For what the typical family wastes every year on air leaks--about $350--you can plug energy-robbing gaps, start saving money, and enjoy a more comfortable home. 1. Insulate around recessed lights Most recessed lights have vents that open into the attic, a direct route for heated or cooled air to escape. When you consider that many homes have 30 or 40 of these fixtures, it's easy to see why researchers at the Pennsylvania Housing Research/Resource Center pinpointed them as a leading cause of household air leaks. Lights labeled ICAT, for "insulation contact and air tight," are already sealed; look for the label next to the bulb. If you don't see it, assume yours leaks. An airtight baffle ($8-$30 at the home center) is a quick fix. Remove the bulb, push the baffle up into the housing, then... 09/01/2011

Regular home maintenance is key to preserving the value of your house and property. “It’s the little things that tend to trip up people,” says Frank Lesh, former president of the American Society of Home Inspectors and owner of Home Sweet Home Inspection Co. in Chicago. “Some cracked caulk around the windows, or maybe a furnace filter that hasn’t been changed in awhile. It may not seem like much, but behind that caulk, water could get into your sheathing, causing mold and rot. Before you know it, you’re looking at a $5,000 repair that could have been prevented by a $4 tube of caulk and a half hour of your time.” Maintenance affects property value Outright damage to your house is just one of the consequences of neglected maintenance. Without regular upkeep, overall property values are af... 09/01/2011

Getting your home's heating system professionally serviced every year will keep it running smoothly and help keep heating costs under control. Who does the job? The simplest way to get the work done is to hire your fuel company to do it. Oil companies and gas utilities usually provide this service, or you can hire the contractor who installed the equipment. Also, some plumbers handle heating systems. What is involved? The technician will clean soot and corrosion out of the combustion chamber where the fuel is burned, and check it for leaks or damage. He'll inspect the flue pipe for open seams, clogs, or corrosion that could cause carbon monoxide to backdraft into the house. He'll replace the filters on oil and forced-air systems. Finally, he'll test the exhaust from your cleaned machine... 09/01/2011

1. Don’t slack off on home maintenance. Houses in need of TLC often attract investors or property flippers, which are known for submitting low-ball offers. To attract offers and the highest bids, sellers should attend to any upkeep and maintenance issues before putting the house for sale. 2. Make sure the home isn’t being overshadowed outside. Nothing kills curb appeal more than a home you’re selling that you can’t even see. Be sure to trim trees or bushes to ensure they aren’t blocking any windows or the exterior of the home. 3. Remove wallpaper. Wallpaper and borders can be a nuisance to remove so you might want to take these personal decor touches down before you list the home. Neutralize the homes in subtle colors that will appeal to the most buyers and allow buyers to better visual... 09/01/2011

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has once again extended its deadline for a program that provides up to $50,000 in interest-free loans to unemployed or medically ill home owners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments.  The new deadline is now Sept. 15. HUD resumed taking applications for the program on Monday. The $1 billion Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, which launched in June, was originally slated to end on July 22, but HUD first extended the deadline to July 27 to give home owners more time to apply.  Home owners eligible for the program will be able to qualify for up to $50,000 in interest-free loans for up to two years. Home owners who have had a drop in income of at least 15 percent from involuntary unemployment or underemployment due to economic co... 09/01/2011

Many people who feel they are prepared to enter the real estate market by purchasing their first home have experienced a roadblock to good mortgage rates – their credit cards. Credit cards can play a positive, but also a negative role in the process of purchasing a home. There is not a doubt that having a credit card can work highly in your favor when it comes time to shop around for your first home.  If you have a consistent history of timely credit card payments this builds a strong credit rating.  Having a high credit score not only will secure you a mortgage quickly, but one with very competitive rates. Your credit card can be very influential when determining what mortgage you are seeking because the credit card payments are added to what the payments ‘would be’ on a possible mortg... 09/01/2011

Five Simple Home-Buying Tips For First-Time Home Buyers Buying a home is very exciting. Especially if it’s your first time to do it. At the outset, there’s really so many things to do and so many things to consider that it’s very easy to forget some things in the process. For example, if you’re looking at purchasing Chicago real estate and you begin looking around for Chicago homes for sale, it’s easy to get excited about a purchase especially if you find a house that looks exactly like how you envisioned your dream house to be like. However, it’s essential to step back a while and evaluate the home you want to purchase to make sure you’re making the right decision. Here are a few tips that you can keep in mind... 09/01/2011

7 Ways to move a negotiation forward By Adorna Carroll, ABR®, ABRM(SM), e-PRO®, GRI, PMN, SFR, SRES®, Owner/Broker, Realty 3 Carroll & Agostini, Berlin, Connecticut An excerpt from REBAC's Monthly Newsletter, The Today's Buyer's Rep.Avoid deadlock! If your negotiation is struggling, here are seven tactics and techniques that can help get things moving in the right direction again. Take a time out. If tempers have flared, suggest revisiting the conversation when you’ve both had an opportunity to rethink options. Apologize for losing your temper (even if you didn’t) so that the stage is set for cooperation instead of combat. Reestablish common ground on a personal level with the other negotiator. Rebuilding rapport can go a long way. Soften your approach and compliment the other negotiato... 08/27/2011

Top iPhone, iPad apps to manage your budget Most popular free and paid downloads By Inman News, Tuesday, August 23, 2011. Inman News™ Editor's note: This updating list of free and paid mobile apps for iPad and iPhone includes apps that are useful for managing your budget. The list is based on a search of the keyword "budget" at apps-ranking website TopAppCharts.com: Source: TopAppCharts.com. 08/27/2011

Productivity Apps Report: Popular mobile tools for iPhone, iPad By Inman News, Tuesday, August 23, 2011. Inman News™   Image courtesy of Cea.   Going mobile has never been so easy. This report includes a series of top 10 lists featuring a range of popular apps that real estate professionals may find useful in boosting their productivity or efficiency as they build up their business. The apps featured in this report are based on searches of keywords and phrases at apps-ranking site TopAppCharts.com. The app lists include free and paid apps for iPhone and iPad devices. Top iPhone apps to manage your contacts Editor's note: This continually updated list, powered by app-ranking site TopAppCharts.com, displays the most popular free and paid contacts management apps for t... 08/27/2011

When purchasing а home fоr thе first time, new home owners neеd а wаy tо finance this large аnd life-changing purchase. Because this maу bе the fіrst time they аrе buying a home, fіrst time home owners may nоt havе enоugh savings in thе bank and mау be facing financial hardships for such a purchase. FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loans аllow first time home buyers a means tо finance payment fоr their new home. FHA loans аrе open to аnуоne who mаy neеd one, but generally аrе directed at thоse firѕt time home buyers in order tо assist them in purchasing а home whilе thеу mаy hаvе limited savings. FHA loans tend tо be mоre popular оver conventional loans fоr two main reasons. First, аn FHA loan requires thе lеаst amount fоr dоwn payment, at 3.5%, whеn compared tо оther loan types. Si... 08/25/2011

Personal Finance Seven Questions to Ask Before Making an Offer On a Home By Dana Dratch Published August 17, 2011 | Bankrate.com   Print   Email   Share   Comments inShare2   Text Size   Reuters Before you make an offer on a house, it pays to ask a handful of questions. While the answers might scare you off or make you rethink your bid, they could make you feel more confident that you're making the right move on the right house. As you prepare for buying a home, here are seven questions to ask before you make the offer. What is This Property Worth in Today's Market? For ethical reasons, agents can't tell you how much to offer, says C.D. "Chip" Boring, broker/owner of Re/Max Realty Plus in Sebring, Fla. Instead of asking directly how much the ... 08/25/2011

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are federally chartered organizations designed to bring global capital to local communities by purchasing and guaranteeing loans made by mortgage lenders. As a homeowner, there are several ways you benefit from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If your loan is owned or guaranteed by one of them, you pay a lower interest rate. And, when the time comes to sell your home, the pool of buyers capable of getting a mortgage is much wider thanks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To see how a loan guaranteed by one of the GSEs helps you save money, download our free PDF worksheet.Homeowners who qualify for a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage, called a conventional loan, typically get interest rates that are ¼% to ½% lower than non-Fannie Mae, non-Freddie Mac loans. At times wh... 08/24/2011

Housing affordability continued to be near record highs in the second quarter, hovering near its highest level in the 20-plus years it has been recorded, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.  About 72 percent of all new and existing-homes sold in the second quarter of the year were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,200, according to the index. The record high remains 74.6 percent, which was reached last quarter.  "At a time when home ownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades and interest rates are at historically low levels, the sluggish economy and the extremely tight credit conditions confronting home buyers and builders remain significant obstacles to ... 08/24/2011

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today launched a new web-based mapping tool displaying the location of all foreclosed properties held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).  These foreclosed homes collectively account for nearly half of all real estate-owned or REO properties in the U.S.  HUD’s REO Portal is intended to help local communities, homebuyers and responsible investors to acquire these properties and accelerate efforts to stabilize local housing markets.    This new mapping tool will be of particular help to those communities employing HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) in the targeted acquisition, rehabilitation and/or demolition of these REO properties.  The REO Portal’s consolidated graphic lis... 08/24/2011

WASHINGTON – On October 1, 2011, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will implement new single-family loan limits as specified by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA).  As a result, FHA will reduce loan limits in the highest cost metropolitan areas of the country while limits would remain unchanged in most other parts of the nation.  Read FHA’s mortgagee letter detailing the agency’s new loan limits. These new loan limits were scheduled to take effect in January of 2009 but continuing strains in credit markets led the Congress to delay implementation.  The result has been nearly three years of higher loan limits for some areas based on the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (ESA). Forward Mortgages Barring any new action by the Congress, many affected areas will have low... 08/24/2011

Repair wood floors and scratches that make rooms look worn out. We’ll show you easy ways to put the luster back into your floors. Camouflage scratches Take some artistic license to hide minor scratches in wood floors by rubbing on stain-matching crayons and Sharpie pens. Wax sticks, such as Minwax Stain Markers, are great scratch busters because they include stain and urethane, which protects the floor’s finish. Don’t be afraid to mix a couple of colors together to get a good match. And don’t sweat if the color is a little off. Real hardwoods mix several hues and tones. So long as you cover the contrasting “white” scratches, color imperfections will match perfectly. Homemade polish Mix equal parts olive oil and vinegar, which work together to remove dirt, moisturize, and shine wood. Pou... 08/24/2011

Yes, the local real estate market is "slow" but we are comparing it to the BEST market of ALL TIME!  You can throw around all the statistics you want about home many % the market is down but what it really boils down to is what is happening RIGHT NOW in the local market. Having built over 30 new custom homes in Frankfort IL in the past 4 years it is our job to know what the local market is REALLY doing.  Here are some of our observations for the Frankfort IL new home market: Traffic is pretty light - but those out looking are very serious about buying/building a new home When the weather finally got better there were quite a few of the best homes that sold, most for approx 95% of the listing price.  The homes that are clean, fresh, have good ammenities and custom features are the ones s... 06/14/2008

Active ListingsList Price Range# ListingsAvg. Days on MktLess than $149,9996337$150,000 - $199,99910110$200,000 - $249,99935206$250,000 - $299,99941152$300,000 - $349,99927168$350,000 - $399,99941178$400,000 - $449,99940187$450,000 - $499,99949130$500,000 - $549,99927201$550,000 - $599,99935249$600,000 - $699,99951267$700,000 - $799,99924221$800,000 - $899,99914303$900,000 - $999,9999280$1,000,000 - $1,999,99912145  Active Listings Summary# UnitsAvg. MTMedian List PriceAvg. List PriceMax. List PriceMin. List PriceTotal Volume421199$466,900$501,223$1,899,999$130,000$211,014,733  Sold PropertiesSold Price Range# ListingsAvg. Days on MktLess than $149,9994758$150,000 - $199,99911258$200,000 - $249,99924779$250,000 - $299,99915683$300,000 - $349,999124109$350,000 - $399,999134124$400,000 - ... 02/22/2008

Frankfort, IL Real Estate MarketFrankfort is located in Will County, IL. It is a Southwest Suburb of Chicago and offers many of the suburban amenities home buyers are looking for in their next home.  Frankfort has its roots from the 1860's and offers an older downtown area with vintage charm from the early settlers.  Today, Frankfort is considered a "Jewel of the South Suburbs" because of the thriving community with commerical & residential development in one of the fastest growing communities in the county.Frankfort Homeowners have great pride in their highly rated schools: Summit Hill School District #161 & Frankfort School District #157C . And also is located in Lincolnway High School District.We continuously monitor the local real estate statiscis to keep our clients informed and ah... 07/11/2007