What the heck is PITITUM???! PITI is a common mortgage term and stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes & Insurance. But I have started advising homeowners to get on the PITITUM bandwagon and get a more realistic handle on their budget, and what they can afford…
PITITUM = Principal + Interest + Taxes + Insurance + Transportation + Utilities + Maintenance
I [...]
The Wall Street Journal reported this weekend that home sales are looking down in May. The federal home buyer tax credit expired on April 30th. This is consistent with what I am seeing in the market. I am expecting a big drop in pending home sales for May and June. Disappointed?, yes. Surprised?, no.
Much like [...]
When I work with potential sellers I always go over what I call the “Moving Van” slide. Too often, sellers size up who they think it their competition – homes with a “for sale” sign. But I tell them, you don’t want to study those guys. Instead study the families who had a moving van [...]
The tagline for my business is “sage living” – be smart (sage) about going green! My favorite sage way to go green is through a home energy-efficiency retrofit. It’s the best way to make an impact with fewer dollars.
I recently learned about the “Pyramid of Conservation” which ranks green projects from highest to lowest complexity. [...]
You know all those friends of yours who moved out to Aurora and bragged about how cheap their homes are? Well, the Center for Neighborhood Technology today released a way to look apples to apples at what it really costs you to live in any of 161,000 neighborhoods! The new study defines “affordability” from the standpoint of [...]
While President Obama was at Savannah Tech in Georgia on Tuesday announcing his HOME STAR plan, I was on Capitol Hill promoting the same proposal to several Congressional representatives or their staff! As Obama outlined in his speech, the proposal is a job creation idea – pulling unemployed contractors from the hard-hit construction workforce to [...]
Out of the whole Remodeling Magazine survey this year, one project jumps out at me – entry door replacement. This year in the midwest a new entry cost $1229 and added $1106. It recouped 90.1%, putting it in the top spot. That doesn’t reflect the fact that entry doors are eligible for an ENERGY STAR [...]
Remodeling Magazine recently came out with its 2009 Cost vs. Value Report. It is interesting to see that this year many of the top projects had an energy efficiency angle. I think the report is very valuable for homeowners as usual. But instead of just looking at the value various projects add at resale, how [...]
As you know, the spring real estate market came early this year. This is due to the extension of the home buyer credits ($8000 for first-time buyers, $6500 for current home owners through 4/30.*) The tax credit has motivated many sellers to get off the fence and list their homes, so we are seeing nice, [...]
Furnace, water heater, AC and appliance rebates are coming soon to Illinois. Funds are limited. Plan your upgrade today!