June 2009 Newsletter

re savvy

Events in June

-U.S. Air Guitar Championships Chicago Regional 6/6 9pm ♦ Watch the action or compete for a shot at advancing to the U.S. Final. Competitors must arrive at 7pm. Bring a 60-second song on CD – Metro Bar
-Clown for Chi-Town Pub Crawl 6/6 8pm ♦ Clown around Wrigleyville during this six-stop crawl -Goose Island Bar in Wrigleyville
-Chicago Summer Dance Festival Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 6/11-8/2 ♦ Grant Park, Spirit of Music Garden - 601 S. Michigan Ave.
-Movies in the Park 6/12-8/30 ♦ The Chicago Park District's annual series takes place in more than 125 parks throughout Chicago - www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
-Rib Fest Chicago 6/12-6/13 4pm-10pm ♦ featuring barbecue from local restaurants and live music - Lincoln Avenue and Irving Park Road - 4000 N. Lincoln Ave
-Andersonville Midsummer Fest 6/13-6/14 11am-10pm ♦ A celebration of Swedish heritage includes a lot more than meatballs - Foster Avenue and Clark Street - 5200 N. Clark
-Chicago Blues Festival 6/12-6/13 11am-9:30pm ♦ This Chicago staple continues to be a hugely popular event - Grant Park
-Wells Street Art Festival 6/13-6/14 11am-10pm ♦ A fine art showcase with a party vibe, includes live music from Beatles tribute band and others - North/Wells Street
-Q101 Block Party 6/14 ♦ $45 admission to see 311 and Ziggy Marley - Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
-Taste of Randolph Street 6/19-6/21 Fri 5pm, Sat/Sun 2pm ♦ The 12th annual West Loop event stretches along six blocks of Randolph Street, between Peoria Street and Racine Avenue
-1st Annual Taste of Riverwalk 6/19-6/21 ♦ Featuring tasty samplings from local vendors at discounted rates - Along Wacker from Franklin to Lake Shore Drive
-Father’s Day 6/21
-29th Annual Taste of Chicago 6/26-7/5 11am-9pm ♦ The mega-food fest features everything from hot dogs to haute cuisine from more than 70 restaurants - Grant Park
-Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade 6/28 12pm ♦ The 40th annual Lakeview celebration features floats, bands and politicians. Festivities also include parties and picnics along the lakefront - Halsted Street
-Green City Market Every Wednesday and Saturday 7am-1pm ♦ Shop locally farmed organic meats, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, honey, baked goods and more - 1750 N. Clark Street

Guided Buy Choices
New city-sponsored home-buyer incentives make renting look ridiculous
By Christina Couch, TimeOut Chicago

Those who believe the recession crushes all hopes of owning a home should talk to Aaron Mays. In October, the 23-year-old recent Northwestern grad purchased a one-bedroom condo in Bronzeville, and now he’s paying only $100 more per month than he’d been shelling out in rent for his former studio nearby. Taking advantage of the Partnership for New Communities Grant Program—one of a slew of new city-sponsored incentive offers available to first-time home buyers under the banner Find Your Place in Chicago—Mays got a $10,000 discount on his new $180,000 pad. “The grant is the only way I could do this,” Mays says. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to buy right now.”

From grants on homes in select neighborhoods to discounts on purchase price for low-income home buyers to mortgage tax credits—new city and federal incentives can knock anywhere from a couple grand to $40,000 off the cost of a new home. But the programs do come with some strings attached, which, depending on the incentive, can include taking a required home-buying workshop or staying in your home a minimum of three years. “Another problem with some of these programs is that if the real estate value on your home goes up, you can’t make a substantial profit,” says Gary DeClark, managing director of Integra Realty Resources, who has worked with home buyers involved with Find Your Place in Chicago. “There’s a maximization on the profit you can make, and if you go over that, you have to start paying back that excess.”
While grant and tax-credit incentives place no restrictions on the resale value of a new home, programs that target low-income home buyers such as the Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods and New Homes for Chicago provide substantial discounts on new homes but also limit the amount buyers can earn off their home’s resale. “That’s why most people buy a home, to sell it 20, 30, 40 years later for a profit,” says Patrick Warneka, a professional photographer who purchased a two-bedroom, two-bath Andersonville condo a year ago with the help of the Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods. “If [my fiancé and I] sell this place, we’ll only get a small percentage [of the profit], about 12 to 15 percent, and the rest will go back to the city.”

Warneka says he’s not complaining. While the published price on his condo was $325,000, with assistance he got it for about $150,000. However, he’s also quick to point out that even with assistance, his home is still a major expense. Warneka and his fiancé fork out about 40 percent of their income to housing costs.

While those who receive housing discounts will have to put up with program drawbacks, they’ll also reap the rewards of building equity and boosting their credit scores—and having a place they can truly call their own. “Buying a home was always in my plan, and this program pushed me to do it now instead of waiting until I’m 25 or 26,” says Mays. “It doesn’t seem logical to rent when I can own for about the same price.”