Chitownproperty

A quick rundown of this past weekend’s local real estate news sections:

• Ever wonder how builders can work through all that snow? Contractors don’t slow down during winter months, but they do have to take special precautions to make sure concrete and masonry cures properly.
• The cost of living in college dorms has risen so high that some students have been finding ways to apply for government-subsidized housing intended for low income families. But starting next week, new rules passed by Congress will take the student’s parents’ income into consideration in most cases, even if the student claims to be living independently.
• Home heating retailers say sales of wood-burning stoves are up anywhere from 30 to 50 percent this season as people search for lower-cost heating and cooking alternatives to gas.
• Maybe you can’t afford the dream of living off the grid in one fell swoop, but you can start using enough solar power to make a difference, little by little.
• Rising interest rates are starting to squeeze homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages, no longer able to bail themselves out by refinancing their home based on double-digit price appreciation.
• Having trouble choosing cabinet finishes? Check out this guide to new cabinet options.
• More buyers are making offers with home sale contingencies, citing longer market times as reason to safeguard their position before committing to a new home. In a hot market, submitting an offer contingent upon selling an existing home would weaken a buyer’s negotiating position, because other buyers would likely be willing to make an offer with no such restrictions. But as the market cools, more people are willing to take this risk in order to make sure they have the proceeds from the sale of their home in hand for a downpayment.