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Manage your Home Investment
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Written by Leslie Mann, Special to the Tribune
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No matter how large a new home is, there never seems to be enough space. Which is why a bonus room, designed with flexibility in mind, is a popular feature. How it's used depends on the homebuyers' lifestyle and changing needs.Homeowners appreciate having extra living space, whether it's an exercise room for running on a treadmill or a home office for crunching numbers.
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Your Credit
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Written by ForSaleByOwner.com staff
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As a newlywed, Amy Jo Lauber was determined to save enough money for a down payment on a house. Before getting married, she and her husband lived with their respective parents to save. And the couple tried valiantly to use creativity, not credit, to make their first Christmas together fun and inexpensive.
It wasn’t easy…which is how Lauber, now a certified financial planner and president of Lauber Financial Planning, can empathize with her clients. Everybody has an idealized definition of a merry holiday. And when reality fails to conform, spending more than you intended can jerryrig some joy, even if you know you risk derailing next year’s home purchase.
It’s hard to break that pattern – and a real downer during the happiest season of all. But there are ways to have fun spending while sticking with your long term financial priorities.
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Mortgage
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Written by Mary Ellen Podmolik, Chicago Tribune
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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 than a few good borrowers.
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Manage your Home Investment
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Written by Jeffrey Steele, Special to the Chicago Tribune
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Forty years ago, when the young Charles Page was first designing and building custom homes, he faced a pesky problem. The houses he built were going up amid the forests and marshes of suburban Riverwoods. Mosquitoes there were so thick, "I got to the point I just ignored the bites," Page recalled.
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Your Credit
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Written by ForSaleByOwner staff
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Down payments aren’t what they used to be – five years ago or ten years ago. Zero down payment loans have nearly evaporated, but instead of simply going back to the longstanding rules of thumb, lenders have adopted a new set of guidelines.
The bottom line going into 2012: Even for the lowest, FHA down payment of 3.5%, you will need an additional 2% to cover fees. Keep reading for a checklist of closing costs that increase the cash you must bring to closing.
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