This week a real estate industry research company released a report on the 100 most overpriced housing markets in the country. Topping the list is Santa Barbara, California, with a median price of $567,300, 80% overvalued. Naples, Florida is next at 74% over. The good news is that Chicago is still considered a fairly-valued market. The median home price here is $266,300, or just 14% over the equilibrium value.
The 2005 second-installment Cook County property tax bills are coming out this week, but you don’t have to wait for the mail to pay them. As long as you know your property’s 14-digit tax PIN, you can pay your bill online at the Cook County Treasurer’s website. You can also pay your bill in person at 293 Chase Bank branches or 211 other participating community banks.
Staging a home is crucial to selling it for the best price. We have some quick tips for getting your home ready for showings here, and this article from CNNMoney goes into more detail. But who pays for that staging expertise? In the past, agents had been able to charge extra for those services, but now most agents (including us), will help you stage your home as part of the commission.
This may seem like common sense, but home buyers should think hard about financing their purchase with no money down. If you plan to live in the home for a long time, you can outlast any short-term plateaus or drops in home values, limiting your exposure to mortgage default. But as this article in the Tribune explains, you may encounter circumstances that force you to move. At the very least, if you must finanace a home at 100%, have a contingency plan in case you’re forced to sell early.
Now that interest rates are getting back up to higher–albeit traditionally normal–levels, the easiest option for reducing your mortgage costs, refinancing, is no longer on the table because market rates are most likely higher than the loan’s. But you can still save thousands on your mortgage by retooling your home equity line of credit, getting rid of fees like PMI, and knowing when to pay down your principal. Read more at CNNMoney to see how.
CNNMoney has just published their Best Places to Live list for 2006. Chicago doesn’t come anywhere close to the top 10, outranked by suburbs Orland Park, Aurora, and Naperville, which comes in at #2 on the overall list. You can check out how Chicago stacks up against the rest of the country, including cost of living calculators, stats on safety, wealth, and other demographcis, but fear not, at least we ranked #7 on the list of cities with the most six-figure income jobs.
Some home buyers might forget that they can also turn to relatives to help them finance their purchase. At a time when interest rates from banks are rising, borrowing money from a family member can be a less expensive option since they will charge a much lower rate, if at all. Buyers typically borrow enough money to be able to make a 20 percent downpayment, and their relatives often loan this money at a 1.5 to 2 percent discount from market rates. But there are a number of rules for mixing personal relations with business, as this Tribune article outlines.
