<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21175869</id><updated>2009-02-20T22:08:54.071-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Chicagoland Real Estate Blog</title><subtitle type='html'>Ask questions, or exchange real estate information in the Chicagoland area.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Steven Council</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06658545857739763320</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>6</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21175869.post-133317347116805316</id><published>2007-01-29T21:09:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2007-01-29T21:14:40.500-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Is the Worst Over?</title><content type='html'>Wow...what a year 2006 was!  Home sales were down over 30% from last year...although prices remained relatively flat.  2007 is showing signs of a resurgence!!  My business is strong due to my low 3.9% selling fee and $1000 cash if you buy a home using me as your agent. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Northern Illinois, please give me a call and let me start working for you!! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Steve Council, Realtor&lt;br /&gt;Charles Rutenberg Realty&lt;br /&gt;(630) 606-0034&lt;br /&gt;Sell-Our-House.com&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21175869-133317347116805316?l=stevecouncil.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/feeds/133317347116805316/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21175869&amp;postID=133317347116805316' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/133317347116805316'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/133317347116805316'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/2007/01/is-worst-over.html' title='Is the Worst Over?'/><author><name>Steven Council</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06658545857739763320</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='09842296885074875706'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21175869.post-114366868033941068</id><published>2006-03-29T15:24:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-03-29T15:44:40.443-06:00</updated><title type='text'>I've Moved!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6249/2139/1600/CRR_Letterhead_Logo_small.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6249/2139/320/CRR_Letterhead_Logo_small.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After two years in real estate I have learned the following facts:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fact #1&lt;/strong&gt;: Fancy offices do not sell homes. Sure, they are nice to work in, but a fancy real estate office is purely overhead that is passed down to the seller.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fact #2&lt;/strong&gt;: A fancy office does not attract buyers and sellers to buy or sell a home. 85% of people under the age of 40 use the internet to look for a home or to search for an agent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fact #3&lt;/strong&gt;: As a seller, you pay part of your commission (as much as 1.75%) to the broker who you will never meet and who has no interest in meeting you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fact#4&lt;/strong&gt;: Fancy color newspaper ads do not sell homes. They create exposure for the company and to a lesser degree to the agent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fact#5&lt;/strong&gt;: No matter which real estate company you hire to sell your home, each Realtor uses the same tools, they belong to the same associations, they have the same education and experience, and they have access to the same MLS. Don't be told otherwise.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fact#6&lt;/strong&gt;: If you price your home appropriately, it will sell itself. No broker or no commission fee is going to pursuade a buyer to overpay on a home. Also, the appraisal process will not allow the buyer to aquire a loan it the house is over-priced.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have recently joined Charles Rutenberg Realty in Naperville which allows me to run my business the way I need to benefit the clients I serve. I allow you to choose the sales commission that fits your needs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I once heard a real estate broker say, "They can't afford to sell their home". How do they know that? A more accurate statement would be, "They cannot afford to sell their home with us due to our high fees". You have a choice when it comes to real estate. Do you want to pay extra for things you will never benefit from? If not, give me a call today! I provide full-time and full-service real estate services without the high cost.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21175869-114366868033941068?l=stevecouncil.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/feeds/114366868033941068/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21175869&amp;postID=114366868033941068' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/114366868033941068'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/114366868033941068'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/2006/03/ive-moved.html' title='I&apos;ve Moved!'/><author><name>Steven Council</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06658545857739763320</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='09842296885074875706'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21175869.post-113771437231488981</id><published>2006-01-19T17:46:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-01-19T17:46:12.323-06:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/206/9490/320/Pinpoint.jpg'&gt;&lt;img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/206/9490/200/Pinpoint.jpg'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pinpoint Mortgage&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'&gt;&lt;img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21175869-113771437231488981?l=stevecouncil.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/feeds/113771437231488981/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21175869&amp;postID=113771437231488981' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/113771437231488981'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/113771437231488981'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/2006/01/pinpoint-mortgage.html' title=''/><author><name>Steven Council</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06658545857739763320</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='09842296885074875706'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21175869.post-113763299507534969</id><published>2006-01-18T19:09:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-01-18T19:09:55.076-06:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/206/9490/320/CBHBLOGO%5B1%5D%20%282%29.0.jpg'&gt;&lt;img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/206/9490/200/CBHBLOGO%5B1%5D%20%282%29.jpg'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My Office&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'&gt;&lt;img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21175869-113763299507534969?l=stevecouncil.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/feeds/113763299507534969/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21175869&amp;postID=113763299507534969' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/113763299507534969'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/113763299507534969'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/2006/01/my-office_18.html' title=''/><author><name>Steven Council</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06658545857739763320</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='09842296885074875706'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21175869.post-113762976527716400</id><published>2006-01-18T18:16:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-01-18T18:16:05.283-06:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/206/9490/640/Myphoto.jpg'&gt;&lt;img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/206/9490/320/Myphoto.jpg'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Steven Council - Realtor&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'&gt;&lt;img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21175869-113762976527716400?l=stevecouncil.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/feeds/113762976527716400/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21175869&amp;postID=113762976527716400' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/113762976527716400'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/113762976527716400'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/2006/01/steven-council-realtor.html' title=''/><author><name>Steven Council</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06658545857739763320</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='09842296885074875706'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21175869.post-113762840352831082</id><published>2006-01-18T17:50:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2006-01-18T17:53:23.540-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Hello and Welcome!</title><content type='html'>This is your opportunity to ask questions and exchange real estate information with other bloggers!  I will check this daily and will try to answer your questions as quickly as possible.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21175869-113762840352831082?l=stevecouncil.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/feeds/113762840352831082/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21175869&amp;postID=113762840352831082' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/113762840352831082'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/21175869/posts/default/113762840352831082'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://stevecouncil.blogspot.com/2006/01/hello-and-welcome.html' title='Hello and Welcome!'/><author><name>Steven Council</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06658545857739763320</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:extendedProperty xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' name='OpenSocialUserId' value='09842296885074875706'/></author><thr:total xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'>3</thr:total></entry></feed>