Chitownproperty

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers expires on November 30, unless Congress acts on a number of proposals on the table to extend it. Over 1.8 million buyers will have taken advantage of the credit by the time it expires. Lawmakers are considering extending that deadline, making the credit available to [...]

Seven New Rules for the First-Time Home Buyer – NYTimes.com
The New York Times posted this useful checklist of things first time home buyers should think about before taking the plunge on a home. One of the more interesting points is that the old adage about stretching your budget to buy a first home–presumably because [...]

The single most important thing to understand before you start shopping for a home is how much you can afford to spend. CNNMoney.com has a handy calculator that lets you plug in values such as your annual income, other debts like car payments or student loans, a proposed mortgage rates, and taxes to calculate [...]

There is a fair amount of confusion about the new $8,000 tax credit available to qualifying first-time home buyers. In the past, first-time buyers could get a $7,500 credit, but it had to be repaid to the government over time. The new credit does not have to be repaid, and can be claimed [...]

In a press release last week, National Association of Realtors president Charles McMillan applauded the Federal Reserve’s move to purchase an additional $750 billion on mortgage-based securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and up to $300 billion in Treasury notes. “Greater numbers of home buyers will be able to purchase a home, and [...]

Finding an area with appreciation potential — chicagotribune.com
This syndicated article in the Tribune says that the trick to buying a home now is finding a neighborhood with appreciation potential:
Real estate specialists who view the economy on a large screen are confident that those with the nerve to buy a home in the current market will [...]

Buyers that got off the sidelines and into the game — chicagotribune.com
The Tribune’s Mary Ellen Podmolik profiles a couple buyers who decided to take the plunge in the recent unsteady market. How did they do it? The old fashioned way. Mortgages are still available for buyers who qualify under traditional rules (steady [...]

Is Now a Good Time to Buy a Home? – WSJ.com
Doesn’t it seem like someone is always saying it’s a good time to buy a home? Obviously, this is a tough time to be doing any kind of significant spending, let alone making purchase as large as a home. But the Wall Street [...]

A $7,500 nudge for first-time homebuyers — chicagotribune.com
As part of the sweeping housing bill passed by Congress last week, first-time home buyers will get a tax credit of $7,500 if they make their purchase from April 9, 2008 through June 30, 2009. Only first-time buyers or those who have been renting for the past [...]

Buying vs. renting, or cost vs. time — chicagotribune.com
Since the slumping home market has changed the equation determining the benefits of buying or renting, the Tribune is taking a fresh look at this age-old question. Prices are generally lower now, meaning it might be a good time to buy, but a tight credit market [...]

What to know before choosing a developer — – chicagotribune.com
The Tribune posted a nice guide this week for how to perform due diligence on a developer if you are buying a new home, with tips for checking up on their track record and history with the city, pricing selections, and warranty items.

Even in this climate, there’s no rule like an old rule — — chicagotribune.com
This week’s Tribune has a useful article about how longstanding “rules” of real estate still apply, even in today’s changing market. Buyers and sellers can count on certain maxims to get the best deal, regardless of the financial environment, including:

You [...]

Recognizing value key to buying home — chicagotribune.com
Calling today’s market a “buyer’s market” implies that now is the time to find a deal, but buyers show signs of wanting to wait a little longer, to see if prices will go any lower. That’s not a bad strategy, says the Tribune’s Carolyn Bigda, but the [...]

Sale ain’t over till it’s closed — chicagotribune.com
You already knew that technically, your house wasn’t sold until you left the closing table and handed over the keys. But if you did sell your home in the past few years, you probably closed the deal mentally as soon as the buyer signed the contract.
Not so [...]

It’s still buyer vs. seller — chicagotribune.com
The Trib’s feature real estate story this week points out something that’s painfully obvious to those of you trying to sell your homes right now: the buyers are in control, and not just by having a large selection. Buyers know that some sellers are desperate to move, and [...]