Search Results for : buyer

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Perks of Buying a Home over the Holidays

Thinking about buying a home? The holidays might be the best time! All the things that may make the home buying process difficult for you during the holidays, are the same obstacles that others would face as well; from the shopping, traveling and holiday parties, time can be very limited […]

Chicago Real Estate Newsletter

Chicago Real Estate Monthly Newsletter

Follow me each month to learn about the current trends in Chicago real estate and news for home buyers and home sellers. News and statistics are shared from several sources as well, @properties, the leading Chicago real estate brokerage, MLSNI and the Chicago Association of REALTORS. Take a moment to […]

Bedroom design

Changes for Airbnb hosts

A proposed ordinance filed this week by Aldermen Joe Moore, 49th, and Ameya Pawar, 47th, and backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, for anyone who rents their living space for up to 90 days a year would have to register with the city. Described as “a free and simple online process” […]

It’s now harder to get that garage-top deck approved

[Crain’s] Decks atop garages were once essentially a given in every single-family home from Old Town to Lakeview on the market for upward of $1 million. Most buyers expect the decks, which help increase the living space on tight city lots, says Dennis Dooley, vice president and managing broker at […]

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel arrives at a town hall meeting on the city budget in Chicago

Chicago approves Emanuel’s property tax increase

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s $7.8 billion fiscal 2016 budget and a historic property tax increase to pay for public safety worker pensions easily cleared the city council on Wednesday. However, the plan for the fiscal year that begins on Jan. 1 still faces uncertainties in the Illinois Legislature and supreme […]

Chicago ARO

Navigating the New Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO)

The Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago (HBAGC) presented “Navigating the New ARO” on May 28th to a packed room at the Dream20 Showroom in the Merchandise Mart. The City of Chicago’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance requires residential developments that receive city financial assistance or involve city-owned land to provide a percentage […]

Rentals, REITs and Growth

Builders, landlords and investors are carefully watching the apartment sector, determining the health, and potential decline of demand and return of investment in the city. With the pace of apartment building and current supply increasing recently there are concerns that there could potentially be an oversupply. After the bust, the […]

Tax Time Tips

Homeownership carries many tax benefits, so be sure you’re taking advantage of these strategies at tax time: Mortgage Interest Deduction Interest you pay on a mortgage of up to $1 million — or $500,000 if you’re married filing separately — is deductible on Schedule A when you use the loan […]

Cost vs. Value

The newest Cost versus Value report has just been released. Leading in the midrange projects in Chicago are steel entry doors, garage door replacements, deck additions and stone veneer accents. Leading upscale projects were wood window replacements, garage door replacements and siding replacement. Unlike what television may have us believe, […]

New affordable housing fees

[Sun-Times] Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s complex solution to Chicago’s affordable housing crisis was advanced by a City Council committee Wednesday, amid concern that the costly mandates could stifle residential development. Chicago’s existing “affordable requirements ordinance” offers a choice to developers of projects with 10 or more new or rehabilitated units that […]

Illinois fracking vote postponed

On Tuesday, the Illinois legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) did not vote on proposed regulations for horizontal hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” in Illinois, making the next opportunity for a vote Nov. 6. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) had collected more than 30,000 comments from the public […]

solar photovoltaic panel

Residential Outpacing Commercial Solar Photovoltaics

(source: Proud Green Home) Driven by strong year-over-year growth in the utility and residential markets, the United States installed 1,330 megawatts of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the first quarter of 2014. According to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industry Association’s (SEIA) Q1 2014 U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, the U.S. […]