May 2026

Dear Arlington Terrace Neighbor,

In this newsletter:

• 2026 Arlington Terrace Garage Sale

• Not Garage Saling, But Decluttering?

• Home Work

• Join Arlington Terrace Facebook Group.

1. 2026 Arlington Terrace Garage Sale. This year’s garage sale is Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13. Garage sale hours are 9AM to 3PM.

As always, there is no cost to participate. Please sign up as the more houses I can advertise as participating, the more people we will draw to our sales.

Also, you will receive my Garage Sale Preparation tip sheet that will help you get ready.

For my wife and I, the sale is not about making money, but getting rid of clutter and keeping stuff out of a landfill. If you only have a few things and want to give them away, think about donating to a Resale on Rand shop. See #2 below.

Sign up by emailing, calling or texting your name and address to: 847-452-9191, or joelynn@grapevinerealtor.com. Please sign up by Sunday, June 7.

2. Not Garage Saling, But Decluttering? Think about donating to the multitude of Resale on Rand shops all within two miles (Goodwill, Lucille’s, Wings, Salvation Army, ReStore) as well as a couple of new ones (GENEROC.I.T.Y. Toy Shop and Greener Good).

The GENEROC.I.T.Y. Toy Shop helps to support the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization called C.I.T.Y. of Support ("Children In Therapy and You”). They offer free programming (story times, play groups), affordable enrichment classes (yoga, motor-speech practice), and free on-site respite care for parents of children in therapy. “Our mission is to build a supportive community of caregivers through accessible and inclusive opportunities with resources that connects families navigating the needs of their child in any therapy, regardless of diagnosis.”

The new store in Pal-Win Plaza, at the corner of Palatine and Windsor, sells donated toys and games to support their mission. Donations (not stuffed animals, or as our daughter calls them, “stuffies”) can be made Tues. 2-8, Wed. 9-3, Thur. 2-8, Fri. 9-3 and Sat. 9-3.

Need gifts for grandkid’s or kid’s? Your son or daughter has been invited to a birthday party? Better prices than new and it supports a great cause. I have to say, the organization, condition and cleanliness of toys and games there is a lot better than other resale shops.

3. Home Work. I know, I know. Brings chills to some of you to think you are back in school and there is homework. But with owning a home, there is always work to do. Hope this new feature helps to remind you to do tasks to keep your home in good condition—an ounce of prevention….

Spring brings…spring cleaning. On the outside, a spring clean is in order with clearing garden beds, adding mulch, weeding, maybe power raking and lawn aerating. Time to check and clean your gutters to be sure rain can freely drain away from your

foundation. If you’re in an association, check to see if they already have done it, or request it. Check your furnace filter. I suggest checking it at least every three months.

Order an AC clean and check. AC in the spring, furnace in the fall.

Get rid of clutter. Good for creating more space, and more peace of mind. Think about donating items or joining us for the garage sale.

4. Sold. I recently sold 1831 Rolling Lane in Arlington Terrace, the Cartier model.

When built, the owners made changes to the regular Cartier four-bedroom tri-level model. They converted the space from the 4th bedroom and added it to the primary bedroom. They also pushed out the garage to make a very sizable family room: 24’x20’. Another change was to make a nine-foot ceiling in the basement and add a work room in addition to the four-foot-high crawl space.

The property sold quickly, over asking price, at $500,000. There were multiple offers.

It is still a hot seller’s market, as can be evidenced by short marketing times and houses selling at or over asking prices (see “Sold” below).

Give me a call and see what I can do for you. Professional photography. Listing on all realty websites. Expertise on the neighborhood and recent sales. Staging recommendations. A smooth process. Saving you thousands of dollars with a lower commission than most Realtors.

5. How much savings? I took the five homes sold below (see #9) and figured out an average commission. Based on what most Realtors charge to sell a home, 2.5%, that came out to an average commission of $14,175 paid to the seller’s Realtor. My commission, based on 1.75%, comes out to an average of $9,922. By hiring me, sellers would have saved an average of $4,253.

6. Join Arlington Terrace Facebook Group. Did you know that we have a private neighborhood Facebook group? It is a great place for sharing and posting information within our community. Join Arlington Terrace Neighbors (Illinois) on Facebook.

7. Library Bookmobile at Patriot Park. Alternate Thursdays from 3:00PM to 4:15PM.

May 14 & 28, June 11 & 25, July 9 & 23 and August 6 & 20.

8. For Sale. There are three houses currently for sale in Arlington Terrace: $649,900 to $925,000. Thinking of selling? Get local expertise and save money. 1.75% for sellers.**

9. Sold. The following properties recently sold in Arlington Terrace.

Market Time Close Date Address Orig.Ask Sold Price BR/BA Type

4 days 03-06-26 2011 Robinhood $519,900 $575,000 3 / 2.1 ranch

25 days 04-06-26 1831 Rolling $489,900 $500,000 3 / 2.1 tri-level*

3 days 04-13-26 2007 Robinhood $650,000 $665,000 4 / 2.1 colonial

9 days 04-15-26 1911 Lillian $499,000 $500,000 4 / 2.1 tri-level

4 days 04-27-26 2207 M. Manor $595,000 $595,000 4 / 2.1 tri-level

Make a great day, Homes sold are not my listings unless noted with *.

Joe Lynn 1.75% commission with an Exclusive Right to Sell contract.**

847-452-9191 (cell) joelynn@grapevinerealtor.com

February 2026

Dear Arlington Terrace Neighbor,

Did I say turn OFF your humidifier in the previous newsletter? I meant to say, turn it ON. Yes, I am human, and if I ever forget, my wife will surely be there to remind me.

In this newsletter:

• Home Improvement List

• Realty Commissions

• Fabulous Features: Washers and Dryers.

1. Home Improvement List. Boy, have we made some remodeling mistakes. In our first home, a townhome in the Rob Roy subdivision in Prospect Heights, I was helping my brother install laminate flooring. He told me to go out and buy baseboard. So out to the store my wife and I went. We purchased it, painted it and I helped my brother install it.

A couple years later a contractor was over giving us an estimate and he asked, “Who installed the floor and the baseboard?”

I proudly responded, “My brother and I.”

“Oh,” he said. “Well done. But do you realize you used crown molding for your baseboard?”

We had no idea. It was flat, it looked good, we bought it.

A few years ago, doing some remodeling around the house, we began to ask, “Where did we get that from? What company did that job? What color was that and what brand? We had few answers.

So, we started a Home Improvement List. We keep track of brand, product name, size, color, room where we put it, place we purchased it, the date and the warranty period. We also add the name of the company if a contractor was used.

Warranty information can also save you money. Our blinds broke in a bedroom. I had totally forgotten they had a lifetime warranty until I checked our list. I called up the store and had a new set of blinds in two weeks at no cost.

Heaven forbid you should ever have a crack in your wall and not have any leftover paint to cover the patch. For paint, I note the brand, type/version, the color name and number, the finish (flat, matte, eggshell, etc.), the room where we used it and the store where we purchased it.

Also, this information is helpful to potential buyers of your house as they will want to know the age of its major components including remodeling, AC, furnace, roof, siding and gutters, windows, doors, water heater, concrete driveway and patio/deck.

We also created a list of other major purchases like furniture, appliances (big and small), electronics (phones, TVs, computers, tablets, routers) and window coverings. This list is especially helpful for warranty claims, or making decisions on whether to fix or replace. And if you are like me, when we seem to have purchased everything about five years ago (memory not so good), you don’t have to argue with a household member about the age of things. Happy wife = happy life.

2. Realty Commissions. One of my clients recently closed on buying a house. When I looked at the realty commission for the seller’s Realtor, I noticed the sellers had paid the broker 3.5%.

Wow, I thought. I ask sellers for 1.75%. If these sellers had hired me, they would have saved over $10,000.

Before the change in law in August of 2024 (no longer allowing published commissions) and looking at closing statements since that change, most selling brokers are asking for 2.5% to 3.5%. Why spend that much when you can get the same service for thousands of dollars less?

3. Fabulous Features: Washers & Dryers. When I was growing up, we lived with my grandmother. She did laundry every day of the week. We had an ancient washing machine with a mangler on top (two rollers attached to a crank to squeeze water out of clothes). When the load was washed, she would spread out each piece of wet clothing and run it through the mangler by cranking the handle. Then she’d hang the garment on the clothesline with clothespins in the back yard (basement lines in winter).

See how much easier your life is now?

Front load washers tend to be high efficiency, saving money on water, electricity and detergent (you need less). They also tend to have a larger capacity which is more convenient (fewer loads) and save money.

Front loaders are gentler on clothes since there is no central agitator as found in traditional, top-load washers. They also help create faster drying times. Wait…are we still talking about washers? Yes. High-speed spin cycles extract more water, which means clothes dry faster in the dryer (or on grandma’s line).

Your back will appreciate putting your washer and dryer on pedestals. They can be purchased separately, attach to your washer and dryer and match their color. It is much easier to take clothes in and out, and the pedestals, with pull-out drawers, serve as storage for things like rags, garbage bags and cleaning products.

4. Library Bookmobile at Patriot Park. Alternate Thursdays from 3:00PM to 4:15PM.

February 19, March 5 & 19 and April 2, 16 & 30.

Check out the Library of Things. Things I’ve recently checked out: Puzzles. They even have the good ones, according to my wife: Ravensberger. “Why are Ravensberger puzzles good? I asked with a puzzled look. She said the pieces are cut well and do not bend easily. There you go. The library has puzzles galore for you to explore.

5. For Sale. There are four houses currently for sale in Arlington Terrace: $499,000 to $974,999.

Thinking of selling? Get local expertise and save money. 1.75% for sellers.**

6. Sold. The following properties recently sold in Arlington Terrace.

Market Time Close Date Address Orig.Ask Sold Price BR/BA Type

No houses sold since previous newsletter.

Make a great day, Homes sold are not my listings unless noted with *.

Joe Lynn 1.75% commission with an Exclusive Right to Sell contract.**

847-452-9191 (cell) joelynn@grapevinerealtor.com