Purchasing Green Built Homes in Chicago Saves You Money
We all know about the federal tax credit currently available for first-time homebuyers, but you may not be aware that there is also a tax credit for homebuyers that purchase a green built home or products to make your home a little more environmentally-friendly. By purchasing new Chicago homes that incorporate green standards, you are eligible for a federal homebuyer incentive whether or not you are a first-time homebuyer. Just be sure to do your purchasing and renovations before January 1, 2009 in order to be eligible for the tax credit. So what exactly are “green products” that will get you a little extra cash? Well, some examples you could follow to help increase your wallet and decrease the negative effects on the environment are systems that reduce heat loss/gain; exterior windows (including skylights), exterior doors, and metal roofs that meet the ENERGY star standards; programmable thermostats; rainwater conservation systems; ENERGY Star appliances; and more. For more details (Continued…)
Benefits to Owning a Home
Know Atlanta, a guide for people relocating to Atlanta, recently published seven benefits of owning your own home. The article really gives some good facts and solid numbers that can help individuals decide whether to rent or buy. The article first talks about the benefits of tax breaks on your mortgage, property taxes and other costs involved in buying a home. Also, on average, homes have appreciated about 6.5% each year since 1972 and have appreciated 88.5% on average in the last ten years making buying a home a great investment. The article also reminds homebuyers that their (Continued…)
Five Tips for Buying a Home in a Down Market
Bankaholic.com submitted these home buying tips to Chicagoland Real Estate Forum. If you are looking an new homes or resale properties, we hope you will find this useful.
The subprime mortgage bust has scared a lot of people away from the housing market. The nightly news is filled with images and stories of everyday Americans who are losing their homes because they made greedy and uninformed decisions, they were taken advantage of by predatory brokers, or a combination of these situations. However, the news isn’t all bad. This decline in the market has dropped prices and made housing affordable to many fiscally responsible renters who never considered home ownership to be an option.
If you find yourself house-hunting, make sure that you follow these five simple steps to take advantage of this downturn in the market; if you don’t, you could be the next sad story on your local news.
1. Accounting for Extraneous Expenses
As with almost any major purchase, there can be a number of fees associated with buying a home. Costs associated with property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, standard maintenance, and utilities should not be overlooked. In addition, if you buy a home that is part of a complex or attached to a homeowner’s association, you will have to pay annual fees as well. Make sure that you take these additional expenses into account when you are determining how much home you can afford.
2. Acknowledging Special Assessments
Many homes require a number of regularly scheduled special assessments to be performed in order to satisfy local regulations and ordinances. These are fees that are required in addition to standard property taxes. In order to make sure that these costs don’t take you by surprise, (Continued…)
