Real Estate
-
Professional ranges won't ordinarily waste natural gasJul 09, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. I have always liked to cook and I particularly like the large professional gas ranges. I am concerned that the big burners use more gas. Are they efficient and should...
-
1850s barn retains rural feel while giving home 21st century luxuryJul 04, 2009 11:00 pm - Richard Panichi always wanted to live in a barn house. He read about barns, researched barns, and looked at barns being sold in Kane and McHenry counties for more than a...
-
Buyers dismayed by unsigned building permitsJul 04, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. We bought our home about four months ago, and now have a big, undisclosed problem. The house is very old and was completely renovated; not by the person who sold us t...
-
Mortgage repayment yields big returnsJul 04, 2009 11:00 pm - One consequence of the financial crisis has been to make investment in mortgage repayment increasingly attractive. Mortgage repayment is a riskless investment that yield...
-
Below market value for a quick saleJul 04, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. Help! Our 72-year-old friend is undergoing severe stress with a son in Iraq and estranged daughter-in-law and grandchildren. She wants to move out of the home she's b...
-
Tepid-water problem has reader heatedJul 04, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. I had our hot water heater checked out (it's gas). The pipes are not reversed, and everything else in the new tank checks out just fine. I had a new tank, which I tho...
-
How to painlessly prepay a mortgage and save thousandsJul 02, 2009 11:00 pm - There are several ways for borrowers to pay their loan off ahead of schedule and save tens of thousands in finance charges in the process. Q. I have 21 years left to go ...
-
Appraisal rules under fire
Jul 02, 2009 11:00 pm - WASHINGTON - It's by far the hottest controversy in real estate this summer, and it could directly affect the value of your house - probably negatively - by tens of thou...
-
Hot ceiling keeps air conditioning running too muchJul 02, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. Even though my house is adequately insulated, my air conditioner runs a lot. On sunny days, the bedroom ceiling seems hot, so heat must be coming from the hot roof. H...
-
There should be no double standard for satellite dishesJun 27, 2009 11:00 pm - Q. Two tenants in my apartment community have recently installed satellite dishes, which are attached to the fascia of the building. One is on the fascia above the patio...