Joanne Cleaver – Page 3

Commentary: Quilters are patching together hope through mask-sewing effort

March 27, 2020 at 5:38 p.m.

Once again, it's the quilters' turn to save America. Doctors, nurses, EMTs and caregivers all need face masks. And while production ramps up to bring the official, virus-filtering N95 respirator...

Christa Haynes of Aurora works for New York Life and has cycled in and out of working for the company as a commissioned representative and as a salaried employee. Haynes and her husband had some difficulties getting a mortgage due to her commission-based job.

Buying a home in the gig economy: How to beat lenders’ skepticism without a salary

March 18, 2020 at 12:46 p.m.

When Christa Haynes and her husband bought their Aurora house in 2017, she presented each mortgage lender with a raft of paperwork proving the source of her income as an...

Brian and Josie Wakefield pose for a portrait with their 3-year-old twins Connor, right, and Daisy, and dog Hercules on Feb. 14, 2020 in Plainfield. The family recently moved into their new four-bedroom home.

Goodbye, winter lull? Chicagoland real estate market no longer bound to peak spring season

February 18, 2020 at 11:35 a.m.

Pay no attention to lingering snow flurries and cold winds: In the world of residential real estate, the forsythias and crocuses are blooming, and the spring selling season has sprung....

Rather than secretive "pocket listings," Chicago-area real estate agents can share listings that will be coming soon via a private listings network.

Secretive, exclusive ‘pocket listings’ are no more, but Chicago-area real estate agents have a new way to preview homes for sale

January 21, 2020 at 3:09 p.m.

Being invited to a secret real estate club flatters the ego but could flatten prospects for selling your house. The long-debated realty agent practice of "pocket listings" — involving agents'...

Banking on home equity to retire? Better check those expenses

December 17, 2019 at 1:00 a.m.

Cynthia Del Medico has owned her Park Ridge home for 33 years and she's starting to wonder exactly what kind of return she and her husband might get from it...

Benigna Munsi, dressed as the Christkind, or Christ Child, stands on the Church of Our Lady balcony in November to open the traditional Christmas market in Nuremberg, Germany.

From Nuremberg to Chicago, the best Christmas markets thrive on authenticity

December 5, 2019 at 12:00 a.m.

Last month, seemingly overnight, wood-framed huts with candy cane-striped awnings sprouted in tidy lines across the cobblestone plaza of this Bavarian city. A cool breeze carried ginger, cinnamon and the...

Ken Fisher, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Fisher Investments, speaks during a television interview in New York in 2010. Fisher recently came under fire for inappropriate remarks he made about women.

Commentary: When big business and religion insult women with sexism, they should expect a kick in the … wallet

October 24, 2019 at 2:04 p.m.

Sexism is getting expensive. Investing icon Ken Fisher made a swan dive into a pool of egg salad at a recent invitation-only financial summit. He compared the process of gaining...

William Decker inspects the exterior of a house for sale on Aug. 19, 2019, in Addison.

Your DIY home renovation project may actually lower its value. 10 things to know before you start the work.

August 30, 2019 at 10:17 a.m.

When it comes to misguided do-it-yourself home improvement projects, William Decker has had enough. "I've seen most of it, and most of it I'd like to forget," said the owner...

When suburban golf courses close, residents and cities often clash over what to do with the land. Some manage to avoid the drama.

August 13, 2019 at 9:17 a.m.

Wildflowers spread across the Highland Park Country Club golf course in the northern suburb. Kids are welcome to run on the grass. Neighbors are invited to stroll through the park...

It’s not a hotel. It’s not Airbnb. Meet the short-term rental startups setting up shop in Chicago

July 15, 2019 at 11:41 a.m.

Short-term apartment rental companies with a new twist on a classic concept are colonizing downtown Chicago buildings. Start-up companies that operate hundreds of apartments are competing with long-established "corporate rental"...

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