Archive for October, 2011
Spooky Charges You Shouldn’t Pay
The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) on Halloween told Chicagoland gas, electric and telephone customers that they could be haunted by nearly $500 a year in unnecessary charges. Costumed CUB staff handed out Halloween treats and money-saving tips at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago on Monday, where they unveiled their list of “The Five [...]
Scary Start of Month for Cook County Homeowners
Monday might be Halloween, but Tuesday is something much more frightening for Chicago real estate owners: Cook County property tax bills are due. Yes, the due date for the second installment of your Cook County property tax bills for tax year 2010 is November 1. The scariest part: Even though most property values have dropped [...]
Appraisals Go Green to Account for Energy Costs
Mortgage underwriters generally weigh several numbers when deciding whether a family can afford a new home. They look at income, of course, and tally up expenses in the form of a home’s property taxes, insurance premiums and monthly payments. There is one number they ignore: how much a household spends on its utilities, a figure [...]
Happy Halloween, Chicago Real Estate Superheroes!
Happy Halloween to all parcels of metro Chicago real estate and to each one’s occupants, as well. This year’s winning home belongs to Zoletta from Galewood, Chicago, who said this of her decorations: “Almost everything is handmade out of odds and ends from the local thrift stores, including the scarecrow, the boy in pjs, the [...]
What’s Halloween Without a Dressed-Up House?
Thank you to all our readers for sending in pictures of their homes all decorated for Halloween. To view photos of this year’s winning home, see: Happy Halloween, Chicago Real Estate Superheroes! Here are the best of the rest. Click on each pic to see it enlarged, and have a fun and safe Halloween!
