Last week we shot yet another Dean video, this time centering around the fact that Dean hired a consultant (played by MC friend Niki Lindgren). We shoot these in PERL Mortgage’s main office on Belmont, but now we’re thinking of doing a few in other locations and the big debate is finding ways to start and end them at PERL, because, well, they have to. Big ups to Dean for finding the fire engine. As always, directed by Delahoyde and co-starring Holly Laurent.
A couple of months ago, Akos Straub, a real estate agent at Jameson Real Estate, gave us a call about a rebranding for his new company The Straub Group, LLC. The site’s officially launched and we wish Akos and Ilona and the rest of our friends at The Straub Group the best success to his new company. If you’re in the market for a home and if you’re wondering who you should work with, you might want to give Akos a call. He’s an incredibly positive person has a wealth of information about the city and it’s neighborhoods — especially the South Loop. I like the South Loop — when my wife and I were looking at places a few years ago, we saw a lot of very cool places in the “1400ishhhhh S. Michigan” area. Check it out. And tell ‘em we sent ya.
We’re always glad to read the Forbes annual list of safest cities, especially at a time (as the local evening news would say) “…when crime is reaching the front doors of our very own homes.” And even though Minneapolis / St. Paul gets top billing (not surprisingly: being a former Minnesotan myself, I’d probably rather ski than fight), isn’t it nice to know that Chicago is the 15th safest city in America? Now, these are metropolitan areas and they’re including national disasters in their metrics and it’s not likely that we’ll be hit by a typhoon anytime soon — and let’s be glad that Forbes didn’t take the Lakefront bike path into account — if they did, we’d barely crack the top 100. Maybe it’s the Bean. After all, when I visit the Bean, I just kinda chill for a few minutes. Because that’s what the Bean doessss, mannn. It makes you chilllllll.
Marc Heller is a partner at Warady & Davis, LLP and he’s become the resident tax expert for the PERL Mortgage Podcast, my regular series of interviews with professionals in the Chicago real estate community. On this episode, Marc explains different types of tax deductions one can make once one owns one’s own home. That’ a lot of oh’s. Most people know that they can write-off mortgage interest. But can you write-off a new paint job right before you rent-out your home? Check it out. To hear more episodes, go to the PERL archives.
We’re always glad to read the 
Marc Heller is a partner at Warady & Davis, LLP and he’s become the resident tax expert for the PERL Mortgage Podcast, my regular series of interviews with professionals in the Chicago real estate community. On this episode, Marc explains different types of tax deductions one can make once one owns one’s own home. That’ a lot of oh’s. Most people know that they can write-off mortgage interest. But can you write-off a new paint job right before you rent-out your home? Check it out. To hear more episodes, go to the 
