Marla Schneider - Move with Marla

In today's poor economy, sometimes Junior and his family have to move back in with Mom and Dad because their own home is being foreclosed on. Is this becoming a trend? Some people studying such things seem to think it may be.

In past years multi-generational housing was not as rare as it became in the last few years. Widowed or ill parents may have moved in with their children, but now the trend is going the other way and children are moving back in with their parents. Also brothers and sisters are moving back in together as they did in past generations and even relatives that are further removed from each other may find living together as a viable option in today's poor economy.

All this living together may also be changing the homes themselves. What used to be a family room in a Wilmette home is now an extra bedroom and everyone uses the living room for family time. Big closets can be made into smaller closets to make larger rooms for grandchildren. Got a huge foyer you don't really use? Turn it into a stairway and add some rooms upstairs for those returning to the nest.

While people may not be rushing out to add mother-in-law apartments to their homes during a recession, new home builders may be doing just that. Though it's too soon to tell for sure, some speculators seem to think multi-generational housing is here to stay.

Let the Marla Schneider Team help you find just the right house for however many people you need to house. Marla has homes available in Wilmette, Glenview, the North Shore and Northbrook.

If you've finally located a house in Glenview or Wilmette you think you'd like to purchase, the next question may be how to go about writing a good purchase offer. A good thing to remember is that the homeowner you'll be purchasing this home from does have the final say on whether or not he wants to sell the house to you. If you're really serious about buying, it's best not to offend the seller.

In fact, besides just not offending, why not try to get on his good side by letting him know how much you love his house and how you see your family living in it and enjoying it just as his has done. Consider mentioning plans you have for how your children will use the basement or how much your little pooch will love his new backyard.

Don't apologize for your offer. This may lead the seller to think that there are others out there who would pay more, and he may be willing to wait until they show up and make their own offer. It's a good idea to try to find out why the seller is leaving. Does he absolutely have to sell or is the house on the market just in case a great offer comes along? This can make a difference in the seller's mindset as well as in how low an offer he will consider and whether or not your low offer is even worth your time in making it.

Don't preach about it even if you believe his price is too high. It is, after all, what the seller believes his place in Northbrook is worth and he may have put a lot of thought into setting the price. Be willing to negotiate as a way of keeping everybody happy. Don't be unreasonable in what you ask the seller to do. Dropping the price is one thing but leaving all the furniture is quite another.

Let the Marla Schneider Team help you with your purchase offer after you find the perfect home in Glenview, Wilmette, Northbrook or the North Shore.

If foreclosure is becoming a bigger possibility on your horizon, take some steps now to get out from under that cloud by quickly selling your house.

Pricing, marketing and condition are the three most important factors in selling a home quickly, and you as the seller have control over them. Begin by setting a price that is low enough to get people to look at your home in Glenview. Many buyers won't even take a look and make an offer if they feel the listing price is too high. And of course, the more people you have looking at your house, the better chance you have to sell it quickly and avoid foreclosure.

If you're really ready and willing to sell your house quickly, have your real estate agent show you the selling prices (not the listing prices) for comparable homes in your area. Drop your asking price by 10%, which will make it seem like a bargain, and you will probably have a much better chance of selling it quickly.

Marketing is the next item to consider. Since 80% of today's home buyers start their house hunting on the Internet, make sure your agent is adding your home's listing to several sites. You can even add it to some yourself, since the more visibility it gets, the more likely you are to get a quick sale.

Pictures are another must-have on the Internet as well as in real estate magazines and newspaper ads. The more pictures, the longer possible buyers will look at your listings.

Finally, the condition of your home needs to be considered. If foreclosure is looming, you won't want to be spending much time or money in fixing up the old homestead but minor cosmetic repairs and paint can go a long way to helping snag a sale. Also be sure to move out all the clutter and have the home in immaculate condition when home buyers show up.

For more suggestions on how to sell your home quickly, call Marla Schneider or take a look at the helpful items on her site. She knows how to sell homes in Wilmette, Glenview, the North Shore and Northbrook quickly.

In an effort to make their monthly mortgage payment a lower amount, many people look at getting a loan with a longer payback period. While this will probably make for a lower monthly payment, is it really enough to make the longer term a good idea?

Let's look at an example to see how much a longer mortgage term will save per month and how much more it will end up costing over the term of the loan.

In our example, the Smiths are going to borrow $100,000 at 5% interest for 30 years to purchase their dream home on the North Shore. This would give them a monthly payment of $536.

To borrow that same $100,000, again at 5%, but for 40 years, the monthly mortgage payment would be $482, a savings of $54 per month. Over the whole 40 years, however, this loan would end up costing a grand total of $38,400 more than the total of the 30-year payoff.

Another problem that the Smiths will encounter in extending the loan out to 40 years, is that the interest rate will probably not remain at the lower percentage rate of the 30-year loan but will escalate to a higher interest rate making the cost of the 40-year loan even bigger.

One good thing about a 40-year loan is that extra mortgage payments can be made to pay the loan off more quickly, thereby incurring less in interest payments.

Let the Marla Schneider Team help you with learning about the right mortgage for your circumstances when you decide to buy in Wilmette, Glenview, Northbrook or the North Shore.

Even when consumers are purchasing a brand new house in Northbrook. Glenview or on the North Shore, it doesn't always mean there will be no defects. And when problems arise, it's not always easy to get the builder to come back and make things right. Here are a few tips to keep in mind that can help protect you from the possibility of home defects in your new home.

1. At least two weeks before closing, hire an inspector to look over the new house. Go with him and ask any and all questions that you may have or that may occur to you during the inspection process. If problems are found, bring them to the attention of the builder right away. With today's poor market for new homes, builders will be more reasonable and willing to fix things if you find the problem before closing. Make sure the builder realizes that you are ready and willing to close but the problem must be taken care of first.

2. If there are only a few small things needing fixed, maybe some paint touch-up that you could do yourself if necessary, it may be OK to go ahead and close as planned. But if the problems are large, make sure to get them fixed first, before closing.

3. If you've already closed on your new home, at least get it inspected by a professional before the warranty expires. While it's not always easy to make a claim, it's almost impossible after the warranty expires. Even building inspectors may disagree on what constitutes a big problem that's worth a claim and you, as the homeowner, will have to make the final decision on whether a claim is worth it or not.

It's always a good idea to get your ducks in a row before problems arise, whether buying a house in Wilmette, Northbrook or the other end of the country. Before closing, while you still have the money in your hand, builders will be much more willing to cooperate in fixing defects.

To find the perfect new home for you and yours, talk to the Marla Schneider Team. They have beautiful listings available in Northbrook, Wilmette, the North Shore and Glenview.