Michael Hobbs's (michaelhobbs) Blog

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Real Estate Appraiser - PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy
RECENT BLOG POSTS
The 4 year long dispute for the lot North of McCormick place, the well known convention center in Chicago, was given a deadline of January 10, 2013 by bankruptcy Judge Jack Schmetterer.  The judge asked that by the 10th, the current owners, Pam Gleichman and Karl Norberg, have a binding agreement...
06/17/2013
The Illinois housing market appears to be at the rear of the pack when it comes to recovery, despite several studies supporting progress.  According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, at the end of September 2012, 8% of Illinois’ mortgages are delinquent, making us one of the slowest markets in...
06/14/2013
Stephen Schwartzman, CEO and Chairman of Blackstone Group, tells CNBC that they aren’t steering away from the residential rental market.  Their $3 Billion portfolio of residential property makes them the largest owner of homes in the country. Of course their strategy like many other investors is ...
06/14/2013
In the last 60 days, there have been 2 major pushes in the Illinois rental market as it pertains to tenants’ rights when occupying a foreclosed unit, or a rental unit in receivership by the bank. Currently, when the building is bought by an investor out of foreclosure, a tenant can be evicted at ...
06/13/2013
For the most part home prices are on the rise on a national perspective.  Just last week the National Association of Realtors, NAR, reported that the average home price rose 10% to $180,000. This reflects 4th quarter to 4th quarter in 2011 to 2012. NAR compared 152 markets in the US.  In the 4th ...
06/13/2013
In the Chicago land area, the average bathroom remodel costs $16,000 per the Remodeling magazine’s 2011 Cost vs. Value Report.  You may be thinking, “I don’t have $16,000 to remodel my bathroom.”  So what is a homeowner to do?  There many ways to give your bathroom a face-lift in loo of the avera...
06/03/2013
A bad neighbor is now classified under the term, external obsolescence, along with other challenges like, not maintaining the property, unruly pets, bad smells, loud music, etc.  We have all heard those horror stories about the person on the block that is bringing the entire subdivision’s value d...
06/01/2013
Of all the neighborhoods on Chicago’s south side, Bronzeville has continued to be in a state of change.  The once home of  many public housing structures, went through a phase of new development a decade ago so now the newest change is adding more shopping centers in the neighborhood and which po...
05/30/2013
The 5 major lenders report their 2012 pre-foreclosure rate has dropped a whopping 41%!  The Big Five looked at their combined notice of default, (NOD) and notices of trustee sales, (NTS) and compared them to that of a year ago according to Reality Track. Bank of America reports a 63% reduction fr...
05/30/2013
With new construction making a comeback in Chicago, a new project emerging in the far West Loop could extend the boundary of the popular neighborhood.  This project is taking place in the near west side, 3 blocks east of the United Center, and will be a 4 story 52 unit apartment building.       T...
05/30/2013
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Michael Hobbs

SRA, LEED GA, RAA
local_phone(773) 388-0003
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