Interest rates fluctuate as changes occur in the general economy. If you purchased your home when interest rates were higher, you may want to consider re-financing your loan at a lower rate.You will have to apply for the new mortgage and have your current income eligibility assessed. Depending on how long you have had your present loan, a current appraisal may be required. There are closing costs, such as attorney, title fees, recording and notary fees, and appraisal charges. The biggest factor in your decision should be the length of time you plan to remain in your home. If you will be there for only a year or two more, it might not pay to re-finance. If you will be in your home longer, re-financing could provide you with lower mortgage payments. Your real estate agent can help you wor... 12/12/2006

Before your mortgage application is approved, the lender will order a professional appraisal of the home to make sure that the agreed-upon selling price is justifiable based on the current market value of the property. The cost of the appraisal will be based on the complexity of the appraisal report and the time required to complete it.A professional appraiser will choose the appraisal technique that is applicable to the particular property to arrive at an unbiased opinion of value. One approach is to look at comparable homes in the area that have sold within the last six months. If there are a number of similar properties that have sold recently, the appraiser's job is easy. It is more complicated to arrive at the appraised value if your home is located in a rural area or a diverse nei... 12/12/2006

Many sellers think that the price of their home is determined solely by what they are willing to accept and what the buyer is willing to pay. However, there is one more variable that can affect the sale of a home assuming that a bank loan is involved -- the lender's appraisal. To protect the interest of their investors, the buyer's mortgage lender hires a licensed appraiser to give an independent, objective opinion of what the property is worth. The appraiser compares the house with similar homes in the neighborhood that have recently sold. Square footage, amenities and the condition of the home are taken into account. Renovations and home improvements made by the seller usually add value to the home, while defects such as needed repairs or code violations decrease the property's value.... 12/11/2006

What is the best price for a piece of real estate? Mortgage lenders, appraisers, and real estate brokers use what is called the "fair market value" (FMV). FMV has been defined as "the price that a buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to accept, when both parties are knowledgeable about the property and neither is under any time pressure to buy or sell". Sounds great, but how is this price determined? The starting point for determining a fair price may be an opinion of the value or "comparative market analysis". Such an analysis uses information on similar properties which are: 1) currently for sale, 2) already sold, or 3) expired properties (those which did not sell). Local, national and international trends and market conditions must also be evaluated.By comparing similar ... 12/11/2006

Who represents the homebuyer in the transaction? The most common scenario is for homebuyers to purchase a home with the help of the seller's listing agent. In this case, known as "dual agent representation," the real estate agent assists both the sellers and the buyers. However, it is also possible for the buyers to ask another realtor to represent their interests exclusively, acting as the "buyer's agent," a service which is available at no additional cost to the homebuyer.Any licensed real estate agent can act as your buyer's agent, helping you to locate and look at properties in your price range. However, if that real estate agent works for the same brokerage that is listing a particular property, dual agency or designated agent rules will then apply. The buyer's agent will advise th... 12/10/2006

Setting the right price is an important first step in the process of selling a home. Is it necessary to spend $200 to $400 for a professional appraisal of your property before placing your home on the market?A professional appraiser's opinion of a property's market value is based on the recent sales of similar homes in the neighborhood, and on the square footage and condition of the property. Different appraisers might come up with different figures. Even if all of them agreed on a value, there is no guarantee that you would receive that amount for your property. An alternative to a professional appraisal is to ask a professional real estate agent for a written market analysis of your property. This analysis will include information about recent home sales in your neighborhood, as well ... 12/10/2006

  Marketing a rental property presents some special challenges. Owners will probably want to offer the house for sale while tenants are still living there so that the property continues to bring in income. However, most real estate agents prefer that their listings either be occupied by the owner or empty. Tenant-occupied homes are often the most difficult to sell since the tenants may not share the same pride of ownership. They may not be eager for the property to sell, and as a result, the house is not shown to its best advantage.When you put a tenant-occupied house on the market, it is important that you enlist the tenants in the effort to get your house sold. Talk to the tenants first to see if they have a desire and ability to buy the house. If they are not interested in buying, wo... 12/09/2006

  Buying a second home as rental property makes a great centerpiece to your retirement plan. It forces you to make regular savings in the form of mortgage payments that become your equity.You only need cash for the down payment, and you should make sure that your monthly rental payments will cover the mortgage and any additional expenses. This is a real possibility if you buy the right house at the right price because a good single-family house should always stay rented. Your investment money is subject to less income tax, and the interest and property taxes may be deductible.Housing has appreciated in value all over the country in recent years, making a second home an important hedge against inflation. Most experts predict that interest rates for fixed-rate and adjustable mortgages sho... 12/09/2006

New Relationship Provides Premium Visibility for NUMBER1EXPERT Listings in LiveDeal.com's Fast-Growing Online Classifieds Real Estate Marketplace     CLEARLAKE and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 11 -LiveDeal.com (http://www.livedeal.com), one of the nation's leading free local online classifieds sites, and NUMBER1EXPERT (http://www.NUMBER1EXPERT.com), an Internet marketing service offered exclusively to real estate agents who meet or exceed $5 million in sales, today announced a long-term strategic relationship to provide premium placement for NUMBER1EXPERT listings in LiveDeal.com's fast-growing online real estate marketplace.    The relationship expands on NUMBER1EXPERT's successful four-month trial period on LiveDeal.com by giving priority placement and enhanced visibility to the listings... 12/07/2006

Continuing on, I predicted:3) Decrease in membership in the National Association of Realtors.Many, many people got into real estate in the past few years with very little training. When the market becomes too difficult for them, they'll quit and go into something else. The turnover rate for agents, nationwide, approaches 95% within a two year period.Our local association had 14,000 members. We're betting that by February, 2007, the number will be down to 11,000. Many experienced Realtors are finding this a very difficult market and some are retiring. Newbie agents are getting real full-time jobs.4) Computers are here to stay. (As is the internet!)Over 74%(it's now actually 78% according to NAR) of buyers used the internet to start their home search! The easiest way to find out about are... 12/06/2006

It's kinda interesting looking back at my predictions which I made January 1st of this year.1) Our market will be "normal." It's when buyers look at properties and get the opportunity to think about their offer. It's when prices stabilize or go down for the short term.Well, perhaps I should have said when prices just go down! Our "normal" market is now a slower than normal market.It's also when a property that is a) clean, b) priced fairly and offers a higher commission or bonus to the selling agency and c) easy to show, will sell quicker than other competitive homes.This is still true. In fact, we can add when the seller pays buyer's closing costs; when the sellers pay a year's worth of homeowner assessments.2) Mortgage rates will stay under 7% this year.The Fed will raise their 'over ... 12/06/2006

This past weekend I was out showing. We had had a major heavy, wet snow storm on Friday.Now, it's Sunday afternoon and my buyer and I are fighting packed snow and ice on both driveways and entrance areas. Very dangerous. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen! So, if you're a seller, get out the shovel, the snow blower and the salt and kitty litter. Do everything you can to permit your buyers easy access.And, if you're a agent with a vacant listing? Do the same. And check your listings. Hire someone to shovel. And, yes, even in townhome associations where they may plow the driveway...somewhat. All it takes is one fall; one broken bone for you and your sellers to end up in court. And, that's not fun.  12/06/2006

OK they both look like townhomes... they've got their own entrance, nobody above or below them, attached garage etc... yet one is a townhouse and the other is a condo.What does it really mean? We use the term "townhouse" loosely to describe a style of attached home, yet in a more specific sense... in a true townhome you would own the land that the property sits on. Therefor you need true homeowners insurance, even though the exterior may be maintained by the association, you still need to insure your share of the structure. This is a Townhome in Cinnamon Glen at Butterfield in Aurora Il Condominium is a form of ownership. With a condominium association you own your unit but the association owns all of the exterior walls and the land it sits on too, you are part of the association so you... 12/05/2006

Realtor.com is an advertising site. The properties are used to draw you in so that they can build ads around the listings... this makes the site painfully slow. Realtor.com is an opt-in site missing a lot of data... it is notoriously out of date and doesn't let you know if a property is under contract... creating an unfriendly and tiresome home search. Eventually as you get more serious in your home search, you will want to "go local".Most people don't understand why agents ask them to register on their sites to get more information about properties for sale. The truth is that we don't need it for our own listings or even those of our company (unless they have a rule) the problem lies with showing you another companies listings.In order to address this... two options were developed; IDX... 12/04/2006

 The charts below show the strength of Naperville's attached housing market. Not just on the lower end but Naperville's Luxury Condo & Townhome  market too. As is typical in a softer marketplace... the total # of units are down, while the average price has risen considerably. During 2006 There were three luxury condos that were sold for over $1,000,000, all in the 520 S Washington Building on Naperville's famous Riverwalk. 2007 promises another strong showing with the opening of the Benton Place Condominiums  Despite the decrease in units sold... there has been another vibrant sector of the market and that is the condo conversions that have taken Naperville by storm. Throughout the city we are seeing successful, large scale conversions taking place. The First 11 Months of 2005TOTAL LIST... 12/04/2006

I mentioned in a previous post that Naperville's Luxury Home Market has actually increased in volume over the last year... bucking all current trends. With sales up over 28% for the year, there are still a lot of fantastic homes to be had at advantageous terms. Great opportunities are there for buyers... but the stats say the the Sellers with the properly staged and marketed homes are going to get them sold.I am attaching a couple of graphs to illustrate these points. It is important to note that many of the "Active Listings"  are not yet built, but are being marketed on the "wish and a dream" plan (The builders wish you had a dream for that lot) this skews the statistics to a large degree... so the MSI (Months Supply of Inventory) looks abysmal, but is, in fact part of a thriving and e... 12/02/2006

Overall prices appear to have increased by about 8% over the same period last year (see charts below) while overall unit sales have declined a fairly dramatic 20%. An interesting twist though is that the Naperville Luxury Home market (Homes priced at $1,000,000 and over) has taken a significant jump in sales of about 28%, bucking recent trends. This is due largely to the continued interest in Naperville's thriving downtown sector and terrific commuter serviceFor the first 11 months of 2006 overall sales in Naperville are down almost 21% over the previous 11 month period in 2005 TOTAL LISTINGS AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET MEDIAN PRICE AVERAGE PRICE HIGHEST PRICE LOWEST PRICETOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME248275$370,000$420,548$2,295,000$100,000$1,043,801,949For the first 11 months of 2005 sales in Napervi... 12/02/2006

Candy Cane CakeYour little elves' eyes will light up when they see-and taste-this pretty peppermint bundt cake.Cake1       box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix1 1/4  cups water1/3    cup vegetable oil3       egg whites1/2    teaspoon red food color1/2    teaspoon peppermint extractWhite Icing1       cup powdered sugar1       tablespoon milk or water1/2    teaspoon vanilla, if desired DecorationCrushed candy canes or crushed hard peppermint candies, if desired1.   Heat oven to 350ºF. Generously grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube (bundt cake) pan.•2.   In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds; beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.•3.  Pour about 2 cups batter into pan. Pour about 3/4 cup batter into... 12/02/2006

Owning a home is the American dream, providing the homeowner with personal satisfaction and financial advantages.  While you enjoy the freedom of owning your own home, you can enjoy tax breaks by writing off interest to the possible appreciation of the home's equity.  Benefits of home ownership include:  Tax breaks. Homeowners may deduct mortgage interest and property taxes as an expense against income, while residential investors may write off cost recovery or depreciation. Marketable title: Real estate can be sold at a predicable price to a dependable group of available buyers with time and exposure. Appreciation:   Real estate values generally tend to rise over a period of years.      Many home owners can buy a home for what they use to pay in rent, or close to it. Equity. Money paid... 12/01/2006

Naperville's school district #204 started buying land at the corner of 75th street and Route 59 for its third high school to be called Metea Valley High.The district acquired 25 acres for a cost of $257,000 per acre. However, now the Illinois House Panel rejected the district's bid to acquire control of 55 additional acres from private parties. The trusts that own the land say that the land is worth $600,000 per acre. That's a big difference.And, the District Supt. says that if the district has to pay the new, higher figure that they will have to build a smaller school.So, I'm betting that the start of construction will be delayed and there will be lots of unhappy students, parents and teachers. District #204 is still growing and there's about 800 new homes being built in Ashwood Creek ... 11/29/2006