Purchasing a home is one of the largest financial decisions you’ll make in your lifetime, so it’s no surprise that saving up for a down payment can seem like a daunting task. Never fear! Here are seven tips to help you save!

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Finding the perfect home when you have school-aged students can be extremely frustrating. How many times have you found the house of your dreams just to discover that it’s one block outside of your preferred school’s boundary? Too many.

Luckily for you, on atproperties.com, you can use our advance search functions to search by school! Continue reading

Buying your first home can be confusing and overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. Educating yourself about the real estate market and staying informed on the latest trends and tips for buying a home can make the process smooth and seamless.

Before you embark on your home search, remember that a little research can go a long way toward getting you in your new front door — and with minimal stress.

Have your finances in order

Before you start searching for a home, check your credit score. Make sure the facts are correct and fix any problems you discover. Be sure to determine your budget — and take into consideration hidden fees like special assessments and any home repairs or renovations you need to make once you move in. Even when you’re eager to move toward a sale, shop around to make sure you’re getting the best deals on your loan/mortgage rates.

Seek help from a real estate agent

Find an agent you can trust to help you throughout the whole home buying process, from searching for a home in the neighborhood you desire to placing an offer that will stand out and even navigating a successful close.  You don’t want to make an offer in haste before you’ve thoroughly researched the market’s availability, and your real estate broker will know
the market better than anyone.

Some of the most common mistakes homebuyers make occur because there’s little awareness of the common pitfalls. Your real estate broker already knows what is necessary to prevent potential negative situations, so utilize your resources.

Get a home inspection

Faults in your home may not catch your attention at first glance. When deciding to not invest in a home inspection, you’re risking incurring extra expenses and discovering hidden defects in your house. Being educated about the current condition of your home is worth the low up-front fees and will lessen the likelihood of incurring pricy home repairs when you move in.

Be careful when examining homes that need to be fixed up. You might end up pouring more money and time into it in the long run than you think.

For more tips visit: American Home Shield.

Luxury is back – and in a big way.

Sales of homes priced at $1 million or more in the Chicago area jumped 33 percent in 2013 from the year before, according to a recent Chicago Magazine article. The increase was spurred along by the improving housing market and economy, as well as ultra-low jumbo mortgage rates. But the sentiment among many luxury homebuyers and most brokers is that luxury inventory is still tight. So if you’ve been thinking about listing your luxury home, now is a great time to do so.

At @properties, we offer high-end sellers and buyers the best resources and service to be successful in today’s luxury marketplace. Continue reading

Let’s talk for a minute about “not normal.” Sometimes not normal can be scary, like when your teenage daughter brings home the bass player from a Norwegian heavy metal band.

But not normal can also be a beautiful thing.

Recently, a few seemingly unwitting patrons in New York City bought paintings by the renowned graffiti artist Banksy for a couple hundred dollars each. The paintings are believed to be worth over $100,000.

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If you’ve been thinking about buying a more expensive home, now is the time to make a move. That’s because interest rates on jumbo mortgages, which in the Chicago metropolitan area are loans over $417,000, have fallen below rates on smaller conforming loans.

How often does such an inversion occur? Try never. Yes, economists believe this is the first time jumbo mortgage rates have gone upside down on conforming rates, which means luxury buyers have a historic opportunity that probably won’t be available for very long. Continue reading

Chances are you or someone you know has experienced flooding at some point.

Following the massive storms in the Chicago-area, many home buyers and sellers have found themselves unsure of what to do in this scenario.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you are in the process of buying or selling a home. Continue reading