Columns

From roughly mid-spring to now mid-summer, mortgage rates have moved up approximately half a point, which is a big move in the mortgage industry. Recent job gains in June have exceeded analyst expectations, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve will follow suit with a rate increase. It is now expected that the Fed will begin to raise short-term rates for the first time in approximately eight years in September 2015. The expectation has a lot of people wanting to purchase this year to lock in that low rate for the next 15 to 30 years. I have also has quite …

With recent changes to the real estate market, a seller never want a transaction to fall through once their property has gone under contract. Don’t make a mistake or a hard-headed decision that diverts you from the path you’re on, which is to make it past the closing table to the sale of your house. The biggest mistake I see a seller make is agreeing to make a repair brought up by a buyer only to not complete it. If you agree to make a repair, make sure it is completed in a timely manner. The buyer WILL come back …

  Powers of attorney are your financial lifeblood as you enter your senior years, but oftentimes they’re not taken serious until it’s too late. We had six senior couples come into our office this week, all of whom had powers of attorney that were nothing more than simple documents that would be useful only to clients who are 25 years old. This is a potentially devastating problem that can be corrected if the senior has the requisite mental capacity to execute new documents. If, however, the senior has diminished capacity, then we are left with these almost worthless powers of …

  I have written this column every month for the past 11 years and, in the process of researching for what to write, I learn how much I didn’t know! I have been on a multi-month odyssey looking for petitions for naturalization, and I have found out yet more new information that should make life easier. Last month, I concluded that the only way to find Cook County Circuit Court petitions and Superior Court petitions was to order microfilm from LDS to your local Family History Center. There is an easier way! It turns out that the complete set of …

  Let me say that many of us have left Roseland but we’ve never left behind the people, places or good times that Roseland gave us. The rich history and connection that we have carried with us these many years is borne out in the respect we have for many of those we knew in our youth who are now elderly. Among these “precious gems” from our youth that have always shined brightly when we recall them is the late Anne Ronzani. Anne Ronzani (nee Lavarda), passed away June 5, one day before her 97th birthday. She was the wife …

  As I was hustling between the raindrops en route to our place in the local Memorial Day Parade (my daughter’s grammar school class marches every year and I’m in charge of the all-important tossable candy), I was stopped by a group of “bikers” in the parade who have come to my rock shows before. “Hey, thanks for all the great music. We come to all your shows,” the leather-clad rider said. A couple other Harley owners also gave me a “thumbs up.” Now, I am not a biker nor have I ever ridden on one before. Have I ever …

What is middle-class estate planning? It’s a must! As we have written in the past, for many years estate planning was driven primarily by estate tax minimization. Now with the estate tax exemption at $5.43 million per person, there are very few middle-class individuals that need to worry about federal state tax and their estate plan. Does that mean that no estate planning is necessary for the middle class? Absolutely not. Instead, with this freedom from the need to focus on the estate tax planning, there are plenty of opportunities and resources to focus on matters that are far more …

  It is not clear when the Federal Reserve will pull the trigger and raise shorter-term rates. It has been quite some time since the Fed has had to do this. The last time they raised rates was in 2007. Let me be clear, what the Fed raises is not mortgage rates, but rather a short-term rate that is call the Fed Funds Rate. This is the rate that banks charge to borrow money from each other. If the Fed raises this rate, then banks will usually increase their rates to consumers or business that borrower to them. This will …

Last month we learned how to find our ancestors’ applications to become United States Citizens. I would like to add some new information about the process first after spending the past month trying to find many distant relatives. The only index on line is an index to the card file. This is what the card looks like:     The first critical piece of information we need is the “Title and location of court”. There are basically three choices here that cover 99% of the people in this index: US District Superior Court Cook County Circuit Court Cook County A …

The rental market these days is hot, hot, hot! A recent study showed that renters will spend up to 45 percent of their monthly income on housing. With the real estate market still in recovery mode and younger people leaving the nest earlier than in recent decades, rental properties can be lucrative. So what will set your rental property apart from the rest? When someone is looking to rent, they will look at numerous properties. What will make them choose yours after they slim the list down? Location is not always the key, with a potential tenant choosing amenities over …