Investing

Learning As We Go

Looking for a resource which will connect you with a wealth of information about the Chicago Suburbs? You can already learn a lot by visiting TheLubyGroup.com, but soon you’ll find so much more right here at our new Weblog, BurbFeeder.com. I’m Liz Luby of The Luby Group with Coldwell Banker in Barrington. We’re tackling this blog building thing with a combination of excitement, energy and complete cluelessness.

After all, we are experts in selling real estate, not deciphering computer code. Right now words like Widgets, Wikis, Pingbacks and RSS Feeds are from a language that’s a bit foreign to us. But we’re in the process of adding them to our vocabulary and finding ways to use these technologies to help sell homes.

We already put priority emphasis on using the internet to help increase exposure for the properties we have listed. We’ve got some of the best systems in place on TheLubyGroup.com to give home buyers access to information about properties on the market. But we want to take it all to a new level. Internet marketing strategies are constantly evolving and we’ll continue to do what it takes to give our home sellers and buyers an edge when it comes to technology.

We’ve done a lot of research, found a blog publishing system that we think will work well and off we go. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll add useful posts, links and many other tools to this site. We’d love your feedback and we always welcome your involvement. If you’d like us to set up a blog for your specific neighborhood, just say the word and we’ll find a way to make it happen. In the meantime, thanks for your time and your confidence. If you don’t know who we are, here’s a photo from last summer’s “UnCork Barrington” wine tasting event – I’m also just practicing uploading photos:

More to come,
Liz Luby – The Luby Group
Coldwell Banker
303 E. Main Street, Suite 100
Barrington, IL 60010
847-691-3150
TheLubyGroup.com

http://TheLubyGroup.com
http://LubyProperties.com
http://BarringtonHomeBuyer.com
http://BarringtonHomeSeller.com
http://BestByOwners.com

Investing

Real Estate Investing – MADE EASIER

When I got married earlier this year, I became part owner of my husband’s investment property. It’s a brick two-flat in Chicago in Lincoln Square and it has definitely been an adjustment. We live upstairs and rent out the unit below to tenants who are pretty agreeable and generally on time with the rent. It’s a new sort of living arrangement for me, it’s a little small for the two of us and, to be honest, it’s been the source of several heated arguments.

They went a little something like this:
I say: “Shouldn’t we focus on purchasing a home we can grow into rather than stretch to afford a rental property that’s too small?”
Bill says: “Don’t you see how this living situation will enable us to have another source of income down the road? Can’t you live with this for a while until we can afford both?”
I say: “Wait how long? Are you crazy! Why didn’t we talk about this before.”

You get the idea. Bill’s a long term thinker, I live more for the moment and we would both benefit by meeting somewhere in the middle.

This all comes to mind as I decompress after this very intense course on building wealth in real estate that I completed earlier this week. When I look closely at the numbers, what I learned in this class made my husband’s arguments make a lot more sense. In fact, what I learned opened my mind to a whole new way of thinking. Now I’ll admit that I’m still more excited than ever to buy our first place together, but I’m not so quick to complain about where we are today.

Not only did this class help put our personal investment choices in perspective, but I’m now armed with a wealth of information to help our clients make smart choices about investing in real estate rental properties in Chicago or in the Suburbs. Have you ever thought about purchasing a rental property? Would you like to learn more? I’ve got some great formulas that will help calculate the estimated post-tax return on your investment. Are you currently comparing two property options? If so, these formulas might help make it a no brainer. Are you considering investing more in the stock market? WAIT! If you’re a long term thinker and planner like my husband Bill, let’s talk about some real estate options first.

Thanks for reading,
Liz Luby
The Luby Group – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
847-691-3150
www.TheLubyGroup.com