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It may be the perfect thing to help you cool off this summer, but a swimming pool tops Trulia’s list of upgrades that add little to a home’s resale value. According to Trulia, when it comes time to sell your home you may not recoup the investment you make in adding a pool. That’s because a pool can be a hit-or-miss home feature unless you live in a warm climate. Buyers with small children or those who want a low-maintenance backyard may actually view a swimming pool as a turnoff. To see which … [Read more...]

Just in time for wedding season, Trulia.com has released the results of a new poll that reveals most Americans would rather buy a house than splurge on a nice wedding. The poll asked men and women nationwide how they would spend a sizeable engagement gift of $30,000 or more. Nearly 70 percent said they would use the money as a down payment on a home. Only 6.1 percent said they would splurge on a dream wedding. The survey also revealed what people think is the perfect size for a first home. … [Read more...]

May was a month of weather so extreme nationwide that, as hurricane season approaches, the IRS is reminding tax payers to take steps now to safeguard their tax records from destruction. In the unfortunate event of a natural disaster, the agency says there are five ways individuals and businesses can ensure they have the tax records they need in case of an audit. One helpful tip is to use the cloud as much as possible. Even if you keep paper records, scan and save them electronically using a … [Read more...]

Struggling homeowners who file for bankruptcy will not get any help from the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to voiding their worthless second mortgages. On Monday, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling of two lower Florida courts that allowed two bankrupt homeowners to cancel their second mortgages because their home values were no longer worth what they owed for their first mortgages. Since second mortgages only get paid after first mortgages, attorneys for both homeowners argued that the … [Read more...]

Even the IRS is not immune from hackers. Earlier this week, the tax authority confirmed that identify thieves used social security numbers stolen elsewhere to access prior-year tax records for approximately 104,000 U.S. households. A new article in the Wall Street Journal helps shed some light on the burning questions concerned tax payers have raised. One of those questions is how exactly do you know if your prior-year tax returns were among those accessed by the thieves. According to WSJ, the … [Read more...]

A quick sale is the dream of just about every home seller. But how exactly do you shave time off the number of days your home sits on the market? According to a new Zillow article, there are 3 smart strategies that can help you close the deal faster than ever.  One strategy that may seem counterintuitive is to underprice your home. By listing your price slightly below the comparable sales in your area, you may actually attract multiple bids and incite a bidding war that could get you a price at … [Read more...]

When Drapac Group USA bought Fabbri’s Sausage plant last September for $3 million, they had every intention of holding on to the property for a while. But, when they recently received a $6 million offer for the property from Chicago-based residential builder MCZ Development, they could not pass it up. What’s so special about a sausage factory that it doubled in value in just eight months? It’s in Chicago’s meatpacking district, which is quickly becoming a hot spot for residential developers … [Read more...]

The number of local homes selling for more than $1 million is on the rise according to the latest RE/MAX Luxury Report on Metro Chicago Real Estate. First quarter transactions in Chicago were up 18 percent over 2014’s first quarter activity. In the entire seven-county metro area, turnover was faster with luxury home buyers finding a home 14 days sooner than buyers did last year.  Although sales were up, prices were down slightly with a median sales prices of $1,373,750 in Chicago. In the … [Read more...]

Most seniors envision their golden years as a time to enjoy the fruits of their decades-long labor. But for some, dwindling income coupled with out-of-control medical debt have made retirement more stressful than they had hoped. According to a recent article in The New York Times, bankruptcy may be a smart way for seniors to protect their retirement assets and eliminate the stress of being underwater financially. If considering filing, the article recommends that seniors first try to negotiate … [Read more...]

Move Inc. has lost a valuable piece of evidence in its trade-secret lawsuit against Zillow. Earlier this week, a Washington state superior court judge granted Zillow’s motion to strike an anonymous whistleblower letter from a former Zillow employee that alleged Zillow’s current chief industry development officer stole documents and databases from Move Inc. in order to improve its own real estate listings. Move Inc. had hoped the letter would compel the court to order third parties to produce a … [Read more...]