Hockey Club. A men’s league and a figure skating school were recently added.

NSIA opened in the fall of 2008. It’s a 48,000 sq. ft. facility with one NHL sized rink and one 5,000 sq. ft. studio rink. There is also a pro shop, run by Total Hockey, as well as a snack bar and a few arcade games. To get there, take Waukegan Rd. north from Willow Rd and go west on Techny to Founder’s Drive. The rink is at 2111 Founders Drive in Northbrook (just north of  Willow Festival shopping center).

Tags: DePaul Hockey Club, ice hockey, New Trier Hockey Club, north shore ice arena, Northbrook, Wilmette, Wilmette Hockey Association, Winnetka, Winnetka Hockey Club

Is Your Family Safe from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?

Have you tested your carbon monoxide detector lately?

Do you even have one?

If you don’t, please, please, please go buy one RIGHT NOW. It could save your life.

This is the time of year when reports of carbon monoxide poisoning increase dramatically. People are indoors, houses are closed up tight against winter drafts. Furnaces, wood stoves and fireplaces are going full tilt. According to the CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission) around 200 people die accidentally and thousands more are injured from carbon monoxide poisoning each year. It is caused by defective functioning of gas furnaces, water heaters and fireplaces, or by using gas grills, snowblowers, generators or other fuel burning machines in an enclosed area. And it is exacerbated by new weatherization programs that seal houses against heat loss but , as a result,  also increase carbon monoxide concentration.

Carbon monoxide is created from the combustion (burning) of fuel. It is a colorless and odorless gas, which makes it especially dangerous, because you can be poisoned without knowing it. Symptoms like headache, dizziness and nausea can be a tip-off, but not if you’re sleeping, which is when most deaths occur.

To protect your family against carbon monoxide poisoning, you need to do two things:

1. Have your furnace, water heater and other gas burning appliances checked yearly by a qualified technician to make sure they are functioning properly.
2. Buy and install a carbon monoxide detector on each floor of the house as well as in the area where the furnace and water heater are, for early detection of a CO leak. You can buy them at any hardware store for $25-45 apiece.

Here’s a one-page fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about carbon monoxide poisoning.

Tags: carbon monoxide detectors, CO poisoning

Wilmette's Neighborhoods: Indian Hill Estates

Not to be confused with the Winnetka country club community of Indian Hills, Indian Hill Estates is in Wilmette. Developed from subdivided farmland in the 50’s and 60’s and laid out by architect Philip Mayer, this neighborhood looks more like a typical suburban subdivision than most of the other Wilmette neighborhoods. It has winding roads, cul de sacs, big lots and stone gates at the entrances to the subdivision.

Indian Hill Estates covers a 170 acre area north of Lake Street, west of Hunter Road, east of Hibbard Road and south of Illinois Road and Thornwood Avenue. Lots are often irregularly shaped and range in size from 8,000 to 30,000 sq. ft. Houses are typically larger than those in neighboring Kenilworth Gardens, with 4 to 6 bedrooms, 3 to 5 baths and price tags to match. Housing styles include Tudors, colonials, French country, Arts and Crafts and a few ranches sprinkled here and there. During the recent housing boom many of the smaller homes were torn down and replaced by new construction.

Homes in the area are served by Harper Elementary School (K-4) at 1101 Dartmouth Street.

Housing prices in Indian Hill Estates range from $800,000 to $2,000,000 (a few even higher).

At this writing there are seven homes for sale in Indian Hill Estates. Here is a sampling:

Tags: Indian Hill Estates, Wilmette IL, Wilmette neighborhoods

Got Stocking Stuffers?

I am WAY behind on my Christmas shopping. But today I made some headway,with just one visit to Beat Street on Green Bay Road in Hubbard Woods. This store is packed to the gills with literally thousands of items for sale, most of which are for kids and most of which are small and inexpensive. In other words, perfect stocking stuffers.

I bought my daughter a psychedelic fleece throw with multicolored peace signs, a spy case, a voice changer, a Bronx Cheer noisemaker, a little sparkly jewelry box,  a tarantula that expands about 1000% when immersed in water and miscellaneous other items.  I was tempted to buy the remote control giant scorpion but I decided enough is enough.

One hour and $97 later, I finally dragged myself out of there.

So, if you’re still shopping for stocking stuffers or other unusual gifts, beat it over to Beat Street.

Tags: Beat Street, holiday gifts, stores in Hubbard Woods, Winnetka

How Move-Up Buyers Can Profit from a Down Market

I have some clients who want to buy a new home in the worst way. They see some great buys on the market, houses that have  the features they really want. And their earnings enable them to qualify for a bigger mortgage. But, after looking and dreaming, reality sets in, because they are saddled with their existing home, which they would need to sell before they can buy.  And they realize that they can’t sell their current home without taking a hit.  Like many other people who bought when the market was up, they have a house that’s worth less today than it was three years ago and the thought of selling it for less than they paid makes them cringe.

When I tell them that if they really do want to move, they can actually come out ahead, they look at me like I have three heads. But I’m serious. Because, while their house has decreased in value, so have the other houses, and if they are moving up, they can save more than they lose.

Let’s take their house as an example. Today, based on comps, I would list their house somewhere right around $700,000, which is about 21% less than it was worth back in 2006 ($885,000). One of the houses they are interested in buying is listed at $1,200,000, which is also 21% less than it was worth in 2006 ($1,519,000). Now, let’s say they sell their house for $630,000 or about 90% of the list price of $700,000. And let’s say they can negotiate a deal for $1,080,000 for their dream house, also 90% of asking.

They’ve “lost” $256,000 on the sale of their current house (vs. the market high in 2006), but they’ve “saved” $439,000 on the new house vs. its high price in 2006, a net gain of $183,000.

When you do the math, you see that the current market conditions CAN work in your favor in some situations. Not only can my clients afford a house that they could not have afforded at the 2006 prices, but interest rates are near historic lows, making this a great time to buy. Of course I would NOT advise them to run right out and put an offer on their dream house UNTIL they have sold their current home. If they are serious about moving, they should price their house to sell and then, once they have a contract, negotiate hard for their dream house. Once they have sold they will be in the driver’s seat and have the leverage to negotiate a very attractive deal for themselves on the buy side.

Tags: home buying tips, move-up buyer strategies

5 Reasons to Keep Your Home Listed During the Holidays

You’re busy, you’re stressed, you’re way behind on your holiday shopping. Keeping the house neat 24/7  is taking its toll. The last thing you want to be bothered with is keeping the house show-ready for potential buyers when you’re trying to cook, clean,  decorate, entertain, shop and wrap for the holidays.

“Can’t we just take a break for a couple of weeks?” clients always ask me. “Surely no one is actually looking at real estate in December. Do I really need to keep my home on the market over the holidays?”

The answer I always give is: “How badly do you want to sell?” Because here’s the thing. It’s true there are fewer buyers at this time of year. No one in their right mind wants to look for real estate during the holidays. Unless, that is, they HAVE to buy, and buy SOON. So that brings me to reason #1 for keeping your house on the market:

1. If people are looking at real estate in December, they are SERIOUS  buyers and not the lookie-loos who have been traipsing through your house for the last few months. If you can gut it out for the next few weeks you might actually get an offer when you least expect it. Wouldn’t that be a nice Christmas present?
2. The corollary to reason #1 is that many sellers do go ahead and take their homes off the market over the holidays, which means there is less inventory on the market. Which means you have less competition for those few SERIOUS BUYERS.
3. Although it’s stressful for you to keep the house tidy with so much else going on, the fact is that your house will probably show better now, with holiday decorations up, than it will during the bleak months of January, February and March. Plus, all the warmth and cheer evoked by (appropriate) holiday decorating can strike an emotional chord with your buyer, subliminally conveying the wonderful lifestyle they will enjoy in this home. Just make sure you decorate the right way to evoke those positive emotions.
4. Think about this: if you are able to sell your home now and plan to buy another, you’ll be able to take your pick of the vast inventory of homes that will hit the MLS in the spring. In all likelihood, interest rates will still be low early in the year so you’ll win on the financing end too.
5. If the first four reasons didn’t convince you, just remember:  It won’t sell if it’s not on.

Tags: home selling tips, Real estate, selling my home over the holidays

Keep the Critters out in the Cold

by Mark McCaffrey, McCaffrey’s Home Inspection

When the cold winds of winter blow, our thoughts turn to hearth, home and hot chocolate.   It’s time to settle in with a good book or a family meal.   Nothing can upset the harmony of the home more than the spotting of a mouse.  Married men must go on high alert devoting all available resources to the removal of the mice.  Warm-blooded furry little (and not so little) critters will poke and prod at our sanctuaries in their desire to escape the cold and enjoy civilized living powered by gas.  Mice, squirrels, possums, skunks and raccoons are hoping you’ll extend your hospitality by letting them ride out the cold winds of Lake Michigan under your porches or in your soffits, attics and crawl spaces.

Critters are scavengers and freeloaders.  They’ll gladly take the freebies from an open trash can and will gnaw through or knock the trash can over for a taste of your leftovers.  From the trash can they’ll check out the garage for bird and grass seed – a sack of grass seed can feed a mouse family for generations.   Nothing is sweeter for a critter than to feed at the family pets’ trough, feed and water the pets inside the house.  Finally if you have apple or other fruit trees the critters will camp out in your yard and when the cold comes they’ll look to your house for warmth and comfort.  Remove food sources and most likely the critters will go elsewhere for their sustenance and winter lodging.

Critters will try to find a way into your home.  Mice need a hole the diameter of a pencil to get in your basement, squirrels and raccoons will chew and claw open fascia boards to get in your attic, skunks and possums will dig under your deck lattice work to get good and comfy in a nest close to the warmth of your home.  You’ve got to be vigilant, critters in and around the house pose health threats, can be very destructive, and generally creep you out while they are in residence.  So take a good close look at your house, inspect it, make sure your house is closed off to the critters:

* look for any unfilled holes caused by utilities in the siding and foundation;

* check for digging around porches and decks;

* check gable vents in the attic;

* inspect the soffits and fascias just under the eaves;

* keep the tree limbs off your house;

* make sure there’s a critter guard on the chimney.

Critters are going to eat and keep warm whether it’s at your property or someone else’s.  So keep them moving and let them enjoy the someone else’s hospitality, so that you can enjoy the warmth of your home with loved ones and your invited guests.

Tags: home inspection, home maintenance, pest control

Wilmette's Neighborhoods: Kenilworth Gardens

This is the first in a series of posts about the individual neighborhoods on the North Shore. As they say, real estate is local, and each neighborhood has its own characteristics and quirks. So, when we look for the ideal place to live, we need to drill down beyond ” the North Shore”  or even the particular town. As your search gets more serious, you have to go to the neighborhood level.  Since I live in Kenilworth Gardens, it seemed like the obvious place to start my neighborhood series.

If you’re not from around here, the first thing you need to know is that Kenilworth Gardens is NOT in Kenilworth. It is in Wilmette, but it is right across Ridge Rd. from Kenilworth. No doubt the developers of this neighborhood of starter homes sought to give it some cache by naming it after its grander neighbor to the east.

Kenilworth Gardens was developed during the 50’s and 60’s from land that once was part of Gross Point Village.  The neighborhood is bounded by Ridge Rd. on the east, Iroquios Rd. to the south, and Indian Hill (Winnetka) to the north. The western edge is harder to pinpoint. Some say it is Hunter Rd., but most of the residents would say it stretches a little further west, as far as Harper School.

The lot size in this area is typically 50′ by 122-132′ (the lots on Chestnut Ave. are deeper than those on other streets). Most of the houses were originally built with 3 bedrooms, one and a half baths, and a one car garage, but many have been added onto over the years and now have 4 bedrooms and two and a half baths plus a family room. There are various styles but most of the homes are either colonials or Tudors. Currently, prices range from $650,000 to $1,400,000. It’s a popular neighborhood for young families moving up from the city or relocating from out of town. It has a friendly vibe and block parties are frequent during the summer. It’s the go-to neighborhood for Halloween trick or treating.

The neighborhood is served by Harper Elementary School (K-4), which is walkable from anywhere in the

neighborhood. Thornwood Park, which is catty-corner to the school, has tennis courts, a play lot and a ball field, where the Wilmette baseball teams play all spring and summer. In the summer there is an annual Thornwood Park concert, where 3-4 bands comprised of local dads play to an enthusiastic crowd of neighbors and friends.

During better markets, the houses in Kenilworth Gardens sell very quickly, but at this writing there are a 12 to choose from. Here’s a sampling:

If you’d like to know more about this neighborhood or any of the homes for sale, just leave me a comment or send me an email to anne@northshoreviews.com. I’d be happy to help you.

Tags: Chicago North Shore, Kenilworth Gardens, Wilmette, Wilmette neighborhoods

Winnetka Story

If you’re interested in (painlessly) learning about the history of Winnetka and the North Shore, check out a new documentary by John Newcombe in collaboration with the Winnetka Historical Society, called Winnetka Story: The History of Winnetka & The North Shore. Just produced this year, the film is a little over two hours long, but it’s divided into three parts so you can enjoy it in bite-sized pieces. Part 1 is about the early settlers to the area and covers the period 1832-1871. Part 2 takes us up to the turn of the century and Part 3 deals with the period 1900-1945.   John Newcombe now lives and works in California, but grew up in Winnetka and approached the Historical Society in the fall of 2007 about making a film about the history of the area. In an interview that coincided with the release of the film, he talked about how he went about crafting a film that would be both informative and entertaining. He said that he followed four rules:

1. Focus on personal stories, not just facts and dates.
2. Recount personal anecdotes and events, especially those that were dramatic or humorous.
3. Use comparisons (then and now photographs)
4. Edit ruthlessly to prevent boredom

One of the things I liked best was the effective use of then and now photographs. He would take an old photograph of a particular place and morph it into a new photograph of the same place taken from the same angle, right before your eyes. For example, a photo of the old school house that stood at the northwest corner of the Village Green fades out as a picture of the Village Green as it looks now fades in. This cool technique really brought the history to life.

The DVD is available from the Winnetka Historical Society for $19.95 plus tax.

Tags: Chicago North Shore, North Shore history, Winnetka