Until now there hasn’t been a very helpful means to get all of the important questions answered, outside of recommendations from locals, but what if you don’t know anyone from Chicago? Thanks to the creator of www.schoolsparrow.com you don’t have to dig too deep to get most of your questions answered. They have taken the most common questions into consideration when developing their website. School Sparrow makes the claim that you can “See the entire landscape of good school districts that also have homes for-sale (or rent) . . . within your budget. [Their] integrated data includes school performance, school boundaries and current real estate information.”

The creator of School Sparrow, Tom Brown, is a local Chicago dad who recently went through the process of finding a school for his daughter and he “created School Sparrow to make it easier for Chicago parents to find a comprehensive list of potential schools to explore, and to find a home in the correct attendance boundaries. After building School Sparrow [he] identified several schools that [he] wished [he] had explored because not only did they look good on paper, but also the housing stock is significantly more affordable than their current location in Ravenswood. Tom loves his current neighborhood and is very happy with the school in which [his] daughter is enrolled, but [he] thinks [he] made the decision without being fully informed about all the options that were available.”

To find out more about School Sparrow and search all of their active listings visit: www.schoolsparrow.com

Presenting your home to prospective buyers is an important part of selling your home, so it’s important to have a presentable home. “Home staging” is a buzzword that gets thrown around when one puts their home on the market, but it’s important for a reason. Home staging is a process that is as simple as making sure your lawn is kept trimmed and orderly, but can also be as complicated as completely changing the layout of a room. Assess your home and use these tips when you put your home on the market.

Easy does it. Home staging is a process. Start out slowly by doing typical things to clean your home. Vacuum, dust the furniture, make your beds, and throw out your trash. Make this a daily habit. Once a showing happens, just do these quick clean tips and you’re ready to get out of your house!

Look at things with a new perspective. What are you looking for in a new home? What do you expect to see when you walk in for a showing? Now, look at your home in the same way. Will moving that nightstand into another part of your home change your home drastically? Will pushing that sofa a little bit closer to the television make all the difference? It’s definitely a possibility. Rearrange different rooms in your house.

Declutter declutter declutter. You see that giant treadmill that takes up half of the space in your living room? Get rid of it! Unless you are a treadmill fiend, the last thing you want is for prospective buyers to bump into a bulky machine in the middle of your living room. Once again, assess the items in your home. Throw away that pile of newspapers that you’ve been collecting. Put away your children’s toys. Declutter your home to open it up. It will help make your home seem a lot bigger. Can’t find a place to store your things? Think about using a storage unit for a temporary home for your belongings.

Do you have any other home staging tips? Let me know!

Joseph Ver is part of the SpareFoot marketing team. Use SpareFoot storage finder to help find the best price and location for your storage unit.

Your sellers may be covering up some of their home’s best features—literally. In your listings, don’t let clutter or poor design choices lessen the appeal of subtle selling points such as upgraded kitchen countertops, fireplaces, and built-in shelving units. Staging can put these features in the spotlight during showings.

Roomy Kitchen Countertops

Stage a kitchen so that it shows off counter space. Stager Anthea Click of Fresh Perspectives in Nashville offers three tips for countertops.

- Put extras away. Have no more than three appliances on the countertops—even fewer if the counter space is small. Remove extra items such as knife blocks, phones, and baskets, which will make the countertops look smaller than they ­really are.

- Highlight. If the home has a center island, make it a focal point with greenery, such as an orchid, or a bowl of fresh fruit. If the island is big enough, have place settings on display with up to three bar stools. If the kitchen doesn’t have an island but there’s space for one, bring in a portable one to add counter space.

- Add color. Try placing kitchen canisters on the counter for color, interest, and balance.

For the full article click here

You can now take your property search with you, wherever you go!  With a single click visitors can save any mls listing to reference at a later time.  In addition, we now support a new radius search; type in a starting street address and search for homes within a radius of anywhere from 1/4 to 20 miles. Search by street name, number or full street address and see instant results as you type!

You can quickly contact a CRER Agent for additional information or to schedule a showing with just a click from your mobile device.

Scan the QR code below or visit, www.crer.com/propertysearch from your mobile device to get started!

Long-term interest rates were largely stagnant in February, according to data from mortgage finance company Freddie Mac, as investors responded to mixed economic reports.

February 2

Mortgage rates at the beginning of the month took a dive to new record lows with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate falling to 3.87 percent, excluding fees, from 3.98 percent the previous week. The 15-year FRM also declined, falling to 3.14 percent from 3.24 percent, but the one-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) rose to an average of 2.76 percent from 2.74 percent.

“Most mortgage rates eased to all-time record lows this week as fourth quarter growth in the economy fell short of market projections,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac. “The Gross Domestic Product rose 2.8 percent in the final three months of 2011, below the market consensus forecast of 3.0 percent, while consumer spending in December was flat.”

February 9

There was very little change in interest rate during the next week, as the 30-year FRM was unchanged at 3.87 percent, the 15-year FRM inched up to 3.16 percent, and the one-year ARM fluctuated to 2.78 percent.

February 16

The situation further stagnated in the third week as both the 30- and 15-year FRM were unchanged and the one-year ARM rose to 2.84 percent.

“Fixed mortgage rates were unchanged this week amid mixed confidence measures,” Nothaft commented. “Small business confidence ticked up slightly in January, representing a fourth consecutive month gain, according to the National Federation of Independent Business index. However, the Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell in February by more than the market consensus forecast breaking a five month trend.

February 23

By the last week, interest rates rose back to where they ended in January. The average rate on a 30-year FRM was 3.95 percent, the 15-year FRM grew to 3.19 percent, but the one-year ARM dropped to 2.73 percent.

What’s Next for Interest Rates?

With most major economic reports trending toward the slightly more positive, rates will most likely stay very close to their current position as they are tempered by a continued pessimism from the Federal Reserve.

Interest Rates

In its most recent meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve decided once again to leave its target interest rate unchanged in the range of zero to 0.25 percent. That rate has not changed since December 2008, and it looks as though there will be no movement for some time to come. In its statement, the FOMC said that in order to support a stronger economic recovery, “The Committee expects to maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy,” as it “anticipates that economic conditions…are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate, at least through late 2014.” Low Fed rates, in addition to the Fed’s program of buying mortgage-backed bonds, are likely to keep mortgage interest rates near historically-low averages for the whole of 2012, although rates could end the year higher than they started as the economy improves.

Foreclosures

Although the number of new foreclosures fell 40 percent in 2011, it wasn’t because there were actually fewer homeowners going into default. This decrease results from the “robo-signing” scandal and the resulting backup in processing.

“Nationally, foreclosure pipelines remain at historic highs, but they are clearing at very different rates depending upon state procedures,” said Herb Blecher of LPS Applied Analytics.

And, as of the end of 2011, most banks had resumed full-scale processing of foreclosures, with a jump in new foreclosure activity in the last quarter of the year.

“The big increase in new foreclosure actions may be a signal that lenders are starting to push through some of the foreclosures delayed by robo-signing and other documentation problems,” RealtyTrac’s CEO James Saccacio told CNBC in September. “It also foreshadows more bank repossessions in the coming months as these new foreclosures make their way through the process.”

It appears very likely that that the number of foreclosures will rise significantly in 2012.

Home Prices

There is not much hope for a recovery in home prices before all the foreclosure inventory is worked through. The most recent Reuters poll of economists found that most do not expect to see any real movement in home prices this year. States in the hardest hit areas of the country are especially likely to see further drops in housing values as non-foreclosure properties for sale must compete with so many discounted distressed homes. For example, in Nevada, according to RealtyTrac, distressed properties made up 57 percent of all home sales in the third quarter of 2011, and they sold for only 20 percent less than traditional home sales. The national average for foreclosure discounts was much higher at 34 percent.

Home Sales

With interest rates remaining low and a large stock of foreclosures helping to keep home prices low, 2012 will be a buyers’ market. Yet mortgage credit remains tight and the uncertainty of the employment scene will likely keep home sales from blossoming. A recent forecast from mortgage giant Freddie Mac predicted that sales of existing homes will increase between 2 percent and 5 percent this year.

Overall, the theme for 2012′s housing market should be one of progress. It might be incremental and it might be the progress of finally bottoming out, but things should be somewhat better by the end of the year than at the beginning.

Sales of existing U.S. homes rose for the third consecutive month in December, according to the National Association of Realtors, a possible sign of a “sustained recovery.”

“The pattern of home sales in recent months demonstrates a market in recovery,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Record low mortgage interest rates, job growth and bargain home prices are giving more consumers the confidence they need to enter the market.”

Total existing home sales grew 5.0 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million units from a downwardly revised 4.39 million in November. Compared with one year earlier, sales were up 3.6 percent.

The national median home price rose on a monthly basis for the second month, rising to $164,500 from a downwardly revised $164,000 in November. The median price is still down 2.5 percent from December 2010.

The NAR defines existing homes as all previously-owned single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums, and co-ops. The group “seasonally adjusts” the sales numbers to factor in things like inclement weather, school sessions, winter holidays, etc to smooth out the trends.

The NAR also describes its sales data based on an annual pace. The monthly figure represents the total number of housing units that would be sold in one year if the current rate were to continue unchanged.

Sales Pace by Region

Regionally, sales rose all across the country, led by another major increase in the Northeast.

In the Northeast, sales jumped 10.7 percent to an annual rate of 620,000 in December from 560,000 homes in November. Sales are up 3.3 percent compared with November 2010.

Sales in the Midwest increased 8.3 percent to an annual pace of 1.04 million homes from 960,000 the month before and up 9.5 percent from the previous year.

In the South, sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual level of 1.76 million units from November’s 1.71 million homes. On a yearly basis, sales have risen 3.5 percent.

In the West, sales moved up 2.6 percent to an annual pace of 1.19 million in December from 1.16 million. Compared with the year before, sales were down 0.8 percent.

Home Prices

The median home price, the point at which half of all homes are sold for more and half are sold for less, rose in the West and South, but fell in the Northeast and Midwest.

In the Northeast, the median price fell to $231,300 from $237,300 in November, and was down 2.7 percent from the previous year.

The median price in the Midwest declined to $129,100 in December from $132,400, and fell 7.9 percent the year before.

In the South, home prices rose to a median of $146,900 from November’s $142,200 but decreased 1.1 from last year.

In the West, the median price grew to $205,200 in December from $200,600 and increased 0.3 percent from December 2010.

Inventory

Total existing-home inventory fell 9.2 percent in December to 2.38 million homes for sale. At the current sales rate, that represents a 6.2-month supply, down from an 7.2-month supply in November.

What you need is coverage that’s just right. Here’s how to get it, and it shouldn’t take more than 4 or 5 hours of your time spent reviewing your homeowners insurance policy, talking to your agent, and doing a little research.

Look before you leap into a policy

All homeowners insurance isn’t created equal. That’s why it pays to review your coverage every year to ensure your policy meets your evolving needs. Begin by understanding the types of coverage available.

Actual cash value coverage reimburses you for the value of your home based on its current condition, explains Marjorie Young, senior vice president at E.G. Bowman Co., a New York City insurance brokerage. If your home was built 10 years ago, you’d receive only the depreciated value of decade-old windows, cabinets, appliances, and so on.

Most insurers recommend the more comprehensive replacement cost coverage. With it, says Young, you’ll be reimbursed for the amount it will cost to rebuild your home like new with the same kind and quality of materials. Depreciation doesn’t factor into the settlement equation.

To get the full benefit of replacement coverage, you need to purchase enough insurance to cover the total cost to rebuild your home, excluding the value of the land. Many people make the mistake of insuring at the market value, says June Walbert of USAA Financial Planning Services in San Antonio. But the amount you could sell your home for today isn’t necessarily the same as how much it would cost to rebuild.

Construction costs play big role

Look to current construction costs in your local area for guidance. If you’ve purchased a newly constructed home in the past year, you already have the answer. The same is true if you’ve refinanced within the past year. You almost certainly paid for an appraisal during that process that likely includes three valuations: replacement cost, market value, and actual cash value.

If you’re determining replacement cost without those head-starts, Walbert recommends calling several local homebuilders and asking the average square-foot construction cost in your area. If the going rate is $175, and your home is 2,000 square feet, you’d purchase $350,000 in coverage. For just a few bucks you can also order a valuation report online at a website like AccuCoverage ($7.95) or Home Smart Reports ($6.95).

Remember that any time you spend at least 5% of your home’s value on a remodeling project—or $5,000, whichever is less—you should contact your insurer to increase your coverage. Young recently did that after she revamped her own kitchen. An additional $40,000 in homeowners coverage raised her annual premium by about $40.

Don’t neglect valuables, liability

Be sure you’re also insured at the right value for your home’s contents and for personal liability. Most insurance polices provide only actual cash value on contents, says Lisa Lobo, vice president of underwriting operations at The Hartford in Southington, Conn. To get replacement cost coverage, you’ll need to purchase an endorsement. If you have valuables not covered by your policy—silverware, jewelry, furs—purchase endorsements for those, too.

Many people pay no attention to the liability coverage limits in their policies, but Walbert says that’s a mistake. If you have a dinner party and a guest falls down your front steps, you don’t want to be underinsured. In recent years the average liability claim for bodily injury and property damage has been $15,854. Walbert recently increased a homeowner’s liability coverage by several hundred thousand dollars for just $6 more per year.

If you’re concerned about increasing your premiums by adding endorsement after endorsement, ask whether you can save money by splitting your deductible, paying a higher amount for certain claims and a lower amount for others. Bundled endorsements can save you a few bucks, but only if you require them all. Take a pass on unneeded riders. Why spend $8 to $12 a year for $500 worth of refrigerated property coverage when you eat takeout every night?

Full article here

Remember, homeowners insurance is essential. The coverage is designed to protect your home and its contents, as well as shield you from liability for accidents and such on your property. Block out an hour of your time, call an insurance agent, and get answers to these three important questions.

What type of coverage do I have?

The most effective type of coverage is known as “replacement cost,” which covers, up to your policy limits, what it would take today to rebuild your house and restore your belongings, says Jerry Oshinsky, a partner at Jenner & Block in Los Angeles who has represented homeowners in litigation against insurers.

“Extended” replacement cost coverage provides protection to your policy limit, say $500,000, and then perhaps another 20% of the cost after that. Percentages vary, but in this example you could recoup up to $600,000 on a $500,000 policy, assuming your losses reach that high. Extended coverage can compensate for any unanticipated expenses like spikes in construction costs between policy renewals. Now harder to find due to the industry shift toward extended replacement coverage, “full” or “guaranteed” replacement coverage covers an entire claim regardless of policy limits.

A less attractive alternative is “actual cash value” coverage that usually takes into account depreciation, the decrease in value due to age and wear. With this type of policy, the $2,000 flat-screen TV you bought two years ago will be worth hundreds of dollars less today in the eyes of your claims adjuster. Kevin Foley, an independent insurance broker in Milltown, N.J., favors replacement cost coverage unless you can save at least 25% on the premium for going with actual cash value coverage instead.

Even if you have replacement cost protection for your dwelling and personal property, don’t assume everything is covered. Structures other than your home on your property—such as a detached garage or swimming pool—require separate coverage. So too do luxury items like jewelry, watches, and furs if you want full replacement cost because reimbursement for those items is typically capped.

How much coverage do I really need?

OK, now that you’re clear on what type of policy you have, you need to figure out how much policy you truly require in dollar terms. Let’s say you purchased your home five years ago and insured it for $200,000. Today, it’s worth $225,000. Simply increasing your coverage to $225,000 may nonetheless leave you underinsured. Here’s why.

The key to determining how much dwelling coverage you need isn’t the value of your home but the money you’d have to pay to rebuild it from scratch, says Carlos Aguirre, an agent for Liberty Mutual Insurance in Arlington, Texas. Call your local contractors’ or homebuilders’ association and inquire about the average per-square-foot construction cost in your area. If it’s $150 and your home is 2,000 square feet, then you should be insured for $300,000.

There’s no rule of thumb for how much your homeowners insurance should cost. Insurers use numerous factors—age, education level, creditworthiness—to determine pricing, so the same policy could run you more than your neighbor. In recent years the average annual premium was $804. Oshinsky advises against scrimping on insurance because big increases in coverage probably cost less than you’d think. He recently purchased a liability policy that cost $250 for the first $1 million in coverage. Adding another $1 million increased his premiums only $12.50 more.

How can I lower my premiums?

The higher your deductible, the amount you pay out of pocket before coverage kicks in, the lower your premium. Landing on the appropriate deductible level requires remembering that insurance should cover major calamities, not minor incidents, says Foley, the independent insurance broker. Most homeowners should be able to absorb modest losses like a broken window pane or a hole in the drywall without filing claims. If you can, then you’re wasting money with a $250 deductible.

Foley’s rule: If you’re a first-time homeowner and don’t have a lot of savings, moving up to a $500 deductible will probably stretch your budget. However, if you live in a ritzy home and drive an expensive car, then you should be able to afford a $1,000 deductible. In Milltown, N.J., for example, the premium for a $200,000 home with a $500 deductible would be $736, according to Foley; moving up to a $1,000 deductible drops the annual premium to $672. That’s $64 in savings.

Every major insurer offers discounts to various groups, such as university employees or firefighters. Figure about 5%. Ask which affiliations would entitle you to a discount and how much. If an AARP membership would result in a $50 savings, pay the $16 dues and pocket the $36 difference. Many insurers also offer discounts ranging from 1% to 10% or more for installing protective devices like alarms and deadbolt locks, for going claim-free for an extended period, or for insuring both your car and your home with the same carrier.

Full article here

Homeowners insurance covers your house if it burns down, your possessions if there’s a break-in, and medical and legal bills if someone gets hurt on your property. Problem is, homeowners insurance might not offer protection if you decide to rent out your home. Landlord insurance does. Set aside half a day to research policies.

Renting out your home raises risks

Homeowners insurance typically covers owner-occupied, single-family residences, says John W. Saunders, president of Slemp Brant Saunders, an independent insurance brokerage in Marion, Va. When your home doesn’t meet that definition because it’s being rented out regularly, it’s no longer covered.

Most homeowners policies will cover an occasional short-term rental if, say, you’re going away for a few weeks, says Dave Millar, a partner at Riley Insurance Agency in Brunswick, Me. “But if you have a summer home you’ve decided to use as an income property and are putting different people in there every week,” he explains, “that’s a lot higher risk for the insurance company.”

The risk is also higher for both you and your insurer when you rent out your home on a full-time basis. You have an increased responsibility for injuries on the property, whether to your tenants or your tenants’ guests, says Bob O’Brien, vice president of Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance in South Portland, Me.

Insurers also experience more claims on tenant-occupied properties because tenants typically don’t care for properties as well as owners would. Renters are less likely to either identify or report maintenance needs, says O’Brien, and may be unfamiliar with a home’s systems like the location of the water shut-off.

Look into landlord insurance

When you decide to become a landlord, inform your insurer and ask about a specific landlord insurance policy, sometimes known as a dwelling fire policy or special perils policy. Coverage from a basic landlord policy isn’t quite as broad as a homeowners policy, says O’Brien, but it includes big risks like fire, wind, theft, and ice damage.

There are several levels of dwelling fire policies: DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3. The higher the number, the better the coverage. “A DP-3 policy might provide replacement cost on the house and theft of contents coverage for your belongings,” says Millar.

Expect to pay 15% to 20% more for landlord insurance than you did for homeowners insurance. In recent years the average cost of homeowners insurance was $822 a year. Tack on 20%, and that would put the average annual premium on landlord insurance at about $986.

A landlord policy covering a one-year rental for a home in Maine insured for $370,000 and personal property for $10,000 would cost $1,170, for example, says Millar. Expect to pay even more if you allow short-term rentals. The same insurance for the home if rented by the week for 12 weeks during a year would be $2,170.

Other insurance policies to consider

Landlord insurance typically covers the house itself, other structures on the property such as sheds, the owner’s possessions (but not the tenant’s possessions), lost rental income if the house is damaged and uninhabitable, and some liability protection for the owner in case of injury or a lawsuit. Policies vary, however, so read the fine print. If lost rental income isn’t included, you might be able to add the coverage for an additional $50 a year, says Saunders.

Also consider an umbrella policy that provides additional liability protection beyond the limits of your landlord policy. “If you’re talking about owning more than one house, and your net worth is starting to build up, then you should consider an umbrella policy,” says O’Brien. You can usually get an additional $1 million worth of liability coverage for $250 to $300 a year.

Finally, O’Brien advises that you require tenants to buy renters insurance that protects their own property. Remember, landlord insurance only covers the owner’s property. In recent years, the average cost of renters insurance has run $182 annually.

Full article here

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