Retiring? Think Quincy Illinois and the Good Life

Check this out ... and other homes like these are for sale ... at very reasonable prices! <http://www.seequincy.com/PrivateHomeTours_Gallery.pdf>

(Note: you may need to view link at 100% size to open. Mine needs to be changed from 102% to 100%, then it pops up.)

The 20 Quincy Illinois homes on the attached link just scratch the surface. Quincy and the surrounding villages and farms offer hundreds of choices. Amazing architecture, plenty of room and reasonably priced. Quincy and the surrounding environs are a great place to retire to - a small Midwest university town with great medical facilities and easy drive (or short hop by air) to St. Louis. Compared to the big city there are virtually no crowds, no traffic, or crime, and a slower pace, but great restaurants, museums, and music with four seasons and welcoming Midwestern people.

As for historic houses, the area has plenty. Real stone masons and brick masons and wood workers, most from Germany, completed hundreds of homes for well known architects at the turn of the 19th century for the lumber and brewing barons of the day. Some need nurturing, some have simply been preserved. Many have all the latest amenities in addition.

See one you want that isn't listed? I'll knock on the door and ask if its available.

Tired of all those years in Vegas, LA, or the big city where you are? Looking for a pleasant change?
If you are looking to retire, you should check this out! Call me.

We are Now Taking Listings for 2012

Here is my new Listing Flyer just to remind folks that I have done this before.

Often in Quincy and rural Adams County there may not be comparable sales within a few blocks or even a few miles. A house near Payson may be very similar to another that sold in or near some other Adams County town. Likewise, yours may be the only home like it on your street, but there will be a comparable house within a reasonable distance. Even then, the house must be priced "in the market" in order to sell.

This said, lenders may still rely on appraisals that may not be able to fit your house into their rules. That doesn't mean a buyer won't want it at a reasonable price, but it may mean they'll need more cash if the appraisal comes in low. That buyer just takes longer to find.

Houses are so unique here that sometimes you have to think outside the box.

Call me!

Quncy Residential Sale Data - Prices trending UP!

It appears from Quincy MLS stats that residential sales for the past year, 2011 (660 units), have fallen slightly from the preceding year, 2010 (671), a difference of 2%. The good news is that Average Prices have risen 4%, from 120K to 125K, and Median Price (half the sales above and half below this mark) has risen 7% from 98K to 105K. Median price bodes well for sales in the higher end. Residential inventory has FALLEN 11% from 1565 to 1400 units!

(Photo - Seymour home, Payson, circa 1880)

Things look healthier than I thought. My own informal research from the open house at 3125 Rutledge Place indicates that there is plenty of buyer interest. On three consecutive weekends from 1 to 3 PM, I have consistently had over a dozen people through each Sunday. Most are shopping for a home this spring and some have a house to sell first.

3125 Rutledge Place is a move-in ready 3 bed room house in the under $100,000 category.

If you want to buy an investment rental, downsize, or get a bigger place, spring 2012 is looking good.

Call me!

If Bank-Owned Houses were Rentals

If all the bank owned properties could just be turned into rentals, the idea goes, what a wonderful world it would be.

(Photo by Jim Meinbendir: a great Quincy home listed with Rodemich & Sons LLC by a private owner on Rutledge Place that would be perfect for you!)

If you own investment property, go to Google News and look up "REO" plus "rental" and see what you get. One of the recent posts is http://www.housingwire.com/2012/01/11/the-fight-over-bernanke-reo-rental-plan-shows-political-divide. This article says the government doesn't have a clear strategy for real estate. You knew that I think. We must remember, when the elephants dance or make love, the ants take a heck of a beating and they seem to be trying to decide which to do. If they double the number of rental properties available, what happens to rental income in the Southwest?

This won't affect Quincy, Illinois, very much because bank owned properties are rare here, about 1 in 60 homes, more or less. But, if you, like some of my clients, own houses for lease in Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc, you might want to pay close attention.

If the legislators push the idea through, the bloom is probably off the rental investment rose in foreclosure ridden cities like Vegas. Quincy, Illinois, missed the boom, the bust, the crime, the traffic, etc. It is not the land that time forgot, but it is a beautiful, Midwestern University town with housing prices so low that attractive ROI's can be realized. Call me!

The Price vs Value of Farm Land

Some know the price of everything and the value of nothing. The farmers buying land know the value of an adjacent farm, and as to price, may say "damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead."
Where else can they park their cash that will do any good.

My unscientific research to date shows that some banks are lending only $4000 per acre on land around Adams County that may be selling for more than twice that much, so this is not a credit bubble. I have posted the Article below on Facebook using the Wall Street Journal's own link and have cut and pasted it here.

"A Bubble Down on the Farm? online.wsj.com
The big question mark hanging over the farm economy is whether a bubble is building in Midwest cropland. Prices have doubled over the past five years in states such as Nebraska and Indiana."...WSJ (I accessed the entire article via Google News. This link asked me to subscribe to WSJ.)

Unlike gold, land offers a return. I don't yet know if the ethanol market for corn out-weighs the increase in world population, or if one would substitute for the other should one collapse, but I don't see either going away any time soon. If weather patterns remain eratic, so will world food production, so edible crop prices should/could remain strong. If land for sale remains at the 1-2% of the total as suggested in the article, scarcity could hold up land prices as long as the neighbors have cash that needs a safe haven and no better alternatives are available. On the other hand, land futures are not traded on the stock market, so in the big city who really cares? There it is the commodity prices that matter.

The farm land market may be driven only by people who know the VALUE of something and don't care about price. That is the opposite of the Las Vegas bubble. Perhaps those who don't know the value of things should be afraid ... very afraid. It is almost 2012.

Seriously, I do wonder if the so-called "business cycles" that we came to know and love in the 20th century might be twisting like a strand of DNA.

I don't claim to know what will happen, but when the issue is mentioned on Google News, people are beginning to pay attention. Stay tuned.

Hedge Post Foundation

I am a new member of the Western Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Society and I recommend the purposes of the group, and others like it, to everyone who eats. If you have been wanting to grow food, but need land, call me. If you have an odd 5 acres that someone could grow something tasty on, call me. I would be happy to help you find the missing party. My purpose is just to help us grow a wider diversity of food and bring unused land back into production. I'm thinking lease or crop-share, etc. I am also interested in green construction and implementing renewable energy. For instance, the pond in the photo is fed by a spring and it serves as farm irrigation in dry weather. It could raise fish, cool a house, and create electricity all at the same time. When I get something more happening with it, I will post the photo's here. I plan to undertake these activities under a organization that may be called the Hedge Post Foundation, LLC. Eat well and prosper. GH

Photo of New Listing & our New Blog Address

Our Blog Address has changed to 217House.blogspot.com. "217" being the area code for Illinois.




The newest Rodemich and Sons listing at 3125 Rutledge Place, Quincy, Illinois, is listed $92,500. It is 1080 sq ft, was built in 1950, and is in a convenient location, great neighborhood near excellent schools.

In fact, in Quincy, most neighborhoods are pretty nice.
Best wishes,
Grant