Thursday, July 24, 2014

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Your Home Has 3 Zones


YOUR HOME'S THREE ZONES

Did you know every well designed home has three basic zones?  Each of these zones is for a specific need, including
Service
 Social
 Private.
 How they work together will determine how well your home will serve you. Let's take a look at the three zones.

Neal Paskvan Baird And Warner
The first is the Service Zone.   This is where the busy work takes place, such as laundry and cooking. It's usually the place where you'll find major appliances, a utility area, kitchen, hobby room or garage. The hum of the washer and dryer, odors of food being prepared, along with the noise of power tools let's you know this is where it all happens. Having this area away from the social and private zones facilitates the reduction of noise and it's safer.

The second zone is the Social Zone.   It's where family members enjoy the company of each other, dine with guests, watch TV or play games. These activities take place in the dining and living rooms, the family and rec rooms, breakfast room, den or on the deck and patio. We usually pay more attention to the decor in these spaces, making them attractive, inviting and comfortable.

The Private Zone is the third area.   It's the most personal and important of all spaces. This is where family members sleep, bathe or just spend quiet time alone. Good design calls for these spaces to be the most secluded and buffered from the social zone.

There are exceptions to the above rules. For instance, some owner's suites will include a stackable washer and dryer in the private bath. It can offer great convenience. Likewise, many people entertain in the kitchen, making this a combination social and service area.

Whether staying put, remodeling or buying, take a look at these zones and see how your home stacks up. Just keep in mind that the best arrangement is the one that works for you.
Copyright PropertySource Network 2009

Monday, July 14, 2014

How to Pay Off an Ex-Spouse When Seeking a Mortgage

How to Pay Off an Ex-Spouse When Seeking a Mortgage

Buying your spouse out of a property can be dicey.
By Scott Sheldon Stuck paying for a house that's no longer yours? Buying your spouse out of a property can be dicey, especially if both parties disagree with one another on the debt and equity objectives. So here are some ways to separate and pay off an ex-spouse when getting a mortgage. Net Yet Divorced or Separated?: First, if you and your ex are still legally married, but are not yet legally separated or officially divorced, this can pose problems related to the scope of the desired split when separating property and liens (loans). If you're buying a home for yourself, your spouse would have to sign a quit claim deed releasing their interest in the property you are buying since you are still legally joined with that person. The key is that the spouse must consent to releasing their interest in the transaction. Divorced & Still Tied to Another Property: Let's say you're trying to purchase a home, you are legally divorced and the previous property has been awarded to your ex-spouse in the divorce decree. However, for whatever reason your ex-spouse is not able to qualify for a new mortgage to refinance you off of it. Your credit report shows a mortgage that your name is tied to on a property you no longer own nor have responsibility for. In the eyes of the mortgage lender, because the liability (loan) is tied to the property and has not been paid off with your name associated with it, the liability is still considered to be joint.

How to Pay Off an Ex-Spouse When Seeking a Mortgage

The problem here is that your credit history and credit score are directly affected by your ex-spouse's sole ability to make timely mortgage payments on the joint credit account. The only way to remove the responsibility from you, beyond the divorce decree, is for the other party to sell the house or refinance the mortgage, and taking your name off the loan, thus omitting the
liability from your debt-to-income ratio on your new purchase. Refinancing to Buy Out the Ex-Spouse: Say both you and your spouse own a home together. Without the divorce degree and without a separation agreement, both parties collectively agree that one spouse will stay in the pro

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Thinking of Selling? New Construction Will Soon Be New Competition

Thinking of Selling? New Construction Will Soon Be New Competition





Bottom Line



If you areFor the last several years, home sellers had to compete with huge inventories of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales). The great news is that the supply of these properties is falling like a rock in the vast majority of housing markets. Many homeowners are now thinking of selling as the impact of this substantially discounted competition has disappeared.
However, every seller of an existing residential property must realize that there is a new form of competition about to hit the market: newly constructed homes.
As the economy improves, builders will again be bringing their housing developments to the market. Trulia recently reported that the purchaser, given a choice, actually prefers new construction. Here are two charts showing the results of the Trulia survey: thinking of selling, perhaps you should do it now to avoid the additional competition that will come to the market later this year.
click here for the rest of the story from keeping current matters

Monday, July 7, 2014

Time to downsize? Not for baby boomers

In an edited interview, the director of strategic planning for Fannie Mae's economics group said that though such a wholesale change probably is inevitable, boomers these days show little inclination to leave the single-family home lifestyle that, to an extent, has defined their generation:

Q: Isn't there a general story line that boomers hit 65, become empty nesters, look around at the unused bedrooms that the kids once occupied in their houses, and announce that they're paring down to a smaller space where somebody else will handle the maintenance?





A: Yes. There's a perception, particularly in many media reports, that this massive generation born between 1946 and 1964 is altering its "housing consumption." It's true that they're becoming empty nesters in droves.




DOWNERS GROVE REAL ESTATE
Baby boomers not ready to downsize - chicagotribune.com
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Friday, July 4, 2014

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

hot off the press july 2014newsletter

Yes, hot off the press the July 2014 Baird Warner newsletter is out chock-full of money-saving ideas and other stuff just makes senseFind out where the closest drive-in movies are to get out there and see one Neal Paskvan is a full time Realtor specializing in Downers grove, Darien,Woodridge, Westmont and Du page county Real Estate