Yes, I know that. House A is our primary residence--that's essential so we can get the tax deduction when we sell that. C isn't an investment property--so I don't know if that advice would work for us. It's a little complicated. Our 18% share is because we refused to take money from MIL's assets when we had huge legal fees when other relatives were stealing from her. We were legally entitled to be repaid for bringing the matter to the court's attention, but as the outlaws had already stolen a quarter of a mil from her, we weren't comfortable taking even a penny of the little she had left for her end care (she had Alzheimer's). The lawyers (ours, MIL's financial guardian, and the out-laws' lawyer) and came up with the solution that they'd put a percentage of the house in our name which we'd get after she died. She did (outlaws never even told us, so we missed the funeral, but that's another post, GRRR). So, long story short--I'm not exactly sure how you would classify that bit of property--we've owned it on paper for a few years, but haven't had use of it, nor income--but we also haven't had any expenses for it's upkeep, either. So it's all a little complicated. Only thing I know, is that we really couldn't afford the money we put out at the time--but we felt we couldn't afford NOT to either, and now my sweet MIL is at peace, and we will finally recoup what we spent to protect her from a bunch of folks who professed to love her with their mouths, while they were shoving their hands into her pockets. But I do appreciate the suggestion and will bring it up when I get to sit down with my accountant. I was sort of thinking that I might want to invest in some sort of property eventually, once we've liquidated all this extra real estate we've found ourselves holding at the moment.

Jo, I've been thinking about you this afternoon. Here's a few suggestions (use them if they seem worthwhile & toss them if they don't!): 1.) Start building relationships with every lender in town. Stop by & ask to meet with the head of lending. Residential lending is so automated today that processors & closers (unfortunately) don't have the cloute they did ten years ago. Since they are not the decision makers they used to be spending your valuable time building relationship with them is not productive. Rather, meet with that head of lending. Tell them you are new. Ask for their business & tell them why YOU will work harder to move their REO inventory. It's a good place & opportunity to learn to ask for "The Close"...something every salesperson has to learn. Also, REO business is easier, IMO. Then, follow-up on your visit with a written note & a dozen of your cards. If you haven't heard from them in 3 months...call again & this time invite him/her out to lunch. Ask the lender who they prefer as a title company, law office, inspector, appriser, etc. After speaking with half a dozen lenders, you'll start to get a snapshot of who's who in town. Then, spend your energy building relationships with those firms & leave the others for later. 2.) Builders...residential builders are really fun people. They were my favorite part of the real estate industry. They, however, are notoriously disorganized & rather poor at anything other than building. Get to know all of your SMALL, local builders (not the big guys...that's a waste of time, IMO, for you in the beginning). Go in with knowledge of their products & a plan to help them market. Keep your name in front of their face even if they currently have nothing to sell. Your building relationships at this point not trying to actually get a listing or make a sale. Builders love, love, love to bu##sh#t so allow a full half-day to meet with one of them! lol You'll learn more about your town's real estate industry in 3 hours from a local builder than six months in your office! 3.) Immediately begin attending the monthly Homebuilders's Association meetings in your area. This was absolutely THE best networking I ever did. 4.) Personally, I did not enjoy the monthly Realtor's Association dinners nearly as much as the builder's. But, you'll need to attend every month & force yourself to meet 3-4 new realtors at every dinner. More relationship building... 5.) Title companies can be tougher. But, I'd still recommend stopping by every one in town & dropping off your cards (probably won't get past the receptionist so leave them with him/her). 6.) My DH is an attorney as well as head of lending at a major financial institution. He works in NY. In NY, attorneys play a fairly large role in real estate. So, find out who specializes & go meet them with a dozen more cards. ASK for his business! He's got lots of clients who'll someday need to sell/buy a home. Also, then when you meet again across a closing table from each other it's easier to negotiate. 7.) Pick a FSBO (or two) & attend their Open Houses. Offer to prepare a CMA. Assure them there's no strings attached. Hope if they don't sell...they'll remember you. Leave 2 cards with them. 8.) A couple things I did over the years when I had a subdivision with a lot of homes I needed to sell in a single community... a.) I made arrangements to reserve the local community center for an evening. I prepared a speech on "Getting Ready To Purchase Your First Home". I advertised the heck out of my little speech (sponsored by my bank but you could ask your broker for sponsorship?). I had lots of hand-outs, coffee, soda, & cookies. I used the overhead with big color glossy pictures of smiling young couples holding little kids in front of their new home. I greeted everybody at the door & gave out business cards. Mostly, what I did was try to get those first-time homebuyers motivated to buy a home feeling that I'd land a few of them at my subidivison I needed to sell & it got my card in hundreds of hands! b.) I realized that I had to learn how to speak up at church, at the "Y" when I was swimming, at the grocery store as I stood in the check-out line, etc. & ASK for people's business. That's tough...the asking part. It a set-up for rejection & as humans we're resistant to it. You've got to lose any fear of rejection you may harbor down way deep inside. It's easier to start with people you don't know too well (like at the grocery store?). Seriously, learning to ask for the close is going to be a make or break skill for you so practice whenever & whereever you get an opportunity. I had many people call me at the bank asking if we had any REO inventory for sale. I'd make an appointment with them & ask about what they were looking for. Then, I'd show them one home I knew they couldn't afford, one I was pretty sure they'd hate, & one I wanted to sell them. Most of the time...it worked. But, I had to ASK for the close! Practice on your family with mock-up situations...unless this is something that just comes naturally to you it's going to be where you need the most work. If you're a natural saleperson...then you'll know when to ask for the close. Good luck...you've made me giggle tonight remembering all of the properties I've sold...like the one near a "babbling brook" with the mushrooms growing on the basement walls! Sold it to a realtor who thought I was a luney-tune for selling it so cheap...thought she could wring the place out & flip it for a nice profit...guess who had the last laugh? hahahahahah Or, the one I sold to an "80 Something" single gent who rode around the neighborhood on his motorcycle wearing nothing but a loin cloth...made his neighbors very upset. I received many threatening phone calls at the bank. Wow, who knew? He seemed so nice at the closing! hahahahahaha It's a fun industry. You'll have a good time. Well, you'll have a good time IF you're a people person. If you don't love people then you'll be miserable. It's not about the houses...it's all about the people. Remember that & you'll do great. Tricia

Timely subject. Our neighborhood just received our property tax assessments for 2016, payable in 2017. Our property taxes have gone up 45%. Our home values have not. We had a refi appraisal within the last year & our home value was less than the current property taxes, prior to this increase. A 45% increase & our taxes are already high. Illinois is number 50, of 50 states, in public pension debt. In the recent past, the federal government has given Illinois stimulus money for education. The majority of that money has NOT gone to schools & students - it has paid for pension debt. We're going to need another bailout from the states that have been fiscally responsible. Edit: We will be appealing - we do every year. The first time we used an attorney, whose fee was 50% of of the tax savings. Then we started doing it ourselves. We have the choice to appeal based on "uniformity" or "overvaluation." "Uniformity" involves collecting & submitting comps of other comparable homes. "Overvaluation" is submitting a home appraisal with a date of Jan 1, 2016 so we get tax credit for the entire year. We've had better results with the home appraisal, overvaluation method. Everyone in our neighborhood's home value has jumped up by between $200,000 - $400,000, according to the taxing authority. I'd have no problem with it if our home value had truly increased, but it hasn't.

Ugh, im exhausted. Realtor just left . She was nice and very knowledgeable, but wow that was a lot of info all at once. Right now I need a valuation. She loved the house and the property, but what else would you expect her to say. Most helpful is that she is working with the township to determine the correct size of the lot, and if there is a possibility of subdivision. She also has contacts to sell the contents and clean it. Of course its a beautiful fall day and everything here looks gorgeous and I want to keep it. That isnt possible and it is waaay more house and property than i could ever manage.