JANESVILLE 2 MESSENGER ■ Sunday, July 27, 2008 communityshoppers.com NEWS INBRIEF JANESVILLE ■ School board approves two new members: The Janesville School Board on Tuesday voted 6-0 to approve Greg Ardrey and Peter Severson to fill vacant seats; Commissioner Bill Sodemann abstained. The men replace former board members Amy Rashkin and Dennis Vechinsky, both of whom resigned earlier this summer. Ardrey and Severson will serve until April, when voters will choose replacements to serve full three-year terms. A committee selected Ardrey and Severson from a field of 10 candidates; Sodemann said he abstained because he believes the committee should have allowed the full board to hear from several candidates. ■ Telephone scam reported: Several local residents reported being the target of a telephone scam last week. Residents received an automated message asking them to call an Iowa phone number to reactivate a suspended Blackhawk <strong>Community</strong> Credit Union member card. Those who called the number were asked to enter personal information. Both BCCU members and nonmembers reported receiving the calls. Once the scam was reported to police, the message shifted its target to members of a Michiganbased credit union. “This shift, along with the fact that both members and nonmembers were contacted, clearly shows there was no credit union security breach,” said BCCU CEO Bob Carmichael. “More likely, the thieves got a hold of some type of phone list, and decided to use Blackhawk <strong>Community</strong> Credit Union as their target of choice.” Carmichael said it wasn’t clear how many residents called the number and provided information. BCCU officials said the credit union never would use automated phone calls to discuss an account problem or ask for personal information. EVANSVILLE ■ New day for trash, recycling pickup: Beginning next week, city residents will have their trash and recyclables picked up on Tuesdays, rather than Wednesdays. The new pick-up date begins Aug. 5. Veolia Environmental Services, the company that serves Evansville, said the change will help keep costs down and maintain efficiency. For more information, call city hall at (608) 882-2266. ■ MARKET Continued from page 1 like Ashley Huber and Matt Dooley have more time to find the perfect house. The Janesville couple rejected several houses in need of repairs until they found one within their price range that was move-in ready. “It’s a challenge deciding what you’re actually going to go with,” said Dooley, who added that he and Huber look forward to building equity. “I’d rather own a house than pay for rent; it’s throwing money away.” Ryan and Rianne Graves, who recently purchased a <strong>home</strong> in Darien, spent nearly a year looking at available properties. “We got excited at the potential of the houses we could have,” Ryan Graves said. “From there, it became kind of a fun adventure, getting the opportunity to look at these houses.” The couple also recognized that buying a house is the <strong>first</strong> step toward financial security. “<strong>Home</strong> ownership is historically the No. 1 wealth generator in our country,” said John Ramstad, director of housing for <strong>Community</strong> Action of Rock and Walworth Counties. But, Ramstad added, potential buyers should beware that what appears to be a good deal actually may be a pratfall. “The only caution is for people to be careful about buying properties that look awfully cheap on paper, but are such because there is significant work that is required or significant infrastructure improvements that need to happen,” he said. “It’s the longterm affordability of the house that’s the most important.” For example, buying a house that needs a new roof or furnace ■ CONSTRUCTION Continued from page 1 drop in custom-built <strong>home</strong> construction in the past two years, though a growing number of people are choosing to renovate their existing <strong>home</strong>s. “There are people still mulling around, wondering what they should or should not do,” he said. Wellnitz blames the economy, rising gas prices and upcoming presidential election year for the decrease in demand. Ad here MARKET UPS AND DOWNS Sales of existing <strong>home</strong>s, as well as new housing starts and residential building permits, have declined in the city of Janesville in the past several years. Here’s how the market has performed: SALES OF EXISTING HOMES* 2002: 1,050 <strong>home</strong>s ($117,590 average) 2003: 1,345 <strong>home</strong>s ($120,078) 2004: 1,298 <strong>home</strong>s ($125,539) 2005: 1,158 <strong>home</strong>s ($132,162) 2006: 1,134 <strong>home</strong>s ($138,633) NEW HOUSING UNITS* 2002: 424 2003: 330 2004: 506 2005: 381 2006: 241 10-year average: 366 RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED* 2002: 279 2003: 276 2004: 329 2005: 295 2006: 231 10-year average: 269 * Data from 2007 not yet available. could end in foreclosure. “In the long run, you might lose the house because the maintenance costs are too great for you to sustain it,” Ramstad said. Of course, a <strong>home</strong>’s physical condition is just one piece of the <strong>home</strong>-buying puzzle. “There’s a lot of factors to look at, like resale value,” said Huber, who plans to close on her <strong>first</strong> <strong>home</strong> Wednesday. Taking a <strong>home</strong>ownership class may help potential buyers see the “We believe it’s going to pick up; we have full faith in it,” he said, adding that he believes business will rebound in 2009. Sharon Bauer, co-owner of Bauer Custom <strong>Home</strong>s in Burlington, agreed. “It can’t stay like this forever,” she said. But for now, buyers are exercising restraint. “They’re just being cautious,” Bauer said. “Those that are getting into a custom <strong>home</strong> are generally trying to sell a <strong>home</strong> of their own, and that seems to be giving people problems.” 72408 Sarah Zeller/staff Janesville real estate agent Verna Saladino says the local market for existing <strong>home</strong>s remains strong for <strong>first</strong>-time <strong>home</strong>buyers. big picture. “It’s a good way to assess how ready you are to take on that responsibility, since they go over all sorts of aspects of how to buy a <strong>home</strong>,” Ramstad said. “If you haven’t owned a <strong>home</strong> or it’s been a while, it’s a very valuable course and a chance to think through a lot of the factors you should be considering before you make that commitment.” Anyone in the market for a new <strong>home</strong> — not just <strong>first</strong>-time buyers The market is floundering so much that a nonprofit agency that secures low-interest, no-risk mortgages and helps people build newconstruction <strong>home</strong>s is in danger of closing its doors. The Burlington-based Southeastern Wisconsin Housing Corporation builds groups of <strong>home</strong>s and trims costs by having future <strong>home</strong>owners, under the supervision of a professional, complete much of the construction. “So many people are running scared because of the economy,” said SEWHC Executive Director Arturo Gonzales. “As long as they 1506 Creston Park Drive, Janesville, WI 53545 (608) 752-0777 Online: www.communityshoppers.com Circulation: 30,663 (March 31, 2005) President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sidney H. Bliss Vice president/GM . . . . . . . Dan Pyfer Managing editor . . . . . . . . . Bruce Heisel Associate editor . . . . . . . . . Eric Kuznacic Senior editor . . . . . . . . . . . Lynn Greene Circulation manager . . . . . . Ken Curtis DIGEST and those with shaky credit histories — is under far greater scrutiny by mortgage lenders than they may have a few years ago. Because of the so-called “credit crunch” — caused by lenders who doled out subprime loans to people who might not qualify for traditional mortgages, then went belly-up when those loans went into foreclosure — more buyers are using government-sponsored loans, like those through the Federal Housing Administration or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “There’s a lot of hope right now for FHA, because that’s the only place where you have any sort of high loan-to-value product still available,” said Yuri Rashkin, owner of Service First Mortgage in Janesville. “Now, everybody starts with FHA. It used to be a very underutilized product — now it’s the <strong>first</strong> step.” That sea change has some worried. “I think that it’s just unsustainable,” Rashkin said. “We can’t be relying on government programs if we are to continue to be a (consumer-based) economy where people buy and sell houses. There just has to be some more flexibility in the system.” The upside of the credit crunch is that <strong>home</strong>buyers now must live within their means. “They should figure out pretty precisely what they’re able to spend for a <strong>home</strong>,” including property taxes and insurance, Rashkin said, “and be realistic.” That’s exactly what the Graves family did, even though they were approved for a larger mortgage than the one they secured. “We weren’t comfortable with that financially,” Ryan Graves said. “As far as <strong>first</strong>-time <strong>home</strong>buyer advice is concerned, staying in your comfort zone is your best bet.” make the minimum payment according to their income, they’ll never lose their house.” The organization, which has built nearly 1,500 <strong>home</strong>s in Walworth, Rock, Racine and Kenosha counties since 1971, is looking for qualified families who want to build a <strong>home</strong>. If the organization is unable to find five eligible families by the end of the summer, Gonzales said the program’s funding will not be renewed. “Everyone in this country has a right to own their own <strong>home</strong>,” he said. “Work on your credit, get it cleaned up, and we will help you.” A Publication OFFICE HOURS: Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. to noon DEADLINES: Display ads: 5 p.m. Wednesday Classifieds: noon Thursday Deadlines are advanced one working day during holiday weeks. The Messenger reserves the right to reject or edit any advertisement at any time. The Messenger is published by CSI Media, LLC, of Delavan, Wis., which also publishes the Stateline News, Stateline Shopping News, Shopper Advertiser and Walworth County Sunday
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