Joanne Cleaver – Page 5

Apps like Zillow serve up sexy photos but can lack important details. What homebuyers see isn’t always what they get.

May 20, 2019 at 8:56 a.m.

David Dahmer has been house hunting in the western suburbs for months. Online listings are his best friend and his worst enemy. The warehouse manager wants a garage, and the...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed last December puts a $10,000 cap on the deduction that taxpayers can take to offset what they pay in state and local taxes.

With Illinois property taxes high, some wealthy residents look to charitable donations for a break

May 20, 2019 at 8:52 a.m.

Bunching up charitable donations might smooth out some of the effects of the new income tax rules, especially for Illinoisans who pay among the highest property taxes in the country....

Vrushank Joshi, wife Pooja and daughter Kyra, 2, unpack items in the kitchen of their new home. The Joshis spent months looking for a house that fit their needs.

Sale prices up, market time down. Here’s a snapshot of the Chicago-area housing market.

May 20, 2019 at 8:50 a.m.

Vrushank and Pooja Joshi just moved to Buffalo Grove and they plan to stay put. The couple — he’s a computer systems administrator and she’s a physical therapist — looked...

Make America Great Again hats are for sale during a Governor's Day rally on Aug. 16, 2017, at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

Four ways America is greater, and you are welcome

May 31, 2019 at 4:22 p.m.

Amid the hailstorm of lies, denials, do-overs and comb-overs, it can be difficult to suss out any residual good that the Trump presidency is showering on beleaguered Americans. Like a...

The current property transaction process is a series of information handoffs from one party to another — credit report to lender, title verification to buyer, appraisal to everyone, and so on. Blockchain technology could create a single place where all parties record their data.

Could blockchain technology transform homebuying in Cook County — and beyond?

May 20, 2019 at 8:48 a.m.

From the opening bid to the close of the sale, the process of buying a house is likely the most convoluted, complex and redundant that most consumers face. Blockchain technology...

Icelandic pancakes, served at the Norwegian-Icelandic run Sunset Resort on Washington Island, are filled with frothy yogurt cream sauce and cherries, a Door County staple.

Door County vs. Leelanau: Which Midwest peninsula is tops? (Hint: Depends on the category.)

August 23, 2019 at 4:27 p.m.

Door County, Wis., and Leelanau County, Mich., wave at each other from across the northern reach of Lake Michigan. They compete for the second-city-like title of the “Cape Cod of...

Interior of the common area at 444 Social in Lincolnshire, Ill.

You know Illinois’ property taxes are sky-high. But the calculation process might surprise you.

May 20, 2019 at 8:44 a.m.

We're No. 2! But second place isn't usually something to brag about — and certainly not when it comes to property taxes. Illinois residents pay the second-highest property taxes in...

Homebuyers should be wary of what they say when speaking to an agent — if that individual isn't specifically representing them as a buyer's agent, any information they share could get back to the seller.

Here’s how to negotiate when buying a home. (Spoiler alert: It’s not like on HGTV.)

May 30, 2019 at 1:15 p.m.

“Don’t try this at home” applies just as much to real estate reality shows as it does to daredevil stunts. Viewers might think they’re too savvy to take the shows...

My diversity workshop training didn't turn out the way I anticipated.

I got kicked out of diversity training

May 31, 2019 at 4:26 p.m.

It’s not a good sign when you discover that everybody in a diversity workshop thinks the same way. I signed up for a one-month online workshop advertised as skill-building for...

Investors James Beran, from left, Ben Walhood and Scot Howat, all members of the Chicago Area Real Estate Investors Association, take part in a meeting at a Portillo's restaurant in west suburban Downers Grove.

Local investors partner up to take real estate plunge — and turn a profit

May 20, 2019 at 8:39 a.m.

After years of saving, insurance agent Jim Beran bought his Westchester house in 2012. He then spent two years living in and rehabbing the home to build enough equity to...

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