Connected Management Blog

  With the arrival of spring comes the desire to make everything in your condominum fresh and clean. The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, but the insides of our units may feel gloomy. Before summer comes along, it is great to crack open your windows and deep clean your condo. Use this checklist to make sure you cover every nook and cranny in your spring cleaning frenzy. Spring Cleaning Notes: Always dust first. Dusting surfaces first allows for the dust to settle to the fllor before you sweep, vacuum and mop. If you have operable windows with screens, open...

Despite all of the beautiful things that Chicago is known for, its reputation for crime and gun violence precedes it. Each year, national news channels and websites report on weekly, monthly, and annual statistics of gun violence in Chicago, leaving the citizens of America flabbergasted. Violent crimes include gun violence and murder/homicide.  Here, we are breaking down the violence, where it happens, and how it affects Chicago real estate. Gun Violence There were 480 homicides in Chicago during 2015; a record high at the time. This record was immediately broken in 2016 where the city saw a 57% increase in...

  Chicago’s housing market took a plunge with the rest of the nation in 2006, and it has yet to fully recover.  2017 won’t see much of a change in that.  According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago will be at the bottom of the list for the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas housing markets in 2017.  In 2016, average national home price levels returned to what they were before the 2006 crash, but Chicago remained 19% below the pre-crash values.  Despite this outlook, a slow and steady rise in home sales is projected to cause a favorable change towards a...

Chicago is a city that is well known for deep dish pizza, wind, good music, a big silver bean, and snow. Winters in Chicago can be harsh, and snowfall has reached as high as 23 inches in a 1967 blizzard (January 26-27). In more recent times, a 2015 Chicago blizzard (January 31 - February 2) produced over 19 inches of snow. In fact, for exactly as long as the Chicago Cubs baseball team has existed, it has snowed each Chicago winter. That’s 146 years to be exact. So, is it ironic that the year they break a long losing streak,...

Electricity costs are something that we all want to minimize. No one wants to receive an expensive electricity bill. The good news is that you have more control over the outcome of your bill than you may think. We often forget that it is our own actions (or lack thereof) that, at least in part, determines the final amount listed on the invoice. We’ve all heard of the age-old tips to avoid over-using electricity. “Turn off the lights when you’re not in the room,” “Don’t go to sleep with the TV on,” and “Unplug your appliances,” among others. These tips...