Water leak liability can be confusing issue
Q: I just want to know who is responsible for a leak coming into my son's room in a town home unit that shares a common wall with my...
A new wave of homebuyers
Real estate professionals aren't sitting around waiting for immigration reform. They already are catering to the needs of potential...
Realtor.com expanding its market reach
The battle online for consumers in the housing market is about to heat up, again.
Real estate batty season in full swing
We now interrupt our regular coverage of the serious real estate world (because, trust us, little happens in August anyway) to focus on...
Lifting the burden of a second loan
Thinking about refinancing? A second lien may be a factor in whether you can.
Smart move is to pay on loan with largest balance
Q: We have seven rentals. It seemed like a good idea to refinance them but very difficult with over four properties. The only one that was...
Take time to thoroughly read closing documents
Q: In my 20s —23 years ago — I bought my first house in California. When I signed the final paperwork at the escrow office to...
New online tools give inside scoop on homes
The pixel-pushers of the world have been working overtime to develop online tools for real estate, including a couple of new ways to snoop...
Illinois intent on mandating fire sprinklers in new homes
Fire suppression systems, more commonly known as fire sprinklers, could soon be required in all new single-family and two-family homes built...
Having it all at mixed-use properties
Suzanne Karan was midway through a recipe when she realized the container of sour cream in her refrigerator, a key ingredient, had expired.
Builders navigating complex housing market
If you're thinking about buying a newly built house in the near future, brace yourself, because the price tag is likely to go up,...
Walk Score looks beyond neighborhood crime data
Can you put a numeric value on a neighborhood's crime?
Explore options for selling jointly owned property
Q: My former boyfriend and I bought a home in 1988. He left five years later, and I remained in the home and took care of all of the bills....
Evanston senior building getting makeover
A longtime retirement apartment building in downtown Evanston is undergoing a major overhaul, turning the property into an upscale rental...
Suite retreats: First-floor master bedrooms
With children who are 4, 10 and 12, Brian DeMarco and his wife are planning for a new phase in their lives, reflected in the plans for a...
Empty nesters' new condo fits their lifestyle
Leaving their single-family house in Buffalo Grove did not make sense to Jeff Marcowitz. He and his wife, Linda, had remodeled most of the...
Homeowners still struggling as housing numbers trend upward
It's another upbeat sign for the housing market.
Trulia retools agent search directory
If you recently bought or sold a home, how did you select a real estate agent to help you with the most expensive — and potentially...
Lisle hopes new subdivision bolsters economic growth
After almost 15 years the dirt is finally moving, turning raw land most recently used for farming into 162 single-family detached homes.
Looking at big picture on home affordability
A low supply of homes for sale is pushing up home prices at the same time that mortgage rates are moving higher. Yes, homebuyers, how much...
Retirement 'Golden Girls' style
Unlike the hit TV sitcom of the late 1980s and early '90s, the three women who live there are not in it for the laugh track.
80 trips to find the perfect house
Eighty houses. In about a year, my wife and I had toured 80 homes — hundreds more if you count online searches.
Tap real estate's hidden market
When is a house for sale, but not for sale? When it's being privately offered "off the books," not listed in the local MLS.
Strong demand collides with scarce inventory
The buying frenzy is reminiscent of the boom days of 2005 and 2006 -- except today's buyers are using cash and heavy equity.
Companies easing burden of relocation
Back in the days, not so long ago, when the housing market was deader than Generalissimo Franco, convincing an employee to accept a job...
'A new pattern' in downtown condo market
Donald Trump generated plenty of headlines while in Chicago this month testifying at a trial involving Trump International Hotel &...
A primer for first-time homebuyers
Do you know the difference between implied and written warranties? How about being preapproved for a mortgage as opposed to prequalified? Or...
Redfin's valuation tool puts homeowners in driver's seat
For the past six years, the question "what's my home worth" caused homeowners to wince.
Homes too hot for MLS
Dearth of high-quality offerings leads to properties going under contract before they are officially listed.
Homebuilders gain from shortage of existing inventory
It's been a long time since Wall Street analysts were on conference calls with publicly traded homebuilders, congratulating executives on...
Signs of a new housing bubble
Um, don't look now, but out there in the real estate trenches, they're whispering the B word again. That's B as in "bubble."
Study reveals shift in attitude on renting vs. owning
Current and would-be homeowners are warming to the idea of renting.
Pay off the mortgage? Maybe not
Retiring your home loan makes sense if your stomach churns at the idea of making payments into old age, or you aren't confident that you can...
Living the high life
Top-tier buyers and renters can elevate their lifestyles in Chicago penthouse units.
Pulte grand opening in Plainfield
Pulte Homes will host a grand opening 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 13 at Dayfield, an existing development of single-family houses in Plainfield.
Epcon to host Parade of Homes in Plainfield
Epcon Communities will host a Parade of Homes from noon to 5 p.m. April 7 at The Villas at Fox Run in Plainfield.
Look before you leap into buying vacant house
Q: I was negotiating with an owner to purchase a property containing a vacant, boarded-up house. Over the years, the owner would...
Mobile apps offer edge in finding home
Donna Chapman wouldn't have found her new one-story house if she hadn't been searching for homes day and night on her Apple iPhone.
The finishing touches: Choosing interior finishes
Buyers choose new-construction homes because they want to direct the details — everything from the stain on the dining room floor to...
Homebuyers with expensive taste on the prowl
The world is experiencing a population boom of people who are absolutely rolling in money. And they're hungry for houses.
M/I Homes cuts cost of amenity options at 8 sites
Columbus, Ohio-based M/I Homes will discount its amenity options by 60 percent at eight of its town home developments through Sunday.
A new generation of senior housing
Seniors who have been itching to trade the old home place for some new digs may get the chance now that the housing market is recovering.
Reality check on Florida's housing recovery
"Florida is on fire," proclaimed a real estate newsletter that came my way recently. It heralded new and apparently better days for the...
Pre-leasing begins at Wheaton apartment development
Pre-leasing has begun at Wheaton 121, a new luxury rental building in downtown Wheaton by Chicago-based developer Morningside Group.
As housing warms up, appraisers feel the heat
Home appraisals were difficult to do during the housing market downtown because there weren't enough recently sold comparable homes to...
Rebound appears in Realtors' paychecks
How much did your real estate agent earn last year? Chances are, he or she got a raise — a big one, at least on paper.
Luxury home sellers feeling rich again
After a long, dry spell, it's almost — but not quite — a seller's market for the nation's pricier houses, according to an...
Choosing the right agent for you
There are all kinds of ways to choose a real estate agent to sell your house. You may use your brother-in-law, for example, or take a...
Legal complexities of passing home to heirs
Q: I live with my 87-year-old widowed mother. Five years ago, she had the house title changed to add my sister and me to it (no other heirs)...
Get ready for Great Senior Sell-Off
Something in salmon compels them to swim upstream. An invisible force calls swallows to return to Capistrano. And humans, primarily of the...
For homebuyers and sellers, it's all about compromising
Is this the year to sell your home? Is it time to buy?
The last resort for time-share owner
Q: My time-share maintenance fees exceed $2,000 per year. While this does not cause a real hardship on me, I was wondering what...
The eyesore next door needn't hurt sale plans
The end of last Sunday's Super Bowl unofficially kicked off the start of the spring selling season, a time of year when you, as a...
Realtors' dose of optimism tinged with reality
It's been two years since the Chicago Association of Realtors conducted an economic briefing for its members because, frankly, any...
Flickering of hope in local asking prices
An asking price on a home, particularly in the current market, can be far different from the price it ultimately sells for, but trends in...
A street by any other name could raise home value
What's in a name? Plenty, when you're talking about the byway on which your house is located.
Agents say appraisals still a big hurdle
When Cris Robinson put her Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., town house on the market earlier this year, she noticed that the only nearby...
Undeck the halls for holidays?
What a wonderful tradition, filling every nook and cranny of your house with Christmas decor — unless, that is, you're trying to...
A reality check on housing market
If the Chicago real estate market were a patient recovering from a lingering, debilitating illness, the doctor might be obliged to set the...
What buyers need to know about a home inspection
Q: When buying a home, is there anything in the home inspection that the seller must fix before the completion of the sale?
Advice to sellers: Don't rush
For sellers in this buyers' market, patience is a virtue, if an inconvenient one.
Winners and losers in Chicago housing market
Even if the real estate market were in Armageddon mode, many real estate industry types could still be expected to give you an...
For real estate brokers, the glass is half-full
When somebody tells you that real estate brokers are feeling optimistic about the housing market, it's not exactly a stop-the-presses...
Real estate agencies recruit Gen Y brokers
When the housing market took a plunge during the Great Recession, it became fairly safe to say that real estate wasn't an attractive...
Curb appeal from the ground up
A well-landscaped home can mean the difference between a speedy sale and a stagnant property that withers on the realty vine.
A clean house is a best seller
When it comes to the little things that sellers do to make their homes stand out from the competition, a new splash of paint is usually at...
Home tweet home: Agents turn to social media
Your real estate agent wants to be your friend. Not your bowling or bridge partner, or a confidante to phone after a particularly tough day,...
Online tools for homeowners, renters
When can underwater homeowners expect to be back in the black on their mortgages? It turns out there's an app for that.
Celebrity sellers have little effect on home prices
A famous name can boost buyer interest in a home, but it doesn't necessarily pump up the price.
Selling in a buyer's market
This year you may have less competition and better prospects. But buyers are still a tough bunch.
Setting the stage for a home sale
Spring arrived very early this year in much of the country, bringing what traditionally is the best time to buy and sell real estate, even...
When good deals go bad
After languishing on the market for months, a buyer has finally signed a contract to purchase your home. Think congratulations and Champagne...
Selling the family home means letting go of a legacy
Chris Smith grimaced as he surveyed the faded floral carpet in his parents' upstairs hall, then sidled past the small cross and family...
The great divide: Divorce and home sale
Divorcing spouses who are selling their house are much better off if they can keep their emotions under control.
Agents getting creative in fight to sell, survive
It's been six years since the real estate downturn began. And while the industry has shrunk, the market remains competitive.
How reliable are home-listing websites?
In the old days, if you were looking for a new place to live, you picked up the newspaper, looked at the real estate classifieds, put on...
How to sell your home fast
Our neighbors recently put their home on the market. They received an excellent offer within 24 hours of listing the property and got more...
'Short sale hell' all too common
Q: I am having a horrible time dealing with my mortgage lender (one of the big five that was just named in the $25 billion foreclosure...
Contingency sale offers becoming more acceptable
For homeowners looking to upgrade — or downsize — their residences, it's a difficult chicken-or-egg question: Which comes first,...
Selling a home: The new realities
I've been hearing lately from homeowners who are preparing to list their homes for sale. They know the market isn't great, but they've...
Finding the perfect ally to help you sell your home
Like many homeowners, John Kennedy bought his Chicago condo when home prices were high. But when he got married and wanted a bigger place,...
Code violations can sink a real estate sale
What comes to mind when you hear the term "code violation"? If you're like most people, you think of a breach of the local building code...
Appraisers see green in energy
If you install a high-efficiency furnace or a truckload of insulation, you'd probably like to get credit for adding value to the place.
Pricing a home to sell
During the housing boom, many real estate agents found it extraordinarily tough, if not impossible, to come up with even ballpark asking...
Open-house strategies that work
Sellers often think of open houses as opportunity time. They expose a listing to buyers who might not otherwise see it.
Web tools for appealing property tax assessment
higher than their current value, according to the National Taxpayers Union. That's because local governments assess properties, on average,...
Taking the fear out of foreclosure
People fear foreclosure almost as much as they fear death. But unlike death, foreclosure can be prevented.
Practice these safe showing habits
As crime victims go, real estate agents don't hold a candle to taxi drivers, who suffer the highest rate of homicide of any particular...