Welcome Home Heroes Financing Program

Illinois Housing Development Authority Announces a financing program for our men and women that serve or have served for our country.  Please see the ex-cerpt below from their website and view the video from IHDA .  I have been educated in this and many other programs.  I will be happy to help you with any of your real estate questions.  Contact me today.

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Welcome Home Heroes financing package

Launched to honor those who sacrifice to safeguard our freedom, Welcome Home Heroes is open to all qualified Illinois veterans, active military personnel, reservists and Illinois National Guard members.

The Welcome Home Heroes homebuyer financing package includes:
• a $10,000 forgiveable loan over two years for down payment and closing cost assistance
• a 30-year fixed rate mortgage that has an affordable interest rate (4 percent as of 12/14/11)
• an optional mortgage credit certificate to reduce federal income tax liability.

Eligibility

• Veterans (who need not be first-time homebuyers)
• Active military personnel, reservists and Illinois National Guard members (must be first-time homebuyers)
• Buyers must qualify based on income and purchase price limits

To view additional information, please visit their website at:  http://ihda.org/homeowner/heroes.htm

Central Illinois Homes Guide Publication

View the new homes guide online!  Now quicker and easier to view.

Check it out and call me to see any home listed.  Enjoy!

http://www.mygazines.com/issue/54247/19

 

St Patrick’s Day and Shamrocks

Contrary to what some may think, a four-leaf clover and a shamrock are not the same thing.

Four-leaf clovers are more rare than the three-leaf variety, which is why it is traditionally thought to bring good luck when you find one.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, used a three-leafed shamrock in his sermons to explain how the Trinity – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

Make Your Own Luck

Sure, a four-leaf clover can be considered lucky, but if you really want to succeed in life, you need more than a good-luck charm. You need to learn how to make your own good fortune. Here’s how:

• Take advantage of opportunities.Richard Wiseman, a psychologist from the University of Hertfordshire in England and author of The Luck Factor, spent a decade researching people’s perceptions of their luck. Wiseman conducted an experiment in which he placed the same chance opportunities – money on the ground and a potential encounter with a well-connected businessman – in the paths of two different people. The person who considered himself to be lucky picked up the money, and then struck up a conversation with the businessman; the “unlucky” person, on the other hand, ignored both opportunities.
• Put on rose-colored glasses.How you view the people around you, everyday occurrences and the world overall can affect how lucky you feel. If you focus on good things, you’ll soon find that you feel better and begin to see more positives than negatives.
• Trust in yourself.Know your strengths and try to use them. Work on learning new skills and strengthening areas of your life that may be considered weaknesses.
• Be grateful and give more than you take. Finally, the old adage, “what goes around, comes around” seems to be true. If you begin each day with a thankful thought and go the extra mile for others, you’re likely to find that your positive nature comes back to you.

Practice Poison Prevention

The 50th Anniversary of National Poison Prevention Week is March 18-24, 2012. Sadly, on a daily basis in the United States, 374 children ages zero to 19 are treated in an emergency room, and two children die, as a result of being poisoned. It’s not just household chemicals clearly marked with warning labels that can be dangerous to children. Everyday items in your home, such as household cleaners and medicines, can be poisonous to children as well.

Use these tips from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help safeguard your children from accidental poisoning:

• Lock it up.Keep medicine and toxic products in locked or childproof cabinets.
• Know the number.Put the nationwide poison control center phone number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every telephone in your home. You should also program it into your cellular phone.
• Read the label.Follow label directions carefully and read all warnings when giving medicines to children.
• Don’t keep it if you don’t need it. Safely dispose of unused, unneeded or expired prescription drugs.

JANUARY 2012 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter

Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general.

The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau and Realtor.org reports, videos, key market indicators and real estate sales statistics, a video message by a nationally recognized economist, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, plus local neighborhood information and more.



Please click here to view the JANUARY 2012 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter.

If you are interested in determining the value of your home, click the Home Evaluator link for a free evaluation report.

Home Owners Insurance Q&A

Q: How do I know if I have enough homeowners insurance?

A: In an effort to save money, some homeowners have made cuts to their insurance coverage. This may not be the best idea. While you don’t want to pay too much, you also don’t want to be short on coverage should something happen. The ideal amount of coverage would allow you to rebuild your home in the event it is completely destroyed.

You should review your policies annually so that you understand what is and what is not included. If you have made any changes to your home, for example, if you undertook a large renovation project, you need to inform your insurance company of those changes.

Also, understand that most standard policies provide coverage for such disasters as fire, lightning, hurricanes and winter- related damage, like fallen tree limbs or burst pipes. They don’t, however, usually cover flood damage, including flooding from a hurricane. If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, you may want to consider purchasing extra protection.

As your trusted real estate professional, I’m here to help you.

 

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Your Spotlight Newsletter

Make Your Mantle A Masterpiece

A mantle can be the place where you highlight treasured family photos; it can also be a show-stopping focal point for your room. Whether you like minimalistic design or prefer to be surrounded with your favorite objects, here are some ideas to help you decorate your mantle:

• Go bold. If you tend to use neutral colors for your walls and furnishings, you can make your mantle really stand out by adding a bright “pop” of color. Consider using a vase of crimson tulips, a bowl of sunny citrus fruits or an array of colorful glass bottles.
• To balance or not to balance. If you like traditional décor, you might like a symmetrical look for your mantle. Try hanging a large painting, photo or mirror centered above your fireplace, then arrange a set of candlesticks, books or other matching knick-knacks on either end. But if you prefer to be a little different, go for an asymmetric look by using the decorator’s rule of “three to one.” According to this rule, artfully group three similar (but not the same) objects at one end of your mantle, then place one large object at the other end.
• Show off those photos. Select photos of friends, family and pets, then place them in a variety of frames. Mix shapes, styles and colors. Try to coordinate colors in the photos with the frames for a sophisticated, finished look.

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Your Spotlight Newsletter

Man Nearly Loses Home Over 80 Cents

Man Nearly Loses Home Over 80 Cents.

National Association of Realtors article…. A simple/small typo created a complicated/huge headache for this homeowner.   The lesson to learn?  Check and double check your payment history.  If you find an error, correct it immediately.  Especially if you have done a mortgage modification.

Enliven Your Entry Door

The exterior doors to your home take a lot of abuse from the elements. The sun’s rays can cause doors to dry and crack, while rain and other moisture can lead to mildew and warping. But replacing exterior doors can be quite expensive. If your doors are beginning to show their age, give them a like-new appearance with this simple step-by-step refinishing project:

1. Get ready. The first step to any do-it-yourself project is to gather the necessary tools and supplies. For this project, you will need: a hammer, a wooden spacer, a screwdriver, two sawhorses, an old blanket or drop cloth, sandpaper of various grits, stain or paint and brushes to apply these finishes.
2. Remove the door from its hinges. Open the door and support it by sliding the wooden spacer under the lock side. Next, remove the hinge pins by tapping the head of the pin up with a screwdriver. Remove the top pin last to keep the door stable while you work. Once removed, carefully carry the door to your work area and place it on top of two sawhorses that have been covered with an old blanket or drop cloth. This layer of padding should prevent your door from getting damaged while you work.
3. Remove hardware. Remove the existing lockset, deadbolt, and any other hardware. If you plan to reuse the hardware, note how it was attached to make reassembly easier.
4. Sand both sides of the door. Begin with a rough grit sandpaper to cut through the existing finish and smooth the weathered wood. After the door has been sanded to bare wood, switch to finer grit sandpaper to give the door a smooth surface.
5. Stain or paint your door. Remove any dust with a tack cloth or vacuum. When the door is ready for finishing, apply stain or paint according to manufacturer’s instructions. Next, finish the door with UV-resistant exterior polyurethane. For best results use a quality brush or apply the finish with a sprayer. To minimize brushstrokes, brush the finish in the direction of the grain.
6. Reapply hardware. Once the door has dried completely, you’re ready to reapply the hardware. If your door didn’t previously have a kick plate or door knocker, you may decide to dress it up by applying these as well.
7. Hang your new door. Carry the finished door back to your entryway. Rest the lock end of the door on the block of wood on the floor, and align the two halves of the hinges. Use a hammer to tap the pins back into the hinges, then remove the block.

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Your Insights Newsletter

Become a Preferred Buyer

When you begin house-hunting, it will help you narrow down the homes that you consider if you know how much you can afford to pay. You can do that by getting prequalified, or you can take the process one step further by getting preapproved.

Many people get confused by these terms and think they mean the same thing, when actually they are quite different. Being prequalified doesn’t mean that you have a commitment from a lender; it’s merely an indication of how much home you can afford. The preapproval process, on the other hand, is more in depth. Being prequalified means a lender has evaluated your income, monthly debt, employment and available down payment to determine the best loan for you and the amount for which you would likely qualify.

When you are preapproved, you actually have a lender’s written commitment to grant a loan once certain conditions have been met. For example, you will have to obtain a purchase contract to receive the money, as well as a satisfactory appraisal and a clear title report.

You can get preapproved even before you begin the house-hunting process. In some cases, the mortgage broker will honor the commitment for up to three months.

Sellers will likely view you as a preferred buyer if you are preapproved because they won’t have to wonder if you will be able to obtain financing. If a seller receives an offer from you with preapproval and one from a buyer who does not have financing, your offer is likely to get stronger consideration.

Call me if you have more questions. I would be happy to clarify the home buying and selling process and help with all of your real estate needs.

Your Insights Newsletter