Posts made by author 'Marcia Williams'
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Belvidere Permits: Fences, Sheds, Pools and Decks
In Belvidere, assume the project needs a permit until the Building Department tells you it does not. The city's own instruction is to call 815-547-7177 before you start any project, and its list of permit work is long: fences, pools, garages and sheds, decks, porches, roofs, siding, windows, wiring, plumbing, air conditioning, additions, finished basements and driveways. For a buyer, the same rule runs backward. Every one of those jobs may have left a permit file on the house you are looking at, or a gap where one should be.
This guide covers what a Belvidere homeowner needs a permit for, the numbers the city publishes for the common backyard projects, and why permit history belongs on your list when you shop for homes for sale in Belvidere. Gambino Realtors has been in business since 1923, and in that time we have seen plenty of finished basements and added decks that nobody could document. It is much cheaper to f...
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Moving to Belvidere: Water, Sewer, Trash and Utilities
The first bill from the City of Belvidere arrives about two months after you move in, and it is due 20 days after it is mailed. Residential water and sewer are billed every two months, a 10 percent penalty is added when a bill is late, and an unpaid balance can become a lien on the house. Almost everything else about the first month in a Belvidere home follows from knowing that the city runs its own water and sewer system and sends its own bill.
If you are comparing homes for sale in Belvidere, this guide walks through the city's utilities and services in the order you will need them. Gambino Realtors has worked in the Rockford area since 1923, and every fact here comes from the City of Belvidere's own pages, its municipal code or its water quality report, read this month. If you are comparing Belvidere with a move on the Winnebago County side, our guide to
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Loves Park Flood Zones: Rock River and Creek Flood Risk
Loves Park sits on the east bank of the Rock River, and the city's own comprehensive plan says plainly that the river will flood from time to time. That sentence is worth carrying into any showing. It does not mean every house is at risk. It means the question deserves ten minutes of your time before you make an offer.
Some of the homes for sale in Loves Park sit inside a mapped floodplain, and others do not. Gambino Realtors has been helping people buy and sell around Rockford since 1923, and we would rather you learn a house's flood status from a map than from a wet basement. This guide covers the maps, the city's floodplain rules, and what flood insurance does when a lender asks for it. We are staying on the Loves Park rules here. For the general picture in Rockford, see our Rockford flood zones guide.
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Machesney Park Homes by Era: Postwar to Newer Subdivisions
Machesney Park is a young village with an older housing stock. The village incorporated in 1981, and its own comprehensive plan says more than 58 percent of its homes were built before 1980. Both facts are true because the neighborhoods grew in the decades before the village existed, and a good share of what came after filled in around them. If you are reading listings and wondering why the same town offers small older lots, new riverfront homes and large rural parcels, that is the reason.
This guide walks through how the housing stock is laid out by age and type, using the village's own records. It is about the houses and the rules that come with them, nothing more. If you are looking at homes for sale in Machesney Park, knowing the era of a house tells you what to ask the seller, what to ask the inspector, and which official records to pull. Gambino Realtors has been in business since 1923, so we are used to...
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Machesney Park Flood Zones and Rock River Flood Rules
A large part of Machesney Park sits in a mapped floodplain, and the village has been buying flood-damaged houses out of it since the 2008 flood. That is the headline a buyer needs before looking at a single photo. The village's own comprehensive plan says a significant portion of Machesney Park is within the 100-year floodplain, and the reason the plan says so is the Rock River.
If you are looking at homes for sale in Machesney Park, the floodplain question does not apply to every street. It applies to enough of them that you should ask it about every address. This guide covers what the maps show, what the village did after the 2008 flood, what flood insurance means for your mortgage, and what you are allowed to build once you own. Gambino Realtors has been in business since 1923, and we would rather you learn this before the inspection than after it.