Humboldt Park

Keep Your Home Safe : The Consumer Product Safety Commission Recalls 50 Million Window Coverings

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall on 50 million window coverings, specifically Roman and roll-up blinds. 8 million such products are sold annually.

According to representatives of the CPSC, the danger of Roman and roll-up blinds relates to stangulation — specifically of young children. The blinds’ design has led to 8 deaths and 16 near-strangulations this decade.

Despite the relatively small number of incidents as compared to the 125 million blinds sold since 2001, the Window Covering Safety Council is embracing the recall, offering safety tips and free retro-fit kits.

• Move cribs, beds and furniture away from window cords
• Keep window pull cords out of the reach of children
• Lock cords into position whenever possible — even if resting on a windowsill

The video from NBC News highlights the risk of Roman and roll-up blinds. Order your free retro-fit kit online.

A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (December 16, 2009 Edition)

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.

In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. economy “has continued to pick up”, that the jobs markets is getting better, and that housing market has shown “some signs of improvement” lately.

It’s the fourth straight statement in which the Fed speaks optimistically about the U.S. economy — a signal that the worst of the recession is likely behind us.

The economy isn’t without threats, however, and the Fed identified several, including:

1. Tight credit conditions for consumers
2. Reluctancy of businesses to hire new workers
3. Lower overall housing wealth

The message’s overall tone remained positive, however and inflation appears to be held in check.

Also in its statement, the Fed confirmed its plan to hold the Fed Funds Rate near zero percent “for an extended period” and to honor its $1.25 trillion commitment to the mortgage bond market. That plan — due to expire at the end of March 2010 — should be noted by today’s homebuyers. Fed insiders estimate that the program suppressed rates by 1 percent through 2009.

Mortgage market reaction to the Fed press release is negative. Mortgage rates are rising this afternoon.

The FOMC’s next scheduled meeting is January 26-27, 2010.

The Hidden Household Hazard That Will Send 40,000 People To The ER This Year

As temperatures turn cooler and home heating systems get fired, homeowners should learn to recognize the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and how to safeguard against it.

Carbon monoxide poisoning presents like the flu — headache, dizziness, and nausea. As a result, many people confuse the two.

Sometimes, the consequences are fatal. Each year, carbon monoxide sends 40,000 Americans to the emergency room and, as we learn from CBS News, those that survive are far more likely to develop and die from heart disease later in life.

Stay safe in your home.

1. Don’t heat your home using your gas oven


2. Don’t leave a running car in your garage


3. Service your gas-burning appliances annually

And, most important, install carbon monoxide detectors near every bedroom in your home.

How To Test A Home Smoke Alarm

According to the United States Fire Administration, there were an estimated 1.5 million domestic fires last year, resulting in more than 3,400 deaths.

Many of these deaths occurred in homes with no smoke detectors or no working smoke detectors.

When detectors fail, it’s often because its batteries are dead or missing. Therefore, make a point to test your smoke detectors annually.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Have somebody go to the farther point of the house from the detector


2. Push and hold the testing button for 5 seconds to activate the alarm


3. Confirm the alarm is audible by all parties

You should also buy smoke detector aerosol and spray it directly into the device. This will simulate a real fire. If the alarm doesn’t sound, the smoke detector will fail when it’s needed most. Replace the device immediately — even if it beeps when you push the Test button.

Smoke detectors are inexpensive and essential. Make sure the devices in your home are working properly. Test them at least once per year.

Why Now’s A Good Time To Consider An Adjustable Rate Mortgage

At least one thing is back to normal in the mortgage markets — it’s no longer cheaper to go with a fixed rate mortgage than an ARM.

As reported by Freddie Mac, a conforming 5-year ARM is priced a half-percent lower than a comparable 30-year fixed.

Earlier this year, the pricing was reversed.

It’s uncommon for fixed rate mortgages to be cheaper than comparable ARMs because, with fixed rate mortgages, lenders commit to a particular interest rate over long period of time. There is a lot of risk that comes with doing that.

By contrast, an adjustable rate mortgage is designed so that after a certain number of years, the mortgage rate changes to reflect the current market conditions.

In theory, ARMs are less risky for lenders than are fixed rate mortgages and, therefore, we would expect them to have lower mortgage rates. That wasn’t the case for the 6 months ending in early-May, however. When fixed rate mortgages were scraping the 4.500 percent marker in January, 5-year ARMs weren’t struggling to stay sub-5.

The same goes for late-April’s mortgage rate dip.

Historically, there’s been a trade-off between ARMs and fixed rate mortgages.

• ARMs give lower mortgage rates with less predictability


• FRMs give higher mortgage rates with more predictability

Earlier this year, market conditions rendered fixed rate loans the best of both worlds — lower rates and predictability. Today, we’re back to “normal”.

No matter how long you plan to live in your home, talk to your loan officer about your adjustable rate options, if only to know your options. Given today’s interest rate disparity and how it can affect your monthly mortgage obligation, you may find the unpredictable nature of an ARM to be acceptable risk.

Ceiling Fan Settings : Clockwise In Winter, Counter-Clockwise In Summer

With the start of May comes warmer temperates. But just because the mercury’s rising doesn’t mean your energy bills have to.

This quick Weather Channel video shows how a ceiling fan can cool a 78-degree room by up to 6 degrees and reduce the costs of running an HVAC unit. The key is to have the fan’s blades rotating in the right direction.

• When the heating system is on, blades should rotate clockwise
• When the air conditioning is on, blades should rotate counter-clockwise

By changing a ceiling fan’s blade rotation, a homeowner can push heat back into circulation to warm a room, or create a downward draft to make a room feel cooler.

How Swine Flu Helps Mortgage Rates

Monday, mortgage markets improved with news of new Swine Flu cases.

It’s a classic example of Safe Haven buying and today’s rate shoppers will see the benefits.

Mortgage rates improved about 0.125 percent Monday.

It’s not an official term, but “Safe Haven buying” describes the trading patterns in which large numbers of investors move money away from risky investments and toward safer ones. As a general rule in Safe Haven buying, stocks sell off and bonds make gains, including mortgage-backed bonds.

Fears that a global Swine Flu outbreak would slow the global recovery is a major reason why mortgage rates improved Monday.

Dumping risk is a common reaction on Wall Street when unexpected events occur. Because the future is uncertain, traders prefer to play it safe. Hence the jargon-like term, “Safe Haven buying”.

If nothing else, Monday’s mortgage rate action reminds us that the biggest influences on the market are often not the events we can prepare for. It’s the events we never saw coming.

This morning, with known Swine Flu cases spreading to Asia and a Phase 4 Alert from the World Health Organization, Safe Haven buying is continuing. However, with the Federal Reserve meeting today and tomorrow, markets could be ripe for a correction.

(Image courtesy: Niman and Google Maps)

Finding Yourself In A Multiple-Offer Situation? You’re Not Alone. And Here’s Why.

The days of rock-bottom housing prices may be reaching an end.

According to the National Association of REALTORS, the number of Existing Home Sales fell by a modest 140,000 units last month. It’s the fifth straight month in which home sales straddled the 4.5 million mark.

The national housing inventory is down 900,000 from its July 2008 peak.

These are two encouraging signs.

Meanwhile, in a separate report, the Commerce Department said the supply of newly-built homes for sale is at a 7-year low. This, too, is a positive signal for housing.

Home values are based on supply and demand. If the number of homes for sales falls while the number of buyers stays constant, home prices will rise. This is because the same number of buyers are competing for fewer properties. It’s basic economics and that may be what we’re seeing right now in the marketplace.

But the balance could shift further. Remember: the March housing data doesn’t account for first-time home buyers that used the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. Because the stimulus package didn’t pass until February, buyers on the program likely hadn’t closed on their respective homes before March data was released.

There’s a big piece of the demand side of the equation unaccounted for, in other words, and if you’re an active home buyer now, you’re probably hearing a lot about multiple-offer situations and seeing this action first-hand.

Data from the housing market hasn’t been outstanding, but it’s definitely not looking worse. Sales levels, inventories and home prices appear to be leveling off nationally and the number of active seems to rising.

Overall, it points to higher home values ahead.

How To Know If Your Adjustable Rate Mortgage Will Adjust Lower This Year

When conforming mortgages adjust, they’re often tied to an interest rate index called LIBOR.

LIBOR is an acronym for London Interbank Offered Rate. But what LIBOR stands for isn’t as important as the role it plays.

LIBOR is an interest rate at which banks borrow money from each other. Therefore, when banks feel the banking system as a whole is unsafe, LIBOR rises to compensate.

It’s why LIBOR spiked last October after Lehman Brothers failed. Financial institutions wondered what other institutions would fail and that added risk to the system.

Since October, however, and because of massive government interventions worldwide, LIBOR has been on a steady retreat. Moreover, with close to $30 billion in conforming mortgages scheduled to adjust by Labor Day, the timing couldn’t be better for homeowners with conforming ARMs.

Typically, a Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed mortgage adjusts once annually. The adjusted interest rate is always equal to some constant — usually 2.250 percent — plus the rate of LIBOR on the date of adjustment.

As a math formula, the ARM formula might like this:

New Mortgage Rate = LIBOR + 2.250 percent

In October, when LIBOR was above 4 percent, a homeowner’s ARM may have adjusted to 6 1/2 percent. Today, that same ARM would move to four-and-a-quarter.

As a strategy play, it might make sense to let your ARM adjust because the rate will remain low, but with fixed rate mortgages hovering near 5 percent, locking up a long-term rate may be smart, too.

Talk to your loan officer to review all of your choices.

[tags]Rita Kerins, adjustable rate mortgages in Chicago, Chicago real estate[/tags]