Monday, August 10, 2009

The Promo Sapien

The Promo Sapien is a direct descendant of the more popular and easily recognizable species known as the Homo Sapien--latin meaning: "wise or knowing man {or woman}." The PS, while similar in many ways to the HS, is generally a more smiley yet slightly condescending sort of creature who, in recent years, migrated en masse to the real estate business and enjoyed fleeting success until Global Warming and Web 2.0 set in and all the remaining unlicensed regular Sapiens learned how to find properties on their own on Zillow. They usually can be spotted these days in Starbucks with Blackberry in hand and Bluetooth in ear somewhere between the moms and the toddlers. At least, that's where you can usually find me.

This social glacier calving, as it were, spawned yet another subspecies, the Self-Promo Sapien--Chicago meaning: "any Realtor who constantly professes his or her superiority over any other qualified but less self-promoting PS as well as all HSes in general--and can be found on most any page of Chicago Agent Magazine (or any other industry ledger that will publish a 'Feature Article' if enough accompanying ad space is purchased), sic." And again, that's where you might one day find me as well, if someone can ever convince me it's worth the advertising ruble.

But for now I think not. The truth is, if no one else is offering up the accolades, I don't feel the need to make that superlative declaration myself. Now I will publish all compliments and 'attaboys' in my sidebar on the right; verbatim, referenced of course, and unsolicited all-- but I am not inclined to utter the words of praise myself, to be set apart from and above, all other PSes and SPSes with a Blackberry and an earpiece. Besides, the best Realtors in this town have already switched over to iPhone...



Geno Petro




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Friday, August 07, 2009

Chicago City Tramp Stamp

As one might expect, the lone 'Foreclosure' in our bucolic Northwest Chicago neighborhood is a Single Family Rental House a few blocks away---complete with a cast of COPS characters as occupants and a piss green meth-mobile as transport. I must say, GM pushed some monkeyshit brown product out of Detroit in the 70s and 80s.

(adjective descriptive credited to wordman and fellow Realtor, Austin Bader)



Geno Petro




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Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Retro on Roscoe



P
osted are a few pictures from the annual Retro on Roscoe summer festival. It's my favorite seasonal street fair in what I deem to be one of the most livable neighborhoods in Chicago. After an afternoon of showing property and attending a friend's housewarming party---a beautiful new construction condo @ 2110 Roscoe---I finally turned my snoop cap backwards and snapped a couple sidewalk shots for the record.

Evian in hand I witnessed, among other spectacles, an over-served wine head in a Cubs jersey (duh) stumble out of LUSH (pictured above), an over-served girl open the door and fall out of a Porta-John on Leavitt (can't believe I missed that shot), and Hairbangers Ball serve up a musical night cap from the Main Stage to a shoulder-to-shoulder audience.

There was even one side alley devoted to a gathering of vintage cars with proud owners in tow---okay, on lawn chairs (hey, it's Chicago). I'm posting my favorite of these classics below. 'Less is More' as the Germans say. But tell me again, just so I'm clear...size...it does, or doesn't matter? I keep forgetting...





Geno Petro




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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Trick To Parking In Chicago?






First you find a parking space. Then you get a car small enough to fit into the Chicago parking space. Then you hope the cars at either end cut you some good old Midwestern slack and the meter maid only tags you once a day.

And just for fun...

The showroom sticker on the above Cadillac Fleetwood boasted the following specifications in 1967:

$10,360 (out the door)

156 inch wheelbase (13 feet)

5346 pounds

(notice how no one is parked anywhere near that much chrome and iron)


The 2008 Mercedes Smart Car:

$11,590 (through the window)

73.5 inch wheelbase

1808 pounds

(notice how no one respects your social distance when you pack such a small, well... package)

The top shot of old Methuselah was taken on Pensacola in Lincoln Square, the bottom at OZ Park in Lincoln Park. (also note The Tin Man statue in the background).

What neither picture shows, though, and the original point of this mini-post, is the fact that none of the cars in the frames were parked legally to begin with and all had orange stickers on their windshields. With private Parking Spaces listed in the MLS at upwards of $35,000 near the lake, you take whatever land you can shove between two bumpers in this town. The way I figure, at $50 per ticket, a guy can park wherever he wants to for a year and a half before he really starts losing money in Chicago Real Estate.


I'm just sayin'...


Geno Petro




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Monday, July 20, 2009

A Chicago Housing Crisis? (lol)




I was cruising along Elston Avenue in Chicago this morning when the above 'house' caught the attention of my iPhone. A few hours later, I'm still trying to figure out how bad it would have to get for this male to walk through that door. And who the hell is this Harold, anyway? ....and what can he possibly do to help? (just inquiring in case I need to rent a room for an intervention sometime)





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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Random Chicago iPhone Pix









Architecturally, Chicago is a classic Doric order with a touch of Graham Anderson and a splash of Daniel Burnham; i.e. the Shedd Aquarium, the Chicago skyline to Navy Pier looking north from the Field Museum, and the main lobby of Union Station on Adams Street.





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Monday, July 13, 2009

Chicago Real Estate Market Reports


We're halfway there Windy City buyers, sellers, and short sale shoppers. Below are the Year-to-Date Chicago Real Estate Market Charts hot off the WordPress for June. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...in July.

btw...Dear Santa, I want a Segway (pictured).




CHICAGO SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES



CHICAGO CONDOMINIUMS




NORTH SIDE CHICAGO REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT







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Friday, July 10, 2009

Chicago Fun Days



I took a break from Chicago Real Estate for a few days and hooked up with the Familia downtown; Segways on the Lakefront, traffic dodging in Chinatown, and finally---the Wiener's Circle in Lincoln Park for a few Chicago Style Red Hots and of course, verbal abuse. (Do Not Ask For Any Kind Of Shake. Period)



CHILLIN' ON THE FRONT PORCH LIKE THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW




FOREST GLEN METRA TEXTING




CHICAGO CHINATOWN CAT CHOW FUN


silhouette by AbbEy V
iPhone shots all by myself


Geno Petro








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Monday, July 06, 2009

Chicago Bleacher Bum

If there was ever a man who could find a way to alienate himself in a crowd of 40,000 it's Chicago Cub, Milton Bradley. I was sitting in the bleachers yesterday when the gravity of the right fielder's contrarian attitude caught my eyePhone. Actually, I kind of like this guy just because he doesn't play nice (or particularly well ) while still finding a way to also get paid $7 million. (I just may start being a smartass to the lady who sells me my Lotto tickets.) 'So sue me...'


Truthfully, I pretty much bat .500 when it comes to our city's baseball teams. I'm equally disappointed in the White Sox half the time, as well. It's the game of baseball that I love---the noblest of all summer pastimes to enjoy at the end of an otherwise routine Chicago real estate Sunday.


Geno Petro



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Friday, July 03, 2009

Small Town Chicago



Third Coast. Midwest. Small Town. Big City. Chicago.


Independence Day Rocks!




from our Forest Glen home to yours,



Geno Petro



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Thursday, July 02, 2009

Chicago's Top Ten Real Estate Deals




Click here to a PRWeb Press Release so kindly posted by Jason Wakefield at TopTenRealEstateDeals.com. My July Top Ten Luxury Real Estate Picks are featured here and here. You can also check out a thumbnail version in bright yellow on my sidebar to the right. >>>>

btw...I try to interject a little humor in these pieces. Example: "Was smoking crack at $969,000. Now clean and sober at $674,000." Stuff like that. And my mother insists I might be too 'irreverent' to be a Realtor.

Come on, Mom!


Geno Petro



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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Chicago Pothole Medalist





"I'm the one who gets called up about a problem. I'm the one who gets called up about the street lighting and the abandoned car. I'm the one who gets blamed if the police don't arrive. I'm the one they blame if a city truck is broken down."

Chicago Mayor, Richard M. Daley


BTW Mr. Mayor, I too, just tried to call you after fishing the remains of my BMW out of the above pot...er...sink hole on Mildred Avenue in Lincoln Park. The above pictured cones were previously reserving a pair of blue haired Realtors' Open House parking spaces in front of an MLS listed McMansion. I took the liberty to personally secure a higher and better use for the orange markers. Hope your Streets and San Man on (or rather, off) the job doesn't mind. (Hey, it's just another day in the Chicago Real Estate business---with a guerilla twist. hehe) And good luck with that 2016 Olympic Search Committee. Suggestion: On their next visit here, be sure to keep them off of what's left of our city streets or, at the very least, off the 2700 block of Mildred. Should probably keep them off the buses, too. Brutal.


Geno Petro



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Monday, June 29, 2009

Halsted Street, Chicago USA







'Mammas, don't let your babies grow up to be.....'

Ah, on second thought, let them go. You should warn them, however, that they may subsequently be embarrassesd when their butts and party dresses show up on You Tube. Also, teach them to use the trash can....and not pee in the street....and to drink and use recreational drugs in moderation....and to practice safe debauchery. It's the law, I'm pretty sure.
...and besides, who can sell real estate with something like that ^^^ hanging over your head?




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Monday, June 22, 2009

Wimbledon to Chicago via Chris Hahn




Old buddy, old pal, Christopher T. (for Tennis) Hahn, Esquire-at-Large, delivers this Center court Wimbledon photo shot live, from his Blackberry, to God's ear, to my iPhone, and finally, to you. And I quote:

"Center court. I'm doing the trifecta of brit summer sport! Royal Ascot, Wimbledon, and then the Ashes."

CTH


(do I detect an English accent?)


Cheers,





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