Learn how to Own A Condo
DuPage County is one of the Chicago area's most talked about regions, and for good reasons: Solid communities, award-winning school districts, virtually unlimited retail, dining and recreation choices, plus more.
But one aspect of housing not often heard anymore regarding DuPage County is "affordable." The real estate boom of recent years and the region's growing popularity among home buyers has driven up prices, often beyond the reach of many individuals, couples and families who make reasonable incomes.
The affordability crunch affects more than just those who are on the outside looking in. Also impacted are home buyers who were able to purchase in DuPage but only with the aid of adjustable rate mortgages that are now resetting to higher rates.Â
These topics will be addressed at a free Homeownership Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 1, 2008 at the DuPage County Administration Building, 421 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton.
Sponsored by the DuPage Homeownership Center (DHOC), the Fair will offer free home buyer education and foreclosure prevention workshops. "If you dream of owning your own home, or are worried about your currrent mortgage, the place to start is the free Homeownership Fair," says DHOC Executive Director Dru Bergman.
OwnACondo.com will be taking part in the fair, presenting its exclusive listing at Briarton Place Condominiums in Glen Ellyn. With prices well under $100,000 for one-bedroom condominium homes, Briarton Place condos are easily the most affordable residences in the area.
We'll have a reminder posting for the event in this blog as the date draws closer, but in the meantime click here to read more about the Fair.
Stimulus Plan Can Help Sell Condos
As many taxpayers await the $600 rebate checks scheduled to be mailed in a few months as part of the government's economic stimulus plan, a less-publicized component of the plan may help pick up the pace of the real estate market by raising the cap for FHA loans. In a nutshell, it means that more loans may qualify for FHA, the government-backed loan program. Click here to learn more.
Mortgage Applications Rise for Condos Again
"Skyrocketed" is how CNNÂ is describing the level of new mortgage applications made in the last couple weeks.Â
Citing seasonal volatility and dropping interest rates (as noted in a January 14 posting on this blog), CNN is reporting that applications are up a whopping 28.4%  for the week ending Jan. 11, 2008. It is the second consecutive week of increased application activity.
Read the entire CNN story here.
Mortgage Interest Rates, Already Low, Take Another Dip
Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate averaged 5.87% for the week ending January 10, 2008. Freddie Mac said the rate is the lowest since September, 2005.
Who the heck is Freddie Mac? Well, many people wonder. It's a name seen and heard frequently in the media, often without a word of explanation. Freddie Mac is not a person, but a stockholder-owned corporation chartered by Congress to increase the funds that mortgage lenders can make available to home buyers and multifamily-unit investors. These lenders are mortgage bankers, credit unions, savings institutions and commercial banks.
Freddie Mac has been in existence for almost 40 years with a mission of providing a continuous and low-cost source of credit to finance America's housing.   Â
Learn more about this vital organization here, and be sure to contact OwnACondo.com at 866-696-2266 if you'd like more information from our preferred lenders about condo loans, how to qualify, and much more.
There’s more than Owning a Condo
Can by can, box by box, food donations have been marching through the door here at OwnACondo.com's Oak Brook headquarters, a real estate brokerage focused on selling condos.
Fueled primarily by our sales associates and office staff, but open to anyone who'd like to contribute, the food is being collected as part of a drive by MORe, the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors. As described in a Dec. 17, 2007 posting on this blog, MORe has been conducting the drive for many years around the holiday season. Last year the organization handed over more than 3,000 pounds to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, all from collections made by local real estate offices in MORe's west and south suburban coverage territory.
That's OwnACondo.com's office manager Victoria Ramirez, pictured, organizing some of the non-perishable food items collected so far. The drive continues until January 15, 2008. We'd love to see you at our offices with any donation you'd care to make. Non-food items such as toothpaste, deodorant, diapers, etc. are also needed. Just come to Suite 209 at 2001 Midwest Road, Oak Brook, any day between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. until January 15. If your arms are loaded, just let us know so we can hold the doors for you!
