Despite the problems a poor credit score can cause, Experian’s Sweet recommends that people who are in financial dead ends, like totally unaffordable mortgages, it’s better to recognize that and cut your losses quickly; don’t prolong the problem.

“You need to do what you need to do to get your finances back in order,” she said. “Don’t worry about your credit score.”

Whatever your situation, consult your accountant, lender, attorney, and anyone else who can help you make the right decisions for your financial future.

“Local prices fell 1 percent in October compared with September, the first drop after five straight monthly increases, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price indices.”

“Home prices in the Chicago area were down 10.1 percent in October compared with October 2008.”

Come on first time buyers and qualified repeat buyers: take advantage of the tax credit!  Many say, however, the housing market and the economy can’t rebound by themselves — we need companies to start hiring.

Check out these reader questions and answers from the Chicago Tribune about basic energy-saving techniques.

The main point?  Both spouses must qualify on all counts in order to claim either the $8,000 tax credit and the $6,500.  For instance, neither could have owned a home previously to qualify for the first-time $8,000 credit.  

From the article,

“Tim Justice, a software company manager in northernKentucky, says he’s been monitoring the IRS’ Web site daily, hoping to find an answer on whether he can claim the credit. Justice got married in October, and he and his wife bought a house about a month later. He qualifies for the $6,500 credit; his bride doesn’t.”

Remember, you only qualify for the $6,000 tax credit if you have owned your principal residence for 5 or more years!

But before we get ahead of ourselves, it won’t be bouncing back until local companies begin hiring again, which isn’t expected to be happening any time soon, according to the Crain’s article.

Until jobs start popping up, potential renters are choosing to live with friends or family, and doing anything to save some money.  C’mon jobs! Without them, there won’t be a stable housing or renting market.  Hopefully a turn around is closer than we expect.

In fact, the unemployment rate fell to 10% last month, from 10.2%, losing fewer jobs than economists expected.  So, a turn around could be close, at least let’s hope so.

Mary Ellen Podmolik from the Chicago Tribune came out with this entertaining article a couple days ago on the reality of real estate reality television shows.

Apparently, HGTV’s “House Hunter’s” is far from reality, a few Chicagoans who have appeared on the show share.

I thought we knew by now that reality TV isn’t actually real?

Check out the article, there are some interesting comments by readers (one of which was actually on the show).

This announcement is to let you all know that the blog will now be only updated around three times a week!  Sorry, folks, but holiday hours are here!  No need to check back every day, but stay connected to still get a healthy dose of real estate  news, education, and fun stuff from The Condoist.

“Responding to complaints that too many borrowers are stuck in trial adjustments, administration officials said they will now focus more heavily on getting borrowers into permanent modifications. Government swat teams will go to the institutions to see what the holdup is and banks will have to submit progress reports twice a day during December.”

“Now it’s up to the banks to do their part to covert borrowers to permanent modifications,” said Michael Barr, an assistant Treasury secretary. “Servicers to date have not done a good enough job.”

Hopefully this helps some people!

Really!

Yes, this is concrete.

Pluses of concrete floors?

It’s durable, Environmentally friendly (we like that, it saves resources instead of needing glue, or sealers, etc.), great for allergy sufferers (allergens won’t build up easily), and a lot of creativity is involved (you can pretty much get a work of art for a floor with the different personal design options).

Negatives?

I know you were thinking of one already: IT’S COLD.  Concrete is cold, it’s a fact of life.  It can also be loud and carry sound.