Got the right stuff for loan? Then prove it
Check your credit report and start digging for documents. A handshake, broad smile and verbal income estimate no longer will yield a mortgage but lenders still are looking for more...
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Should you file a property tax assessment appeal?
It seems like a cruel joke to play on a homeowner in the current market. Despite the drop in property values, a letter arrives from the assessor's office detailing a...
Check area schools before signing on the dotted line
Prospective buyers are expected to ask their real estate agents a laundry list of questions when they tour a property or neighborhood, and one of the most common deals with...
So you want to sell your home by yourself?
Times are tough, your home isn't worth what it was a year ago and now you've decided to move. Do you need the services of a real estate agent to...
Hot real estate market versus one that’s not
Ask local real estate professionals where the hot spots are in the market right now and their immediate response is the same. It's not a pause while builders, real estate...
My home is worth how much?
Homeowners can't help but question what's happened to the value of their biggest investment, their homes, when they see the data released every month on the housing market. Just last...
Grocery costs test shoppers’ creativity
They avoid name brands, they avoid lunchmeat. They use coupons and voraciously comparison shop. They skip the breakfast cereal aisle, visit different supermarkets and, when desperate to stretch dollars, one...
Economy moves into uncharted territory
Bart Moccio opened a barbecue joint in west suburban Forest Park as the economy spiraled downward in December, and he's beginning to wonder if he bit off more than he...
The dreaded R-word is on everyone’s mind
When economists debate whether the U.S. is in recession, they calculate the thousands of lost jobs and the huge cost of mortgage foreclosures, but Felippa Janik counts cookies and pies....
Trucks pump up volume on luxury
Of all the 40-plus brands on display at the Chicago Auto Show, which opens Friday, no vehicle makes a bigger, shinier statement than Navistar International Corp.'s LoneStar. Weighing in at...