Chicago Real Estate Podcast with Jennifer Niederbrach
Jennifer Niederbrach-Soszko
If you are looking to buy or sell a home, get all the information and the latest updates, tips, and tricks from Jennifer Niederbrach-Soszko - your professional Chicago Real Estate Agent.
- What 2020 Can Offer Buyers
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Whether they’re in the market for a first home or upgrading to a long-deserved dream home, buyers have had a lot of opportunities in our market thanks to the affordable interest rates.
For those potential first-time buyers on the fence, I suggest crunching the numbers on the rising rental rates and comparing them to mortgage payments; you’ll quickly see that homeownership is the better option (at least from a financial standpoint).
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Financially setting yourself up for the future is really something you need to start considering now.
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If you’re one of the lucky people who purchased a home around 2010, then you have a lot of appreciation that could carry you into the next stage of life, whether you want to move up into a more expensive property or move down into a more appropriately sized home.
Financially setting yourself up for the future is really something you need to start considering now—not just as a goal for the new year, but for the new decade!
If you want to sit down and discuss your situation to determine what the best route for you is, give us a call or send an email. We’ll be more than happy to help you.
6 February 2020, 4:12 pm - A Peek at the 2020 Housing Market
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To get the most out of your upcoming home sale, here’s what you need to know about the 2020 market ahead of us:
1. Interest rates are incredibly low.
2. Inventory is low. Some will point out that inventory isn’t as low in the higher-price categories, but the reality is that the condition can make or break your chances of selling; inventory is low for properties in great condition.
3. Prices are rising. As prices go up, buyers expect more upgrades, features, and benefits to justify the price increases.
If you’re considering selling your home in 2020, be sure to think about the year ahead—even the next five or 10 years. Is your current home the property in which you want to live? Now might be a good time to consider taking some of the equity from your property and moving it into a house more appropriate for your needs, whether that’s a larger home for your growing family or a smaller home that’s more manageable.
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Consider taking some of the equity from your current property and moving it into a house more appropriate for your needs.
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Whatever your needs are, we want to help you achieve them. Feel free to reach out to us! We’d be more than happy to discuss your circumstances and what you need to do to sell your home fast and for a great price. Hope to hear from you soon!
20 January 2020, 7:51 pm - Give Back to the Community
Today we want to share a message about giving back to our communities.
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This holiday season we are extremely grateful to all our clients who have done business with us in the past and will in the future. Something you may not know about Eric, my son and a real estate agent on our team, is that he spends much of his time and energy giving back to the community. It’s one of his callings. Today Eric is here sharing some information about charitable causes.
There are many different opportunities to share and give back to your community. One way to help is to simply donate your time to charitable organizations. One of the organizations that we help with, especially this time of the year, is Feed My Starving Children. We prepackage food for third-world countries in Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, and other areas all over the world. It’s truly impactful.
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There are many different opportunities to share and give back to your community.
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Eric says part of why he and many others do this is for personal growth. This is just one way you can help without spending any money of your own.
At this time of year, you may be thinking of some things you can do that could contribute to the community. Whether it’s giving a bit of your time or money, the holiday season is when many people reach out and help one another.
If you’re interested in helping others, feel free to contact us on our social media platforms, email, or phones. We would be glad to help you find a community service organization or charity that best fits your strengths. Have a happy holiday!
19 December 2019, 4:30 pm - What Can You Expect From the 2020 Real Estate Market?Selling your DuPage home? Get a free home value report Buying a DuPage home? Search all homes for sale
The 2020 real estate market: Is it going to be a boom or a bust?
The first thing we’ll look at to determine the answer is interest rates. Interest rates are near all-time lows. Any time you can get a rate under 4%, it’s a great time to buy. However, they can’t really go any lower, so we expect them to go up in 2020.
In any market, good, quality properties are always in high demand. This is especially true in Naperville. These homes command top dollar in today’s market. If you have plans to sell in 2020 and your home needs a little work, we’d be happy to put you in touch with our list of great contractors that we work with regularly. Then you can fix it up to ensure that you sell for top dollar.
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Election years have historically been great years for real estate.
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Another factor to take into account is that 2020 is an election year. Historically, election years have been great years for real estate. We usually don’t experience much volatility in the market and people feel more confident about the economy during the election process.
What are your plans for 2020? If you’re thinking of buying or selling, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via phone, email, or social media. We would love to hear from you.
21 November 2019, 9:45 pm - How to Stage Your Home to Sell
Staging is an important home-selling tool. Here’s what you need to know.
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Staging is an important part of the home selling process. It’s a tool that you can use to maximize the value of your home. Oftentimes, when I help a client stage their home, we’re peeling away a lot of the items that they currently have that don’t showcase the house in its best light. We want to make sure that all our pictures are appealing and that the first impression a buyer gets when walking through your door is a positive one. There are a few simple things that can be done to stage a home effectively. It’s not about renovating or remodeling your home—it's about designing on a dime to capitalize the value of your home. If you have any questions about staging or how it can add value to your home when selling, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email today. I’d love to help you29 July 2019, 4:42 pm - Where’s Our Summer Market Headed?
Our summer real estate market is heating up. Here’s what you need to know.
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With mortgage interest rates down to 3.5%, it’s giving both buyers and sellers a lot of flexibility in the real estate market. As a buyer, you now have the opportunity to take advantage of the low rates before they undoubtedly go up. As a seller, there are a lot more buyers coming into the market and we’re selling homes left and right for great prices. We’d love to help you take advantage of these great conditions.8 July 2019, 8:00 pm - Summer Events in the Naperville Area
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Today I just wanted to drop by and talk about some of the exciting upcoming events that are going on in the area this summer. Here’s my list:
1. Brookfield Zoo’s “Summer Nights”. This two-week event starts on June 21 and will feature live music, kids entertainment, an enhanced dining experience, and a beer and wine garden. They’ll also have two bands and a spectacular light show on their July 5 summer night.
2. West Chicago “Railroad Days”. This is happening on the weekend of July 11 to July 14 right next to the brand-new park district in West Chicago. Stop by, play some carnival rides, eat some good food, and stick around for the fantastic firework show on Sunday night.
3. The DuPage County Fair. From July 24 to July 28, there will be high-flying acrobatics, a rodeo, a demolition derby, and much more. I’ll be there and I hope to see you there too.
4. Warrenville's Fourth of July Festival. Don't think we forgot about this downtown festival. It'd be a pleasant surprise to run into you there as well.
If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
19 June 2019, 5:51 pm - Sellers: Don’t Underestimate the Power of Staging
Staging your listing can have a massive impact on your success as a home seller, and today we’d like to share more information about why this is the case.
Selling your DuPage home? Get a free home value report Buying a DuPage home? Search all homes for sale
Staging a home is crucial for many reasons, and the No. 1 reason is that most buyers today begin their search online. A well-staged property looks better in pictures and in person. It helps buyers to imagine your house as their future home.
It’s true that you don’t necessarily have to stage your home, but it’s important to understand that doing so can be majorly beneficial. If, however, you aren’t interested in traditional staging, you may also want to consider digital staging. Through this option, photos of your home will be altered to show buyers what could be done based on the property’s raw potential.
The problem with virtually staged home photos is that some buyers may wrongly assume the photos reflect what the property already looks like, rather than what it could look like.
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Staging helps buyers to imagine your house as their future home.
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Ultimately, the decision to stage (or virtually stage) your home is in your hands. We won’t force you into either option if you aren’t open to pursuing one of them, but our team would love to speak with you about what’s best for your listing.
If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
31 May 2019, 4:31 pm - Sellers: Don’t Underestimate the Power of Staging
Selling your DuPage home? Get a free home value report Buying a DuPage home? Search all homes for sale
Staging a home is crucial for many reasons, and the No. 1 reason is that most buyers today begin their search online. A well-staged property looks better in pictures and in person. It helps buyers to imagine your house as their future home.
It’s true that you don’t necessarily have to stage your home, but it’s important to understand that doing so can be majorly beneficial. If, however, you aren’t interested in traditional staging, you may also want to consider digital staging. Through this option, photos of your home will be altered to show buyers what could be done based on the property’s raw potential.
“
Staging helps buyers to imagine your house as their future home.
”
The problem with virtually staged home photos is that some buyers may wrongly assume the photos reflect what the property already looks like, rather than what it could look like.
Ultimately, the decision to stage (or virtually stage) your home is in your hands. We won’t force you into either option if you aren’t open to pursuing one of them, but our team would love to speak with you about what’s best for your listing.
If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.29 April 2019, 3:23 pm - 3 People Who Can Help You Get a Mortgage
There’s more than one way to get a mortgage. Here are three of the most common options.
Selling your DuPage home? Get a free home value report Buying a DuPage home? Search all homes for sale
Welcome to all the first-time homebuyers out there. The spring market is here, so today I’m here to help you determine how to find the right lender who will fit your needs. There are three main points of contact that will help you get a mortgage for your first home:
1. A bank representative. Whether it’s Chase, PNC, or US Bank, this is always a great starting option.
2. A mortgage company. These are companies that thrive on getting buyers the best interest rate possible and also giving that personal service that homebuyers love. We do work with a few different mortgage companies that we’d be happy to connect you with.
3. A smaller bank. This is useful for some nontraditional mortgage loans, such as someone who is self-employed with a 1099 or other circumstances. These banks are a little more flexible in their programs and might be able to help you buy your first home.
Not only are there three main options to help you buy your first house, but we can also guide you in the right direction for your situation. If you have any questions for us or need any advice, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.12 April 2019, 5:07 pm - Remember to Cross These 3 Items Off Your Spring ChecklistSelling your DuPage home? Get a free home value report Buying a DuPage home? Search all homes for sale
Here are three spring-cleaning items to remember to check off your list:
- Clean your gutters and downspouts. Get on some gloves and scrape out those gutters, and if your downspout is clogged, take your garden hose and just flush it out.
- Spray for pests. Don’t forget to treat your home to keep out those pesky stink bugs, carpenter ants, and other invasive critters.
- Plan your landscaping. It’s time to sow your grass seed, trim those bushes, dig out unwanted flora, and plant some nice flowers. Spring and fall are the two times of year to really focus on your landscaping.
29 March 2019, 7:34 pm - More Episodes? Get the App