Have a Happy and safe Halloween!

Here's wishing you all a happy and safe Halloween! Trick or treating hours in Norridge this year are from noon to 6 p.m. To find hours in other communities, click here.

Real Estate market takes major upswing in Norridge!

Although I am constantly monitoring what is going on in the Norridge real estate market, every so often it is good to analyze the big picture. I am constantly asked if "things are getting better" and they are. But you don't have to take my word, just look at the numbers.

I went back over the last two years --from October 2008 to today and looked at home sales from each year in Norridge. Here is the results:

From October 23, 2008 to October 23, 2009: 80 homes sold at an average price of $280,275.
It took an average of 82 days once listed to sell the homes.

From October 24, 2009 to today: 123 homes sold at an average price of $296,700. It took at average of 83 days once listed to sell the homes.

So, while market time remained the same, the amount of homes sold rose a whooping 54 PERCENT! AND SALES PRICES INCREASED MORE THAN 5.5 PERCENT (OR $16,425.)

For more detailed information, feel free to contact me today at 847.878.3724 or via email.

Norridge to consider revising residential building code

Adoption would require fire sprinklers in new construction homes

Following the lead of several near suburbs, the Norridge City Council is considering adopting a new residential building code, requiring fire sprinklers in new construction homes.

Norridge currently follows the 2003 version of the International Code Council’s Residential Code, according to Norridge Building Commissioner Brian Gaseor. The group issues new building codes every three years. Gaseor said he expects city council members to vote on whether to implement the ICC’s most recent residential code, which was issued in 2009, in the next 2-3 months. The major change in the code is the requirement of sprinkler systems in all new construction homes.

While Park Ridge, Des Plaines and Skokie currently require sprinklers, there are questions that they present.

George Met, a general contractor and remodeler from Met Builders, Inc. recently dealt with sprinklers at a home his company built in Skokie.

“The requirement was a surprise to us,” Met said, explaining that it was recently adopted when he submitted the blueprints to the Skokie Village for approval.

“My client wasn’t happy but we had to follow the rules. It was a five-bedroom home and cost him about $12,000 extra,” Met said, adding that cost was not the only issue they faced.

“The home had vaulted ceilings and with that you can’t install the sprinklers in the walls. You have to install the highest sprinklers in the attic and if you’ve ever been in an attic in the winter, it is like an icebox,” Met said. “You have to make sure the attic is properly insulated and also the pipes.”

That is a lesson Inverness resident Sam Francione learned the hard way –and somewhere pipes usually do not freeze – at his summer home in Scottsdale, Arizona where sprinklers are required. Francione, who was in Illinois at the time, arrived late one evening to his home in Scottsdale to what he described as “a disaster.”

“We arrived around 11:30 p.m. and water was running out the front door,” Francione said. “It was getting cold at night and my neighbor had turned on the heat for me that morning because he knew I was coming in. Everything was fine at that point. But by the time we arrived, it was a disaster.”

Francione said the one of the sprinklers in the ceiling had burst, either from the freezing temperatures or from a sonic boom caused by Air Force fighter planes that were training in the area. Either way, the result was a collapsed ceiling, extensive water damage to the master bedroom, two guest bedrooms, hallway, closets, living and dining room, furniture and Bose speaker system. He estimated the damage at $75,000.

“It was covered by my homeowners insurance but they tripled my rate after that,” Francione said.

Nathan Kriska, Supervisor of Building and Zoning in Skokie, said the cost to install the sprinkler systems can vary. “It is usually between $7,000 and $15,000 depending on the size of the home and the type of system. There are many options these days, including some with recessed heads that drop down.”

Kriska said that some residents complained about the initial cost but feels it is worth it for the added safety.

“It’s a life-safety issue more than anything. It just gives someone that much more time to get out of the home,” Kriska said. “They don’t typically save your home. If it doesn’t burn it may flood it, but it can save your life.”

He added that Skokie, like most villages, had public hearings about the sprinklers.
“There was no real opposition. The truth is, most people don’t attend public hearings,” Kriska said.

The building code that Norridge will vote on was issued by the International Code Council, which is a group consisting of state and local government agencies as well as contractors and elected officials. ICC spokesman Steve Daggers said that it is important to note that the code is just a set of guidelines and not set in stone.

“Villages can follow them, take stuff out or add to them,” Daggers said.

In 2009, 12 building permits were issued for new construction in Norridge, according to the Village Building Department. The number was down because of the slow real estate market and poor economy, according to department officials.

Park Ridge is one of the cities in the area that has a sprinkler requirement –implementing its requirement in March 2001, well ahead of the ICC’s 2009 code, according to Steve Cutaia, Building Administrator for the city.

“We have almost 600 homes with sprinkler systems in them and very few complaints,” Cutaia said. He explained that another concern, besides cost, that some residents had was whether the sprinklers will go off if a resident burns food in the oven.

“The sprinklers are set off by temperature sensors, not smoke sensors,” Cutaia said. “And they don’t go off in every room if only one room is hot.”

While some may view sprinklers as a tradeoff between water and smoke damage, Park Ridge Fire Marshall Kevin Plach credited them for saving a home on December 23.
“It was a basement fire and the sprinklers confined it to that area. The house was saved and the residents were back in their home for Christmas.”

Plach added that the sprinkler requirement was “one of the best things we’ve done, especially considering how quickly new homes burn because of a lot of engineered construction.” As for resident objections, Plach said the requirement “did not slow construction in the least.

For all you doom and gloomers...

Closed home sales in Norridge were up 60% in 2009 as compared to the year before! That's right, 114 homes were sold in 2009 compared to 72 in 2008. With the tax credits and low interest rates, the time really has never been better for buyers. If you are considering selling, you should give this serious consideration.

Yes, it is true that loans are tougher to obtain, but this is a good thing. Loose purse strings is what burst the bubble to begin with. While some have likened the market to a collapse - it is really a correction.

Real estate continues to be one of the best investments out there.

Norridge Man Creates "Friendly Confines" At His Home (Field)

Most Cub fans like to visit Wrigley Field for day baseball, to look at the lush field and its ivy-covered walls and to relax in a great atmosphere. Some go as far as describing it as Heavenly. For Norridge resident Dean Igaravidez, it is home.

No, Igaravidez doesn’t actually live at Wrigley Field. Instead he’s turned where he lives into Wrigley...well, at least the back yard!

Complete with ivy covered walls, distance markers, a miniature infield, and numerous signs that one would find at the real Wrigley, Igaravidez can enjoy most of the comforts of Wrigley without leaving home.

Igaravidez, a 58-year-old produce manager, said the idea for his tribute started about eight years ago when he was in his backyard at 4059 N. Ozanam Ave., looking at his detached garage.

“I thought it would make a nice outfield wall,” Igaravidez said. So, the next step for him was to call a landscaper friend and plant some ivy.

“We only planted three plants. It’s Boston Ivy, which is the same as at Wrigley, Igaravidez explained. “The first year after I planted it, nothing really grew. Then one day I arrived home from work and bam! It had sprouted.”

Despite the fact that the ivy comes back every spring, there is some maintenance that is required. “You have to continually trim it and in August it starts to fade a bit …kind of like the Cubs,” Igaravidez joked.

After the Ivy took off, Igaravidez turned his lawn into an infield, cutting out the grass by hand to create the base paths and a raised pitcher’s mound, which he then filled with the same type of clay-dirt that they have at Wrigley Field.

Igaravidez said one perk of working at a Lincoln Park grocery store is getting to know many people -- such as beer distributors who are Cub fans who have access to different items, several of which have made it into his yard. “I have people,” Igaravidez joked.

Indeed, a sign-maker friend donated the home-run distance signs that hang on the “outfield” wall on the Ivy. He also has the numbers of all the Cub hall-of-fame players and Ron Santo on the outside of the garage door, along with a Waveland Avenue street sign. A new scoreboard is currently being made, after the last one had to be retired due to harsh weather. Of course, the “W” flag is a must, although these days Igaravidez, who jokingly described himself as “old,” explained that he only has the energy to fly it after big wins.

“I never flew the “L” flag,” he added.

Besides having to keep the ivy from overgrowing, Igaravidez said it is a challenge to cut the grass properly and also to keep the family’s chocolate Labrador “Brando” from relieving himself on “sacred ground.”

Brando the Cub critic!

“He always urinates on the side of the garage where he is supposed to go, but sometimes he goes number two in left-center,” Igaravidez said. “Maybe he’s trying to tell [Alfonso] Soriano something.”
Driving past the front of Igaravidez home, one probably would not notice anything out of the ordinary. The house is a well-kept white frame-house with lots of flowers and a nicely manicured lawn. Of course, the doorbell does play ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame.’

“The house is my wife Jill’s domain, I have the yard and garage,” he explained. Indeed, when asked his wife’s opinion of his tribute, Igaravidez said “she hates it,” and clarified, saying, “Let’s just say she’s not as enthused as me.”

A few minutes later, unaware that her husband was being interviewed, Jill Igaravidez arrived home and gave a look that reminded me of Alice looking at her husband Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners, wondering what scheme he was up to now. And while Jill admitted that while she also is a Cub fan, she said she did not warm up to it until their three grandsons, between age 2 and 8, began to appreciate it. One difference between his yard and Wrigley Field (although debatable lately) is that Elmo currently occupies the pitcher’s mound at the Igaravidez home.




“That is for the grandkids, obviously.” Igaravidez explained.

One great thing about having two Major League baseball teams in Chicago is the friendly rivalry that often occurs between friends. Of course, in Norridge, the population is overwhelmingly Cub friendly. Igaravidez said his neighbors do not mind that his devotion is on display and no one ever stole or damaged anything. Last year though, he did receive a letter in the mail from a White Sox fan.

“It had a Bridgeport return address,” Igaravidez said. “It was before the playoffs and he just told me that he hoped the Cubs choked. He sent another letter after they did lose,” Igaravidez said.

“Once in a while we will be sleeping late at night and someone will drive by and yell something,” Jill said. “Some of the things aren’t repeatable,” she said with a laugh.

For full disclosure, I am also a Cub fan, and was sure to wear a Cub shirt for the interview. When asked if he would have talked to me had I worn a White Sox or other team shirt, Igaravidez explained that since I wasn’t family, it was fine. Asked if his three daughters are also Cub fans, he laughed and said “of course, or they wouldn’t be welcomed home.”

Ironically, Igaravidez said if it wasn’t for Wrigley Field he may have grown up a (Heaven forbid!) White Sox fan.

“My grandfather was a White Sox fan because they had a Latin manager [Al Lopez] and they were good, having won the American League Pennant in 1959,” Igaravidez said. Despite the winning ways of the White Sox and the poor record of the Cubs at the time, Igaravidez said his love affair began the first time he entered Wrigley Field as a boy.
“I really fell in love with Wrigley Field first, then the Cubs.” Asked about his relationship with the Cubs today, Igaravidez described it as “religion.”

These days Igaravidez doesn’t go to the real Wrigley Field as much as he used to, (he was a bleacher bum in 1969), mostly because of the inflated prices and because he is “not as young as I used to be and am not crazy about the hassle of the huge crowds.” And although Igaravidez admits to falling asleep before the end of the late away games on the West Coast, he still watches or listens to most games, even while working.

“Luckily Lincoln Park is Cubs country so when there is a game on they will put it on the televisions in the store,” Igaravidez said.

As for the Cubs chances to break their 101-year championship drought, Igaravidez said they have the talent but injuries and inconsistent play are holding them back. He added, half-seriously, that “if they do win, life would be over; there would be nothing left to live for. At least we can say wait until next year.”



Looking into his yard, he lamented the end of season and the start of football. “I should also tell you that I’m also a big Bears fan,” he said with a smirk. “…No, I don’t have room,” Igaravidez said, answering the question before it could be asked.