G. Marie Leaner’s Blog

4 Important Points That Will Get Your House Sold!

 1) TEAMWORK

Your home is a major financial investment, and your relationship with your Realtor should be a full partnership where your needs and wishes are heard, and you receive detailed and dependable feedback on the progress of your sale.  Your agent has a responsibility to source this feedback from the agents who have shown your home, and to communicate this to you so together you can make the right decisions about what to do next.  How well did this accur the last time you had your home up for sale?

***Hot Tip***

   Every Seller Can Boost a Property’s Exposure!

   1.  Make your house easy to show.

• Consider installing a lock box.
• Allow showing times that are convenient to buyers.

   2.  Usa a “For Sale” sign, where permitted.

   3.  Create a Good First impression by:

• depersonalizing furnishings and decor so prospects can visualize themselves in your home;
• emphasizing curb appeal;
• keeping large pets at a distance.

**************** 

 2) PRICING

Did price work for or against you?

Tje “right” price depends on market conditions, competition and the condition ofyour home.  Pricing it too high is as dangerous as pricing it too low.  If your home doesn’t compare favorably with others in the price range you’ve set, you won’t be taken seriously by prospects or agents.

You’ll get the facts when you see the statistics!

To help you to establish a realistic selling price for your home, ask your agent to provide you with an up-to-date competitive market analysis to give you:

• a review of comparable homes recently sold or currently for sale,
• an idea of how long other homes have been listed, in order to calculate an average time in which a home can sell in today’s market,
• a review of homes whose listings have expired, to understand what issues were at play.

Note: There is no mention of how much you paid for your home or its improvements.  Like any other investment, the market value is determined by what a willing buyer will pay and a willing seller will accept.

For this and other industry articles and opinions, go to www.mschicagorealestate.com.

When You Decide to Sell

If you and your spouse decide to sell you home, it will be important to work together through a professional to maximize your return.  Differences aside, you both should be present when a listing contract is put together.  Both of you should understand and sign this contract, and both should be active in the ultimate negotiations.

When You Buy Your Next Home

Use the proceeds from your previous home or buy-out to determine an affordable price range for your next home.  Maintain a clear focus on getting the right home to suit your new situation.  You may wish to review with an agent who offers a house-hunting service to help find a home that matches your new home-buying criteria.

For this and other real estate articles and news go to http://www.mschicagorealestate.com/

4 Options

You have 4 basic housing options when in the midst of a divorce:

1. Sell the house now and divide up the proceeds.
2. Buy out your spouse.
3. Have your spouse buy you out.
4. Retain your ownership.

It’s important for you to understand the financial implications of each of these scenarios.

1. Sell the House Now and Divide Up the Proceeds.

Your primary consideration under these circumstances is to maximize your home’s selling price. We can help you avoid the common mistakes most homeowners make which compromise this outcome. As you work to get your financial affairs in order, make sure you understand what your net proceeds will be - i.e. after selling expenses, and after determining what your split of the proceeds will be. Note that the split may not be 50/50, but rather may depend on the divorce settlement, the source of the original downpayment, and the legislative property laws in your area.

2. Buy Out Your Spouse.

If you intend to keep the house yourself, you’ll have to determine how you’ll continue to meet your monthly financial obligations, if you now only have one salary. If you used two incomes to qualify for the old loan, refinancing on your own might be a challenge.

3. Have Your Spouse Buy You Out.

If you are the one who is leaving, you have the opportunity to start again in new surroundings with cash in your pocket. However, be aware that if the old home loan is not refinanced, most lenders will consider both you and your spouse as original co-signers to be liable for the mortgage. This liability may make qualifying for a new mortgage difficult for you if you decide to purchase a home, even though you won’t have legal ownership.

4. Retain Joint Ownership.

Some divorcing couples postpone a financial decision with respect to the home and retain joint ownership for a period of time even though only one spouse lives there. While this temporary situation means you have no immediate worries in this regard, keep your eye on tax considerations which may change from the time of your divorce to the time of the ultimate sale.

For this and other real estate articles and news go to http://www.mschicagorealestate.com/

How to Avoid Costly Housing Mistakes in the Midst of a Divorce

 Divorce is a tough situation which opens up many emotional and financial issues to be solved.  One of the most important decisions is what to do about the house.

 In the midst of the heavy emotional and financial turmoil, what you need most is some non-emotional, straight-forward, specific answers.  Once you know how a divorce affects your home, your mortgage and taxes, critical decisions are easier.  Neutral, third party information can help you make logical, rather than emotional decisions.

 Probably the first decision is whether you want to continue to living in the house.  Will the familiar surroundings bring you comfort and emotional security, or unpleasant memories?  Do you want to minimize change by staying where you are, or sell you home and move to anew place that offers a new start?

 Only you can answer these questions, but there will almost certainly be some financial repercussions to your decision process.  What can you afford?  Can you manage the old house on your new budget?  Is refinancing possible?  Or is it better to sell and buy?  How much house can you buy on your new budget?  The purpose of this report is to help you ask the right questions so you can make informed decisions that will be right for your situation.

For this and other real estate articles and news go to http://www.mschicagorealestate.com/

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America today. Being a victim can have a huge impact on you now and potentially well into the future.  One of the frightening aspects of identity fraud is that it’s most often perpetrated by a faceless enemy, and the struggle is fought on many different fronts: online, over the phone and even in the dumpster. However, if you can remember some simple advice and employ some easy tactics, you can significantly reduce your risk of becoming a victim. 

Picture this: You’re sitting at the kitchen table, pouring over your budget and bills, when you open your credit card bill to discover a $1200 charge you’re certain you never authorized. Someone’s taken your name and used it for their own purposes. You’ve been a victim of a growing crime and you didn’t know it until now. 

TAKE CHARGE 

What is Identity theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. How do I avoid it? According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. While it’s not always preventable, there are things you can do to help keep the odds in your favor.

• Upon receiving your credit card and bank statements each month, take a close look to make sure that no unauthorized activities occurred.

• Call your bank or credit card company if a statement is late. A missing bill could be an indication that identity theft has occurred or a thief has recently obtained your information.

• Never give out personal information over email, the Internet or the phone unless you have initiated the contact. Identity thieves often pose as government officials, representatives from the bank, credit card companies or Internet service providers in order to con you into revealing your personal information.

• Use intricate passwords for your computer, email and Internet accounts. The best passwords use a combination of numbers, capital and lowercase letters. Never use something that can be easily guessed, like your maiden name, phone number or birth date, as a password.

• Shred documents, like credit card receipts and insurance forms, that show your personal information before you dispose of them.

• Don’t leave outgoing mail in your own mailbox. It’s incredibly easy for identity thieves to target mailboxes and pull bank numbers from checks, sensitive information from bills and a variety of other sensitive information.  Instead, deposit mail directly into post office boxes.

• Cancel credit cards that you don’t need or use. When canceling, tell the lender to make a note that the “card was cancelled at the cardholder’s request.”

• Keep your Social Security card in a safe location—never keep it in your wallet or carry it around with you. Likewise, carry only the necessary ID and credit cards with you.

• Only give out your Social Security number when it’s absolutely necessary. Ask if you can use a different form of identification instead. 

How do I recognize it?

Your best defense is to be aware. When it comes to your financial information, stay alert and watch for these common signs of identity theft:

1. Bills arrive for a credit card account that you never opened

2. Your credit card bills include charges you didn’t make.

3. Be aware of late credit card statements that arrive after the payment due date.

4. Your bank statements contain unfamiliar transfers or withdrawals.

5. You’ve ordered new checks, but they haven’t arrived at your house

6. Lenders deny your requests for credit despite previously having good standing.

How to prevent identity theft?

Preventative Measures.  Here are several simple ways to combat the most common form of online identity theft:

• Turn on the spam filters for your email inbox. This will help identify misleadingemails attempting to “phish” for your password. Be suspicious of any email thatasks you to respond with personal or account information.

• Beware of scams by thieves posing as prominent companies. Double-check email addresses and website locations.  Many times they have key words in them but otherwise appear unofficial, e.g.:ebay2@yahoo.com.

• Use PayPal when available. Companies like PayPal are strictly regulated and are accepted around the world. Utilize their services rather than credit cards to make purchases at web sites you are unsure of.  

Fact Sheet

Since 1989, the Department of Housing has helped:

• Create or preserve more than 57,000 affordable rental units.
• Promote and support homeownership for more than 15,700 households.
• Preserve or improve the homes of more than 34,000 homeowners.

Creating and Preserving Affordable Rental Housing

• Since 1989, DOH has helped to create or preserve over 10,000 SRO uinits, three out of every four SRO units in the city.
• Since 1989, DOH has helped to create or preserve over 5,600 units for seniors.
• Annually, DOH supports more than 2,000 very low-income rental units through the Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund.  In 2007, with funding generated by a statewide $10 recording fee for mortgage documents, the number of households served by the Trust Fund will double to more than $4,000.
• Since 2003, more than 4,200 units of rental housing have been recovered, are under rehab, or are in receivership through the Troubled Buildings Initiative.

Promoting and Supporting Homeownership

• Over 6,800 families have become homeowners through first-time homebuyer programs since 1993.
• Over 2,100 new homes have been built or are in marketing/construction through New Homes for Chciago since the program’s inception in 1990.
• More than 100 abandoned and vacant properties are rehabbed annually and sold to homebuyers and small investors.

Preserving and Improving Homes

• Through the Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP), approximately 1,000 low income households receive emergency repairs to their homes annually.
• Since 2000, the City has assisted more than 1,800 units of housing through the TIF Neighborhood Improvement Program.
• Each year, nearly 600 seniors and disabled persons receive modifications to make their home more accessible.
• Hundreds of households are accessing benefits through in the Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative, including appliance vouchers and home improvement matching grants.

For more information on the Department of Housing call 311 or visit www.cityofchicago.org/housing.

Welcome to G. Marie Leaner’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Chicago.