2009 Illinois School Report Cards

On October 30, the Illinois Interactive Report Card posted the 2009 School Report Card results for public release (http://iirc.niu.edu/Default.aspx). If you have kids, you’re sure to find some of the information in the new school report cards interesting if not useful. Completely re-vamped, the new site allows you to break down the data by certain groups and even compare different schools side by side.

If you don’t have children, don’t discount the value of this information. If you plan on buying or selling, the quality of the school district often impacts the value of real estate. Prospective buyers are often willing to pay more for a home in an acclaimed school district, so this information should be considered when buying or selling a home.

Whether you’re listing or buying a house, make sure you do your homework and check out the school district. Even if you have no school age kids it does affect your overall home value.

 

 

Not Just Another Normal Day…

Have some free time? Normal Moments is a goup of volunteers helping families with profoundly ill children by doing everyday tasks that allow them more time with their families and a little less stress. Often, these families spend days on end sitting by a child’s hospital bed, and someone bringing in the mail or caring for the family pet can make a world of difference.

Check out their website, http://normalmoments.org ,and see if you can help. Little things really can mean a lot.

The Grass is Greener on the Other Side

The green side that is. It seems that everyone is thinking about being green these days, from our hybrid cars to our CFL’s (compact fluorescent light bulbs). Its on everyone’s mind. That’s a great thing…we owe it to ourselves, our kids and our environment to think that way.

There are also ways you can help your grass, bushes, trees, plants  and the environment at the same time. The website www.planetnatural.com is a great resource and tool with all sorts of information for keeping your outdoors as green as your indoors. Check it out before you do your next outdoor project. You’ll make your mother (earth) proud.

Vacation vs. Staycation

With the down economy, there has been a lot of talk about staying closer to home this year . Even with great reductions in travel costs, people are scaling back. The up side to this is that it gives our local economy a boost while helping out the environment, too.

There is a lot to do in Illinois and in the Chicagoland area. If you have not yet checked it out, go to the Illinois tourism website, www.fallfillment.com.  Now get out there and have some fun!

The Green Guide

National Geographic has a great website with a wealth of information for living healthier. Their fall guide is up now and it’s worth checking out. Even if you only take one thing from it, you will be well on your way to being greener.  www.thegreenguide.com

It’s in the Bag

Worldwide we use between  500 billion and a trillion plastic shopping bags every year. That’s a staggering number, but not surprising, since they are extremely cheap to process and so easy to carry out of the store. We shove them in drawers, hang them in closets, bring them back and forth to work and school to carry our lunch or projects. There are so many great uses for them, but what happens when they tear or we’re done with them?  

While we are trying to make life easier, we are filling landfills, clogging up road side drains, and endangering wildlife who eat the bags looking for the crumbs of food inside, eventually killing them. The bigger problem with those “great” little bags is that it will take hundreds of years for them to break down, and while that is happening, bits of toxins are getting into our soil and our water, which in turn gets into our plants, drinking water and food.

There is not a store out there today that does not have these little bags, but the good news is there is not a store out there that does not sell reusable bags. You know which ones I mean…they advertise the store name, or your local sports teams. They are great little bags, sturdy, also easy to carry out groceries, and lug your stuff to and from home. Plus, you can even get bags that support a cause and look stylish, too. But the best part of these reusable bags is no one gets sick, and no animals die from us using them. Andone last bonus?  Some stores even give you a discount for using them.

If you don’t already have one pick up a couple at the store and try them out. If we each made a concerted effort to use these bags think what  difference we could make.

Next time they ask you, “paper or plastic?” tell them proudly that you brought your own.  The earth will thank you.

Rent or Own?

6 to 9 months ago the answer was easy—rent. Most people could not qualify and the prices still had a lot of falling to do. That thought process has changed greatly. It has done a complete 360. The prices have come down to where they should be, rates are staying low, and the banks have loosened up the criteria to qualify for a loan. Oh yeah, and there’s that other little bonus thingy, the $8,000 you will receive off your taxes as a rebate next year. Buy now and don’t delay…it doesn’t get any better than this!

60 Days Left!

Only 60 days left, but plenty of houses to go. With no sign of an extension coming at this point, this could be the end of the government’s free money train for houses. The cash for clunker program sold over 700,000 cars in July and August and then in September the auto industry saw its biggest month to month dip in sales. Lets hope we don’t see that for real estate. Don’t delay–act today, and remember you must close by November 30, 2009 to qualify for the credit.

Housing Market Recovery

Housing Market Recovery?  No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you… I said recovery. The question is, what do you think of as a recovery? As a realtor I see the recovery as homes selling and closing.  I am seeing buyers getting the best deals around on homes, low interest rates, plus free money from Uncle Sam. Unfortunately, I am also seeing sellers losing a lot of value on a weekly basis. The most important difference (and the reason I say recovery) is that homes are selling and closing. As more homes sell, we see the inventory being depleted. Once we can get the supply more even with the demand we can start to see appreciation, and that’s what everybody wants. Well, everybody but the current home buyer….

Home Buyer Tax Credits

All good things must come to an end… or do they? The National Association of Realtors, along with the state and local real estate boards, are working hard to get an extension to the $8,000 home buyer credit and open it up to all home buyers thru June 30, 2010. Whether you’re a buyer, seller, or just a home owner watching your home value shrink away, everyone stands to benefit from an extension of this incentive. Currently, many home owners are sitting on the fence about making a move up, and a tax credit could help move them in the right direction. Other sellers who were planning a move up don’t have the equity to do it anymore. Such a tax credit could help many families move on as planned.  Strengthening the real estate market is key to our economic recovery. Click on the link below and contact your congressman and senators to make your voice heard on this very important tax credit.

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml