The official start of my 2010 New Year goal to loss 20 lbs by Memorial Day began on January 1. My beginning weight on January, 1 was 225lbs. I figured the best way to stay on track is to share my daily progress with respect to exercise, food and drink. The weight updates will only come once a week with a summary of the weekly diet/exercise regime.

So, what did I do on day two to begin losing weight?

• Exercise
  • 1 mile on the treadmill (see all the stats)
  • walk dogs around block (briskly) twice
• Food
  • Breakfast-Bowl of oatmeal (good)
  • Lunch-Black bean soup and bread (no butter) from Panera (good)
  • Dinner-Grilled chicken and onion sandwich w/baked potato chips (not bad)
  • No desert. Drinks included water, tea and several vodka & diet tonics. Coffee is a given-everyday! (not good-but I did alternate water between my cocktails)

What do you think of my start so far? Have anything you doing that you want to share? Want to give me some words of encouragement? Do be shy, leave a comment.

Look forward to Day 3 update tomorrow! Want to see Day 1 update?

Official start of my 2010 New Year goal to loss 20 lbs by Memorial Day began yesterday. The weigh in saw me tip the scale at 225lbs. I figured the best way to stay on track is to share my daily progress with respect to exercise, food and drink. The weight updates will only come once a week with a summary of the weekly diet/exercise regime.

So, what did I do on day one to begin losing weight?

• Exercise
  • Nothing (except walk dogs around block twice)
• Food
  • Breakfast-Apple cinnamon danish (not so good, but I only had one)
  • Lunch-Chicken noodle soup and some pretzels (good)
  • Dinner-Grilled chicken and onion sandwich w/baked potato chips (not bad)
  • No desert or drinks other than water and 1 cup of 25 cal. hot chocolate (coffee is a given-everyday!)

What do you think of my start so far? Have anything you doing that you want to share? Want to give me some words of encouragement? Do be shy, leave a comment.

Look forward to Day 2 update tomorrow!

Be cautious of your pet frogs, amphibians and reptiles, especially if you have younger children. According to the article in the News Sun, the Lake County Health Department has linked a strain of samonella contracted by a 6 year old Gurnee boy to one carried by these creatures. The CDC has reported 83 cases in 31 states including 5 in Illinois as of December 21.

Welcome 2010! I’ve seen a lot of optimism that 2010 will be an improvement over 2009 for many people. So that being said, I think it was great that the News Sun put together a Wacky & Tacky of 2009. What better way to focus on some unusual happenings of last year as we welcome in what will hopefully be a very happy, healthy, and prosperous new year for Lake County!

What stories did they miss that you can share? Please comment below, it’s good for your health! (hasn’t been clinically proven, but I’m sure it won’t hurt)

As a Realtor, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is regarding refinancing or trying to sell a home that’s upside down (value vs. remaining mortgage). This article won’t help with either of those situations, but it does address how loan modifications may impact your credit score. If you are applying for a loan modification on your home loan, be sure to find out the facts, in writing, from your loan servicer.  Also be sure the trial period is as short as possible so you can have it become permanent and not effect your credit score as much.

Read the full article from CNNMoney.com here.

Have you had any experience getting your loan modified? Please share it by commenting below. Others want to hear from you!

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Have you ever visited a hotel that posted pictures of rooms that looked like this:

But looked more like this:(yes scroll over the camera icon)

I’m not saying that pictures of homes for sale online are this deceiving, but how can you get a better appreciation for a home you are interested in without having to take the time or resources to actually see it in person? For a limited time,  Zoom Real Estate will be offering free video previews of up to 3 homes that you may be interested in.

Just like how I use Trip Advisor to see “candid” traveler photos and reviews before booking vacations, I want to offer you a candid video preview tour of a home that you maybe interested in before you have to book a showing appointment, drive to the location, and spend all that time just to find something in the home or neighborhood that crosses the home off you list. Let’s face it, most homes for sale are staged for photos. Pictures are taken to give you the “best” angle, not “every” angle. How often do you get to see the surrounding neighborhood? Were you surprised by the layout after having an image of what you thought you saw in the photos? Let Zoom Real Estate create a video prepared for you, not the seller, and get the “whole” picture.

The details: Homes must be listed for sale by a Realtor on the MLS. The home must be in Vernon Hills, Libertyville, Mundelein, Lake Forest, Mettawa or Lincolnshire. You must be pre-approved for a mortgage in the price range of the home your are wanting previewed. You may not criticize my video quality and lack of editing skills. You will get a compete tour of the interior and exterior of the home, plus the surrounding neighborhood/area. Turnaround time will generally be 48 hours from date of request. I can cancel this offer at any time for any reason. I respect other Realtors, so if you are working with one already, this offer is not for you.

Contact me today to schedule your no obligation, free video preview tour for the houses on your home search list. Feel free to share this offer with your friends and neighbors. If the home is located outside of Vernon Hills, Libertyville, Mundelein, Lake Forest, Mettawa or Lincolnshire, and you are interested in this offer, please contact me to discuss.

Do you think this will be helpful? Do you wish you had this opportunity when you were looking for your home? Comments are always appreciated!

I received a very nice surprise the other day. Lani Rosales from AgentGenius.com sent me a DM (direct message on Twitter) asking me to quote on the news of the rise in existing homes sales from the National Association of Realtors. Given this positive news, I was asked to comment on whether or not we’re out of the woods. Here’s my response in an excerpt from the article:

Chicago, Illinois Realtor Tim McDonald of Zoom Real Estate said, “with high unemployment and large number of ARM resets coming over the next two years, I don’t foresee us being out of the woods yet. While it may be the best time to buy (with low interest rates, tax credit, and low prices), I think it also may be the best time to sell in the next 2 years (higher inventory of REOs, rising interest rates, higher unemployment and no more tax credit).”

Read the full AgentGenius.com article.

The increase in home sales for the last several months has been heavily influenced by first time home buyers, who have represented over half of all home buyers, taking advantage of the tax credit that was do to expire on December 1, 2009. I would expect to see this continue for November, when home sales figures are released in December. Now that the tax credit has been extended and expanded, we may continue to see an increase in the first half of the year, but the other factors (unemployment, new wave of foreclosures, and higher interest rates) may make today not only the best time to buy a home, but also the best time to sell a home in the next two years.

Your comments are always welcomed! Or if you don’t want to world to see your thoughts, email or call me!

The home buyer tax credit is one small step from being enacted. The Senate voted 98-0 on Wednesday and yesterday the House voted 403-12 on legislation that includes the extension and expansion of the credit. The President is expected to sign the legislation, perhaps as early as today. With the home buyer tax credit extension, buyers will have until April 30, 2010 to have a home under contract and must close on the property buy July 1, 2010. The first time homebuyer credit limit will remain at $8,000. Part of the new legislation includes expanding the home buyer tax credit to included existing home owners. The maximum credit for existing home owners would be $6,500. In order to qualify you must have lived in the existing residence for 5 consecutive years of the last 8 years.

You can find frequently asked questions and a very easy to understand comparison chart between the existing home buyer tax credit and the new one by visiting the Illinois Association of Realtors.

Should you have any questions about the home buyer tax credit or any other real estate related issues, please contact me.

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What is 872 you ask? It the new area code which will overlay the existing 312 and 773 area codes in Chicago effective November 7, 2009. When the 773 area code was introduced, it was a split from the 312 area code. the overlay of the 872 area code will cover both the 312 and 773 area codes. The change will require callers to dial the full 11 digit number (1+area code+number) for all calls to and from the city of Chicago.  Most new requests for numbers will get the 872 area code, but 312 and 773 numbers are still available.

I have my 312 and you can always call me for your real estate needs 312-970-0846.