I have two beautiful, huge apartments for rent in my building in Rogers Park. The 2nd and 3rd floor are both available for July 1. MLS #'s 07229801 and 07216803. Each are 4 bedrooms, 2 baths with full, operable woodburning fireplaces, hardwood floors, french doors and windows, coved ceilings and central heat and air.

2nd floor has a brand new kitchen and partially rehabbed baths. 3rd floor has one of the baths fully rehabbed. These two apartments are about 2500 square feet each, larger than most homes.

See my Rentals Available section for more details.

According to Fair Isaac (www.myfico.com), the FICO score is calculated based on your rating in five categories:

1) Payment history (35%)

2) Amounts owed (30%)

3) Length of credit history (15%)

4) New credit (10%)

5) Types of credit used (10%)

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development just announced yesterday that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is going to permit lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit they are receiving as a down payment.

Until this, most buyers weren't going to receive the money until they filed their tax return which kept some buyers from taking advantage of the credit. 

First time buyers or buyers who have owned a principal residence in the last 3 years are eligible for this benefit and they must close between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009. As long as you remain in the purchased home or three years, the credit does not have to be paid back. The credit is reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers. Joint filers must have a gross income of $149,999 or below; single filer must not realize more than $74,999 in gross income to receive the credit.

For the first time in a year, foreclosure numbers in Chicago dropped 8%, but home foreclosures surged in the suburbs of Chicago. Foreclosure cases in DuPage, Will, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties jumped between 25% and 70% from the fourth quarter, according to numbers provided by the Woodstock Institute, a Chicago-based housing advocacy group.

Across the six-county Chicago metro area, foreclosure filings rose 6% in the first quarter to 17,819, the highest one-quarter total since the housing crisis first began in mid-2006.

While the first wave of foreclosures hit the poorer neighborhoods drowning in high-interest adjustable rate loans, the ripple effect is extending to middle-class neighborhoods where people qualified for standard rate mortgages.

The second home market for buyers is fantastic right now. Even though sales of vacation homes have dropped 30.8 percent, the demand for second homes still remains favorable because a large segment of the population is in the prime age group for buying vacation or investment property and prices have dropped. Most people become interested in buying a second home in their forties, but there are 40.7 million people in their thirties who also own vacation homes.

For more information on buying a second home, contact your local Realtor.

First time homebuyers accounted for more than 41 percent of the purchases of homes in 2008. Keep in mind that all first time homebuyers are entitled to a tax credit for their purchase. The tax credit is 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000 for homes purchased between January 1 and before December 1, 2009. No repayment is required as long as you own the home for three years. If the tax credit is more than the first time homebuyer's liability, the buyer will get a refund check for the balance. Income limits do apply. 

Also FHA, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have reinstated some new loan limits. The limits are equal to the greater of 125 percent of the 2008 local median income home price of $271,050 for FHA. In some higher cost areas of Illinois, the FHA loan limits will go up to $410,000 - in Chicago, for example. Loan limits are $417,000 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in Illinois.