Archive for the 'Buying' Category
LEPRECHAUN SHUFFLING HIS FEET?
March 10th, 2010 categories: Buying, Market Trends, Real Estate Finance, Selling
It has been months since we have seen any kind of leprechaun at all–to say this is and has been a challenging market is the truth. My own personal business has had increased activity since the first of the year–there is just a lot of inventory for people to consider. Don DeBat recently published an article that inspired me to bring out the old reclining leprechaun–he’s not quite ready to leap to his feet and do an Irish jig even if St. Patrick’s Day is next week. Don’s article expresses a cautious optimism about the Chicago area housing market for this year. Some of the reasons are the low interest rates that are expected to stay low for awhile, the tax credit for both first-time home buyers and trade-up home buyers, and a feeling that the downward trends seem to be bottoming out. DeBat’s article brings encouraging news from a number of sources–I suggest that you read the whole piece.
If you need someone to answer questions about Chicago real estate, please do call me. My direct line is 312-607-1306, cell is 312-607-1306 and e-mail gets my attention too.
Here are some other article that might interest you:
Does Trump Trump All In Chicago?
Thinking of Buying Chicago Real Estate?
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SQUARE FOOTAGE NOT SO SQUARE
March 9th, 2010 categories: Buying, Market Trends, Rants, Selling
Frankly, square footage gives me the willies. It makes about as much sense to me as a square watermelon! In one of my early years in real estate, I was nearly sued for misstating the square footage of a condo. I had quoted the developer’s number, which virtually every other listing in the building used, a perfectly normal thing to do. Or so I thought. The problem arose when the buyer of the unit measured the home and came up with a different figure. Square footage was extremely important in the buyer’s part of the world and totally irrelevant in the the seller’s native land. So there I was stuck between the two. With some skillful negotiating by the attorneys (there are times when it comes in handy to be in an attorney approval state), the matter was resolved without a law suit. Lesson learned! I am still very reluctant to quote square footage on a listing.
Why do I feel square footage is a poor way to measure the value of a home?
- No reliable uniform standard for measuring–no rules. Does the balcony count? Are we measuring from the outside of the front door to the outside of the front wall? Or, are we measuring from the inside of the front door to the inside of the front wall?
- Think of some of our vintage condos here in Chicago–what do you do with a hall that is six feet wide and thirty feet long? How much of that space is usable unless you have a lot of pictures and need a gallery. You might prefer a larger living room over a long hall! And don’t even think about that rounded turret on some of the buildings–how do we measure that?
- Lots of deals are coming apart at the seams right now–inaccurate (according to the appraiser) square footage can result in an appraisal being rejected.
- Square footage is extremely subjective and most agents know that buyers want the biggest home they can get for the money–this can result in an overstatement of the square footage by the selling broker. When you check the Multiple Listing Service for properties, you can see square footage variations that will curl your hair–another reason to know the broker you are working with.
So there you have it–square footage is not a reliable measuring tool for figuring the price of a home. So much depends on who furnished the numbers and how the square footage is measured and who measures it.
If you need to talk about Chicago real estate, plese call me–direct dial is 312-981-2360, cell phone is 312-607-1306, e-mail works too!
Other posts you might enjoy are:
Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Too!
How Not To Sell Your Home and How To Sell Your Home
The Closing Is The End–The Very End
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BABY STEPS FOR PAYING DOWN YOUR MORTGAGE
March 8th, 2010 categories: Buying, Investment, Market Trends, Real Estate Finance, Selling
Lew Sichelman seems to be my new favorite columnist. Something I knew but didn’t internalize is how much a small amount of money applied to the mortgage principal can shorten the length of your mortgage. Lew Sichelman recently published an article that gives a number of scenarios for shortening the time you pay on your home. If you do decide to make an extra payment on principal, be sure to tell the your mortgage company that is what the extra money is for. Just like so many things in life, consistency is the key to success. Even $50 per month applied to the principal can shorten the life of your mortgage. Lew also has some good information on PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) and how to negotiate your way out of it. Refinancing from a 30 year mortgage to a 15 year mortgage is another way to save a large number of interest payments. My suggestion to you is to read the whole article if you want to pay down your mortgage with lightning speed.
Do you need someone to talk to about Chicago real estate–either selling or buying? Please call me if you do–direct dial, 312-981-2360, cell phone is 312-607-1306. E-mail works just fine too!
Other articles you might like to read are:
Why Get An Inspector For My New Home?
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BUNGALOW BELTS ALL OVER CHICAGO
March 5th, 2010 categories: Buying, Lifestyle, Market Trends, Selling
Bungalows are a very practical style of home and they are quite common in many Chicago neighborhoods and the close-in suburbs of Cicero and Berwyn. Actually they are scattered through out Chicago and near-by suburbs quite liberally. When you first look at one of the streets lined with bungalows, they all tend to look alike, and sometimes they do. If you look carefully there are variations in the brick–tapestry brick was a popular upgrade–common brick on the sides and then a more expensive front on the street side. Another variation that I have seen a lot in Cicero and Berwyn, is the use of art-glass strips in the upper window panels on the front of the home. Some of it is really quite beautiful. Usually the designs are more geometric than floral. North Mayfair, a neighborhood around Elston, Foster, and Lawrence, has recently been named by This Old House magazine as one of the country’s 50 best old-house neighborhoods. The neighborhood has a great history of community involvement beginning with the formation of the North Mayfair Improvement Association in 1929, that’s right 1929. The Association worked its way through the lengthy and laborious for having North Mayfair listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Fortunately the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association gave a helping hand–it still took a year and a half. Last Sunday’s Chicago Tribune has a wonderful article about North Mayfair and the community involvement there. Click here to read the whole thing.
Some other articles that could interest you:
Chicago Real Estate News Versus National Real Estate News
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BRAKING FOR A BREAK!
February 22nd, 2010 categories: Buying, Lifestyle, Selling
Sometimes one needs to stop, re-group and start up again. Just take a break and shift to another gear for a few days. And that is what I am about to do. Much as I’ll miss the daily head scratching that accompanies the hunt for a blog subject, I will be a non-blogger until next Monday. The coaching group that I belong to is going on their annual retreat–this is perfect timing!! Our real estate market in Chicago seems to be more active than it was last year–thank goodness! and I feel that I will come home from the retreat full of vim and vigor–so I’ll miss you all and I’ll be glad to be back at the head scratching on March first. I do hope a few people will miss me!
Here are three posts that might interest you and help you keep me in mind while I am gone:
Empty Nest FAQs – Second Edition
Chinese Time in Chicago and Hawaii
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HOUSING FROWNIES FOR 2010?
February 19th, 2010 categories: Buying, Investment, Market Trends, Selling
Usually the Spring selling season begins with the Super Bowl. This year that didn’t quite happen–it actually started in the first week of January. January activity was quite good and February has been a bit slower. Dan Oppenheim, a home building analyst with Credit Suisse, is predicting that we’ll see a strong Spring selling season. He feels that builders are shifting from survival to rebuilding profitability and he also feels that five threats remain:
- The Tax credit will expire–this should give urgency to buyers and help first-quarter sales. What could happen after that is a slowdown.
- Mortgage rates rise. Low mortgage rates have prevailed for a long time. Most analysts expect a rise in rates later this spring when the Federal Reserve stops buying mortgage-backed securities.
- Foreclosures continue. In spite of the government’s efforts, people are still losing their homes and nobody knows when the end will happen. Mr. Oppenheim writes that “The continued supply of foreclosures will mute any improvement in demand.”
- FHA tightens lending. Higher insurance premiums and ecreased seller-provided closing costs will likely cut new home demand between 5% and 10%.
- Jobs. Employment has to improve. People without jobs don’t buy houses.
I don’t mean to end the week on a downer, and I feel we have to look at what is going on carefully. It would be my very greatest plesure to write a post surrounded by wonderful dancing leprechauns–I am going to look for good news and there will be some soon, I’m sure.
Need someone to answer your real estate questions? That is one of the things I do best–just call me. My direct dial is 312-981-2360 cell is 312-607-1306. And there is always e-mail.
Here are a few posts you might find helpful:
Home Affordability–A Balancing Act
Kid Gloves Not Mittens For Today’s Buyer
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PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
February 18th, 2010 categories: Buying, Market Trends, Selling
You are all probably bored to tears with my constant entreaties to buy now and use the tax credit. I am sure that you should BUY NOW–carefully and patiently. Especially if you are a first time-buyer–be patient. Don’t buy on impulse. Blessedly, for buyers these days there is enough inventory that you don’t have to buy on the spot. This isn’t the greatest picture for sellers–and that’s just fine. Here are some ideas that might help you with your home purchase. What they amount to is patience and education.
- Do some preliminary searching on line–to help you understand what is out there. This will not give you a thorough understanding of your market–that is your Reactor’s job.
- Even if you “fall in love” with a home, don’t buy it the first time you look at homes.. This sort of purchase seldom turns out well–take your time.
- Be sure you are working with an experienced agent who knows well the area that you find most desirable.
- Let that agent educate you about the neighborhood or building that suits you best.
- This education doesn’t have to take a long time–you can probably feel comfortable with the market and the area in just a few times with your Realtor.
- Have your pre-approval in order.
- Go over closing costs with your Realtor–they do add up and can influence how much you can spend on a home.
What will such an “education” do for you?
- You will know the perfect home when you see it.
- You will have your financing in order along with a realistic idea of what you can afford, including closing costs.
- Let your Realtor help you with setting a beginning purchase price and with advice about counter-offers–after all you chose this person because you felt they were going to do a good job for you.
- Buy that wonderful home and enjoy it knowing you did a good job.
Other articles that might help you:
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HOME AFFORDABILITY–A BALANCING ACT
February 17th, 2010 categories: Buying, Market Trends, Selling
Home affordability is a balance between the price of your new home, taxes, home owners association fees, and mortgage rates. Any one of the parts of the equation affects all the other parts. If you are waiting for the very bottomest bottom of the price decline, remember that a 1 per cent rise in mortgage rates will offset a 10 per cent reduction in the price of a home. Many mortgage brokers predict a rise in the rate of 30 year fixed loans from 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 to 5.7 per cent in the fourth quarter and many brokers feel that the 30 year fixed rate will go to 6.2 per cent by the end of 2011.
Larry Steinway recently published an article about the effect rising consumer confidence has on home prices–a major piece of the affordability puzzle.Larry feels that even though consumer sentiment has been rising since last February and is now at a two year high, jobs are linked to consumer confidence that. As confidence rises so do mortgage rates and home prices. This is just another example of how jobs are connected to everything else in our economy up to and including our new home. To read all of Larry’s article, just click here. Price is not the only, only, only factor in determining a home’s affordability for you.
Still have questions about moving up or buying a new home? Please call me–312-981-2360, direct, 312-607-1306, or e-mail. I have twenty plus years in Chicago real estate to share with you!
Other articles for your information:
Must Haves for a Mortgage Application
Chicago Association of Realtors? Why?
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BUYER BARGAIN BASEMENT
February 16th, 2010 categories: Buying, Market Trends, Selling
With the tax credits in place, low interest rates, and plenty of inventory it seems like a slam dunk to just go ahead and buy a new home. New construction down town condos are an especially good buy these days. They will frequently be smaller space for the dollar and there are a lot of bargains out there.
A basic decision is do I want a brand spanking new first time occupant home or an older home that may be larger? Sunday’s Chicago Tribune had a very good article about the abundance of bargain condos here in the central Chicago area. Click here to read the entire article. Even though there are fewer new units coming on the market this year and next, there is still a backlog of inventory that is forcing developers to lower their prices. One of the interesting facets of this superabundance of new units is the fact that since many of the homes are already finished, a buyer can’t negotiate the finishes as they used to be able to do. In bygone days, a buyer would request thicker granite,wood floors instead of carpet, better kitchen appliances–any upgrade they could get for the same base price as the standard finishes. Including the parking space seems to be taking the place of negotiating a superior level of upgrades. Jeffrey Steele even has a section of this feature article that tells us where the bargains are.
Please don’t let the tax credit pass you buy–a move-up or a first home–both are possible now. If you feel good about your job and would lilke to change from being a renter to an owner or from a home that doesn’t quite suite now to a more desirable one–the timing could hardly be better. Just call me, 312-607-1306, cell, or diredt, 312-981-2306. E-mail is a favorite too.
Other articles for you to read are:
A Hunting We Will Go–Stress Free
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THE GREAT WATER HEATER DEBATE IS ON
February 15th, 2010 categories: Buying, Lifestyle, Market Trends, Selling
Because we live in a condo where we have our own heating and air conditioner units and our own water heater, my husband and I have been saying to each other that we will replace our old storage tank water heater with a new tank-less one when the time comes. A recent Chicago Tribune article has caused us to think again. We thought the tank-less water heater would bring about immediate savings–apparently this is not as true as we hoped. The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency has made some very interesting calculations about how long it takes to recover the additional cost of the tank-less heater. They are surprising! It can take between twenty and twenty-five years to recover the cost I am a big fan of Lou Manfredini, Mr. Fixit, and he has been so gung ho about the tank-less type of water heater that it seemed the only logical thing to use as a replacement. There are some applications that are best served by this type of heater, no doubt. If you are without hot water–this article is really an eye opener and should be read before you go shopping for a new heater. It really gives a way to compare the two kinds of water heaters. Remember you can buy a blanket for your water heater tank at any big box store and that will save you some energy dollars too! Click here to read the entire article.
Do you need someone to help you with Chicago real estate? My job application is in! Just call me at 312-607-1306, direct or cell, 312-607-1306. E-mail works well too!
Here are a few articles that might interest you:
Stash That Hazardous Waste Safely
Hold Everything–Storage Needed
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