Your Chicago Mortgage Guy

Trader's Joe's in Portage Park?

If you live in the Old Irving or Portage Park area, there are whispers that we could get a Trader Joe's at the Six Corners.  Read the thread below, and if you can, please write to the coporation that own's Trader Joe's.  We could sure use it.

 

Letter writing campaign advocating for a Trader Joe's in Portage Park

 

As OIPA has written before, the former Bank of America (BoA) site at 4901 W. Irving Park in the 45th Ward has been sold to a developer.  According to reports in the Nadig Press, this developer has built for Aldi's and other food stores in the past.  It is our understanding that the firm is trying to assemble an entire city block--not all of it was owned by BoA--in order to build.

 

Many residents have expressed a desire for a Trader Joe's in that Portage Park location.  Both Aldi's and Trader Joe's are owned by the same company.  The Portage Park Neighborhood Assn. and the Friends of Portage Park are spearheading a letter writing campaign urging Trader Joe's to locate here, and OIPA wholeheartedly supports that effort.

 

Please use the sample letter below, or write your own citing specifics.  Why is this area a good match for a Trader Joe's and their product mix?  What are their criteria for locating new stores and how can we meet them?

 

Letters and/or emails should be directed to:

 

Doug Yokomizo

Head of Real Estate

626.599.3700 office

626.301.4431 fax


SAMPLE LETTER FROM PPNA & FOPP, to fax, snail mail or email:

Doug Yokomizo

Trader Joe's Company, Inc.

Corporate Headquarters

800 South Shamrock Avenue

Monrovia, California 91016

 

Dear Mr. Yokomizo:

 

Through our community organizations and neighborhood conversations, we hear of a possible development of an existing +3 acre property at 4901 West Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL 60641 by a group who, in the past, has developed Trader Joe’s Markets.

This particular site is ripe with benefits that include a designated Chicago TIF district to assist with development costs, active community and business associations, two active Chicago Parks, easy highway access with two intersecting 4-lane arteries that include bus routes and a recently completed $20 million streetscape beautification project that included new sidewalks and pedestrian amenities, paved roads, new street & pedestrian lighting, community identifiers and pedestrian friendly integrated planter boxes.

As a resident of the northwest side of Chicago, I am writing in strong support of this exciting possibility. I have no doubt that Trader Joe’s would be warmly welcomed and supported by our community and neighboring communities which has been documented and studied to not only have limited grocery options but also, on average, more expensive choices than other neighborhoods.

I hope this letter helps to convince you that Portage Park is the perfect location for a new Trader Joe’s and you’ll consider this site as an option toward your business expansion.

 

Sincerely,

 

Your name and contact info here

Get your FHA Applications in, PRONTO!

Happy Friday Everyone!  Hopefully you are not in front of a computer right now, seeing how it's 70 degrees here in Chicago and March Madness is in full swing.  I'll make this brief, but want to get this in front of everyone before they go out and sign a contract this weekend.

First, as stated previously, you have until April 4th to get your FHA application in and only get hit 1.75% for the upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium.  As of April 5th, it goes up to 2.25%.  So, if you have a contract, or are about to sign a contract, do your shopping quickly and make sure your lender gets their FHA Case number prior to April 5th.

Second, we are starting to get a sense of how long the Condominium Approval process is going to take when submitting an FHA application in a condo unit.  We are doing the initial Condominium Approval process in house before we send it off to HUD for final approval, and I am still quoting people a minimum of 60 days from contract date to close.  It is taking 10-15 business days in house and another three weeks once we submit our approved package to HUD for final approval.  Those turn times are only going to increase as we get closer to the April 30th deadline for the First Time Buyer Credit.  So, if you are looking to finance a condominium through FHA, best to get your application in well before that deadline.  We will talk more and more about this over the next two weeks here, so stay tuned.

That's all for now.  Call me or email me if you have any questions.  As long as they aren't about the NCAA, my brackets are already busted. 

Good Luck and Happy Friday!

Joe Burke

Your Chicago Mortgage Guy

773-742-6707

joe@yourchicagomortgageguy.com

North Center Ribfest This Weekend

Happy Friday Everybody!  And, Happy Festival Season!

If you want to come hang with your Chicago Mortgage Guy, I'll be at my favorite Festival this evening in the North Center neighborhood of Chicago.  Ribfest!  So, if you are in the area and are hankering for some BBQ and Beer, or just some great music, stop on by.  Ribfest is located at the six corners of Lincoln Avenue, Damen and Irving Park Road.  Follow your nose, you can't miss it.  It really is a blast.

North Center Ribfest

Joe Burke

Your Chicago Mortgage Guy

joe@yourchicagomortgageguy.com

773-742-6707 

Wisconsin, best drivers in the country? Are you kidding?

It's Memorial Day weekend and thousands of Chicagoans will be heading up to Cheese Land to pillage our neighbors to the North.  As soon as they cross the state line, there will inevitably be a Dairy Land license plate parked in the passing lane, doing a brisk 55 mph.  Best drivers in the country?  You have to be kidding me. 

According to GMAC Insurance Groups National Drivers Test for 2009, Wisconsin tied for first with Idaho for having the highest score on their annual drivers test.  This test is obviously written and even more obviously flawed. 

Now, I am not saying that Chicago or Illinois has the best drivers in the country.  Far from it.  But, if you have ever spent any amount of time driving in Wisconsin, I think that you would agree that they are not, NOT, the safest drivers in the country.  Maybe they just test well.

State Rankings

Note: Many states tied for the same position in the rankings.

1	IDAHO
1	WISCONSIN
3	MONTANA
4	KANSAS
5	SOUTH DAKOTA
5	NEBRASKA
7	UTAH
8	WYOMING
8	IOWA
8	OREGON
8	MINNESOTA
12	ALASKA
12	NORTH DAKOTA
14	VERMONT
15	COLORADO
15	MISSOURI
17	OKLAHOMA
17	WASHINGTON
19	NEW MEXICO
20	NORTH CAROLINA
21	VIRGINIA
22	INDIANA
22	MICHIGAN
24	ARKANSAS
24	TEXAS
26	ALABAMA
26	NEVADA
28	WEST VIRGINIA
29	ILLINOIS
30	ARIZONA
31	MAINE
32	DELAWARE
33	NEW HAMPSHIRE
34	OHIO
35	KENTUCKY
36	PENNSYLVANIA
37	LOUISIANA
38	TENNESSEE
38	MISSISSIPPI
40	SOUTH CAROLINA
40	MARYLAND
42	CONNECTICUT
43	FLORIDA
44	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
45	MASSACHUSETTS
46	RHODE ISLAND
47	GEORGIA
48	CALIFORNIA
49	HAWAII
50	NEW JERSEY
51	NEW YORK

Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend everyone!

Joe Burke

Your Chicago Mortgage Guy

773-742-6707

joe@yourchicagomortgageguy.com

Inspiration At The Bottom Of My Six Pack

Some people go to Church for inspiration.  Others might read an inspirational book or go for a run.  Me, I recently found inspiration at the bottom of a six pack of Lagunitas Shut Down Ale.  They have a nifty little blather on the bottom of the six pack that they were gracious enough to let me reprint here. 

There is a symmetry to everything.  Hot will always cool.  Up always comes to down.  Markets rise and crash.  $2 per gallon then $4 per gallon then $2.  First the right begets the left; then the left becomes the right; and then the right becomes the wrong all over again.  Hop prices do soar and then just as surely crash and everyone cries except the brewer.  Some drugs are legal (like alcohol) while others are forbidden.  Some pleasures are embraced and are also forebidden.  Ask the former NY Governor or Pee Wee Herman.  Saddam and Noriega once got paychecks from the CIA?  The King of Beers becomes another's brood mare.  GM becomes Gee...Um...  how many times have you heard and unusual word several times in one day?  What is one day undercover- is the next day revealed- and then slunks back down where it came from again.  The sun went down today and returns tomorrow as if for the first time.  When governments are simple, people are simple.  When governments are clever, people are clever.  Earth mirrors heaven.  There is a symmetry to everything.  Cheers!

Well, I don't know if that helps, but it put a smile on my face.  Here's a flyer from Lagunitas with some of my most favoritest beers in the world.  Super hoppy, super yummy.  Download Lagunitas Seasonal Six Packs  Check out these and many other great beers from the people at Lagunitas.  You won't be dissapointed. 

Happy Friday Everyone!

Joe Burke

Your Chicago Mortgage Guy

773-742-6707

joe@yourchicagomortgageguy.com

We're a funny bunch, us Chicagoans

I would write about just how absurd it is that the Sears Tower is going to be renamed the Willis Tower, but who in the Chicago Media or Blog world hasn't already tackled that.  Okay, yes I will.  What I find to be so funny is the outrage over this name change in the first place.  If you can find me one, just one, self respecting Chicagoan that will ever refer to the Sears Tower as anything but the Sears Tower, I will find you a Sox fan that refers to Comiskey as Us Cellular.

Seriously.  What's the big deal?  It will always be Sears Tower.  Just like I still look at the AON Center and the first thing that comes to mind is the Standard Oil building.  There is the outsiders view or persona of what is Chicago and then there is the Chicagoans Chicago.  We are a stubborn bunch.  Just look at the brew ha ha that was put up over the loss of Marshall Fields.  The Fields family hadn't owned Marshall Fields for years.  The Wrigley Family doesn't own Wrigley Field.  Sears Roebuck hasn't owned the Sears Tower for years and the Montgomery Wards building is a Condo building known simply as the Montgomery.  Get over it I say!

And, to the people at Willis Group Holdings, don't expect any love from us because you brought a whopping 500 jobs to our city.  In a city that is as steeped in tradition as we are, Willis will never become a household name. 

Now, if we wanted to rename the Sears Tower after a local icon, that would be a different story.  I could see any number of potential names in that scenario. 

• Ditka Tower
• Butkus Tower
• Payton Place
• Banks Tower
• Gossage Tower
• Jordan Tower
• Veek Tower
• Royko Tower

The list cold go on and on.  So Chicago, call it whatever you want.  But, I guarantee, Willis will never stick.

Joe Burke

Your Chicago Mortgage Guy

joe@yourchicagomortgageguy.com

773-742-6707

What a week...

Happy Friday Everyone,

Where to begin.  What a week.  I have about a thousand things that I could write about, but I don't have anything that wouldn't be a rehash of what's already on your home page.  I've been at this now for about 4 months and I think I have done a pretty good job of keeping current and posting on a regular basis. 

Here are a couple of things I will be getting up in the near future. 

Part of my intent when I started this was to have a community atmosphere to my blog.  I want to get more community information up and give the page more of a personal feel.  I also wanted to give my audience a sense of what I, as a Chicago home owner, am going through while owning a home in the city.  Everything from who I use to help fix up my old house to what Julie and I are involved in the neighborhood.  It is still my intention to get to this, but with all of the financial turmoil to concentrate on, I haven't quite gotten there yet.

I would at this point though like to throw this out to my readers.  What do you want to see here?  Just mortgage and housing information and updates?  Do you even care about where we are applying for Day Care or about renovating our home?  Drop me a line and let me know what you think. 

Have a wonderful weekend.  I hope you all get outside this weekend to enjoy the warm up.

Joe Burke

Your Chicago Mortgage Guy

joe@yourchicagomortgageguy.com

How can you have a decent Recession without Beer?

This is disturbing to say the least.  According to the Commerce Department, sales of off-premises alcohol dropped by a staggering 9.3% from the previous quarter.  This is the single biggest drop in Alcohol sales since 1991 when sales dropped by just 3.7%. 

 

For the full article, check out this great article at www.fivethirtyeight.com, Beer No Longer Recession Proof

Worse yet, Beer accounted for almost all of the decrease.  Beer.  Wow. 

For those of you who don't know, I am a beer snob.  I spend more on an average 6 pack than most people spend on a bottle of wine.  While I very much enjoy a good Pabst Blue Ribbon, I am much more likely to drop $10 on a 4 pack of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.  And here's the problem with that.  Part of this drop is almost certainly due to people moving back to the big mass brewed, foreign owned, beers and away from the more expensive Micro Brews.  This is UnAmerican my friends!!!  By local, drink local, eat local!!! 

So, here's my economic stimulus plan.  I plan to continue to support our Micro Brewery industry.  For every loan I close this year, I pledge to enjoy a 6 pack of a tasty hoppy beverage.  The only problem, I have to close some more loans to catch up with my beer consumption. 

Happy Friday Everybody. 

Joe Burke

Your Chicago Mortgage Guy

joe@yourchicagomortgageguy.com

773-742-6707

Fun Friday Update

Well, enough doom and gloom, it's Friday!!

Prediction:  If Orton Plays, Bears 17 Packers 14.  If Grossman Plays, Bears 10, Packers 31. 

Beer of the week:  Lagunitas Sirius Cream Ale - Good stuff if you can find it.

Book I'm going to finish this weekend:  The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon

Things to come next week:  I've been getting some response about ending my monthly recipe card mailer.  Don't fret, I will be starting an online version.  I will get the first one posted early next week and it will be specific too, guess what, Thanksgiving.  I'm still working the kinks out of my Turkey menu, but I will share it as soon as I'm set on what I'm going to do. 

I will also be getting a page up dedicated to my service partners.  I will dedicate space monthly to one specific service partner that I have worked with over the years, as well as links to the people that I trust with my Finances, Accounting, Insurance, Home Improvement and the like. 

Please feel free to drop me a line with any content that you would like to see moving forward. 

Have a great weekend!!!

Joe Burke

Your Chicago Mortgage Guy