Beautiful New Home in Lansing

19265 Lange St in Lansing's Wentworth Park
See the Pictures and Walking Tour:

https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/il/lansing/19265-lange-st/pid_35537003/

Attractive Brick/Vinyl Two Story Home with 4 bedrooms and 3 bath areas. Beautiful Home in Excellent Condition. Approx 2800 sq ft of Finished Living Space! Main level has a Living and Formal Dining room. Guest Bathroom. Updated Kitchen with new Stainless Steel appliances & Faucet, which is Open to the Family room. Family room has a Gas Fireplace. Upper level has a Main Bathroom, 4 spacious bedrooms including a Master Bedroom Private Bath. Mostly finished basement with Rec room and loads of Storage Space. Basement Bar. Roughed in plumbing for a 4th Bath. 2.5 car attached garage. Home has been newly Painted. Roof, Furnace and Central air approx 5 years old. Newer Windows. Washer & Dryer and Window Treatments included. Numerous Ceiling fans. Covered Front Porch. Really nice Deck in the Fenced Back yard. No homes directly behind you, there is a greenbelt/water retention area behind the Home. Located in one of Lansing's newer subdivisions.

18501 Locust St, Lansing

New Listing in Lansing 18501 Locust St.
Click the Norton Safe Link Below:




https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/il/lansing/18501-locust-st/pid_35522183/

Thoughts on our Changing Lives

March Madness is canceled, the NBA is shut down, the Masters is postponed, and my Aunt Marge’s senior bowling has even thrown in the towel. Now restaurants and bars are closed, and our 40-handicap governor is threatening to shut down all entertainment facilities including golf courses. I have not tested positive, but the coronavirus is killing me.

There is nowhere to go and nothing to do. My wife suggested we take a walk, but I don’t walk anywhere unless I have a golf club in my hand and it’s cart path only. 

My kids have a restraining order on us and won’t let us come within 200 yards of the grandchildren. And we can no longer eat out, but when we tried to cook at home, there were cobwebs in the oven.

The network channels are inundated with coverage of the virus. The golf channel has been showing reruns of old tournaments, which are almost as riveting as watching my brother-in-law’s video of his family camping trip to Yellowstone. 

Paranoia is off the tracks. Before the shutdown, we were having dinner at a local bar. I let out a loud sneeze and everyone at the surrounding tables started yelling "check please." My stock portfolio is plummeting and most of our cash is currently invested in toilet paper. I am washing my hands 137 times a day. I don’t touch anyone. I don’t even touch myself. I have been using tongs to go to the bathroom. This has to stop.

Our society and economy have been crippled by a microscopic virus. Scientists have not yet determined the exact origin but have narrowed it down to some moron in China eating Bats or other exotic animals. And no one is sure how to prevent or cure it. In the past, the ways to prevent contracting a contagious disease were simple: don’t eat in restaurants with numerous health violations and wash your hands after using a public bathroom.

Our Golf foursome does not pose a medical risk to mankind. My friend, George is virus-free. Social distancing has not been a problem for him. Other than us, he doesn’t have any friends. Bob, my neighbor is a urologist who has been working from home for several weeks. He has developed a way to do remote prostate exams by having patients sit on their cell phones. And our other partner, Jerry tested himself with a kit he bought online. However, he thinks he may have gotten the wrong kit. It showed no traces of the virus but indicated that he was pregnant with twins.

As the pandemic plays through, it is giving us a glimpse into our inevitable future where all meals are delivered, all entertainment comes through the tv screen, and all human interaction is through our cell phone. Where schooling is online at home, exercise is on a stationary bike in our basement, medical testing is done at drive-thru windows, and colonoscopies are performed at Jiffy Lube. The world is changing. It is becoming less interpersonal as technology consumes us. So now that we have time on our hands, everyone should take a moment to cherish this fading era, when friends still get together to hit a little ball around an open field for no good reason other than to enjoy the companionship of their fellow man.

Author---Unknown

Our Thoughts on the Covid-19 Virus

The current threat of COVID-19 virus (Corona virus) is unprecedented, affecting all aspects of our personal and business daily lives. 

The United States leads the world in medical practices, research and advancements. Many viruses have surfaced over the last ten years such as Ebola, the Swine Flu, Birds Flu, Secure Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Zika virus and many others as each were addressed resulting in a successful treatment and outcome in creating a vaccine that limited the effects and spreading of such diseases amongst the world’s population. 

We should be most confident that a treatment and vaccine will also be developed in combating this latest virus in the very near future.

We must be patient, heed the warnings and advice given by the Center for Disease Control and government officials and take all necessary steps in attempting not to be exposed to this virus. 

Our clients may continue to show their home under strict guidelines for entering the home.
They may also choose to place their home on Temporarily off the Market status.

During this time, we are continuing to serve our clients and are committed to protecting our clients and their home the best we can in this unprecedented environment.            

We are actively taking the following steps to ensure that we are doing what we can to keep everyone safe: 

• Posting signage asking anyone who has been or has had contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or is exhibiting symptoms to not enter the property but to instead reschedule their tour.

• Wipe down all doorknobs, counters and points of high touch before and after showings. 

• Asking visitors to remove their shoes when they enter a home. 

• Encouraging our team to work remote and engage in social distancing. 

Why did a comparable home sell for much more money?

Question:  My home will not sell at $150,000, while the home (at the address I just sent you) sold for $18,000 more than my home is listed for. My home has very similar sq ft. Can you explain why?

Answer: After reviewing your home and your competition, the reason for the big gap in price is your home is 25 years older with no updates. The home that sold for $18,000 more than what you are listed for, had updates and a modern finished basement. 
Using square feet as a measuring guide is ok as long as you compare all the features of the homes.

If your home isn't selling, you are too high for what buyers are willing to pay taking into account the updates that they would need to make.

Taxing your Pension

Considering moving to another state? You should know that some states will tax your pension. Illinois is one of only 14 states in the U.S. that does not require retirees to pay a state tax on their pension benefits. The 14 states that do not tax pensions are: Alabama Alaska Florida Hawaii Illinois Mississippi Nevada New Hampshire Pennsylvania

South Dakota Tennessee Texas Washington Wyoming

Put it on Paper

Question: 

I had a verbal agreement for the purchase of a home. Both parties had filled in the real estate contract including purchase price and earnest money amounts. All we had to do was to get together again to SIGN the contract and give the earnest money. The seller called me tonight and said the deal was off. Didn't we have a deal?

Answer: 

Nope. In real estate contracts must be in writing. There must be an "offer" and "acceptance" and there must be "consideration" such as a deposit. "Acceptance" in this case did not occur because there is no signature.

In your case what you had was a friendly chat and a bunch of paper. What you heard may not have been what the seller heard. Without signatures on a piece of paper there is no way to know what was accepted and what was not.

While the purchase price and the earnest money are important, they are just a few of the items which a typical real estate agreement might cover.

For instance, how was the title guaranteed, if at all? Who pays for the survey? Who will pay points at closing? What was the possession agreement? Do the appliances stay or go? The list goes on and on. For your benefit, and for the seller's, the entire transaction must be committed to paper, otherwise you could wind up with costly debates for years to come.