A city of about 30,000 residents, Valparaiso is located on the outskirts of Chicago’s metro area – far enough away that it is safe and enjoys a small town atmosphere, but close enough that many people commute to the city for work every day, and go there for fun too. It’s an hour and ten-minute drive to Chicago’s central business district. Residents can enjoy the best of two worlds as they make their home here.

Although it is not a large city, Valparaiso boasts Valparaiso University as well as satellite campuses for Purdue University and Ivy Tech Community College. Valparaiso University, with an undergraduate class of 3,100 students, also has a law school of 430 students, and in 2015 was named by Forbes as one of the top 50 universities in the Midwest. Its many K-12 public and private schools, including a Montessori School, are also considered excellent.

One feature at Valparaiso University is the Brauer Museum of Art, which is located on the campus. Their 3,700 piece collection includes photographs from Andy Warhol, landscapes from artists in the Hudson River School movement including Frederic E. Church and Asher B. Durand, Impressionist paintings by Karl Anderson and Robert Reid, modernist paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe, and contemporary works by Ansel Adams. Best of all, it’s free!

However, the atmosphere is not all about museums and studying – residents also enjoy plenty of lighthearted activities as well. One of them is an annual popcorn festival, held each September to celebrate many people’s favorite movie snack and honor Indiana native Orville Redenbacher, who developed his strain of popcorn in Valparaiso. In 2012, the city unveiled a statue of Redenbacher sitting on a bench in his trademark bow tie and horn-rimmed glasses. The city also has annual festivals dedicated to food & wine and craft beer.

Along with festivals, Valparaiso is also host to the Porter County Fair, held at their 85-acre Expo Center, which holds conventions and events throughout the year. The fair is held every summer and is chock-full of 4-H exhibits, livestock judging, carnival rides, performances at the grandstand, pig racing, and even a Cutest Baby Contest.

Another fun place to visit is the Hoosier Bat Company. Visitors can request free tours and watch wooden baseball bats carved right in front of them at this family-owned baseball bat factory, which produces 30,000 bats a year. Major League Baseball players like Sammy Sosa and Josh Hamilton loved the brand, and they’re still sold all around the world to baseball enthusiasts.

15 miles north of Valparaiso, the Indiana Dunes offers 15 miles of beach shoreline stretched along Lake Michigan. West Beach, from which you can view the Chicago skyline while catching some rays, is rated by Parents magazine as one of the top 5 family-friendly beaches in the US. The beaches are inside a large state park where you can hike and picnic in the summer and cross-country ski in the winter. Inside Valparaiso, fourteen parks adorn the city, and Taltree Arboretum is home to 330 acres of oak trees and formal gardens, including one featuring a huge model train railway.

Valparaiso is also growing and planning for the future. In 2016, city officials announced they were developing a plan for a canal to run through one of the neighborhoods in the city, which is hoped to also inspire businesses to crop up along the water walk. They are also working on a plan to strengthen the city’s downtown public transit system by building a bus and train station.

For places to eat, Valparaiso is home to a variety of upscale restaurants and bistros. Kelsey’s Steakhouse, which you can’t miss because there’s a huge cow statue out front, is a longtime local favorite, while Don Quijote frequently garners high ratings with its Mediterranean and Spanish fare. For dessert, Valpo Velvet Ice Cream makes all of its famous ice cream from scratch using the same recipe as when they began in 1920.

And lastly, a terrific thing about Valparaiso is its 49’er Drive-In Theater. USA Today called it one of the Top 10 US Drive-Ins, and for good reason. The theater opened in 1956 and still screens double features and dishes up crowd-pleasing cuisine at its diner while providing patrons with memories of the good old days. During the summer, families, couples, and anyone who enjoys a fun relic of Americana can watch current movies under the stars.

Learn more about the schools in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Valparaiso, Indiana

Cash-to-close is the amount of funds that you will be required to bring to the closing table when you sign the final documents to make the house your own.  It includes the purchase price of the home plus lender’s fees, appraisal fees, title company closing costs, required down payment, costs to start your escrows for property taxes and insurance (and more) MINUS the funds you are borrowing (the mortgage), earnest money deposit, seller concessions, and in Indiana, the prorated property taxes that the seller owes the county but is not due yet.

While it may sound odd to the borrower, it is very important to provide proper asset documentation and the actual source of the funds for the earnest money deposit,  down payment and closing costs. Lenders use the term sourced and seasoned meaning that the funds came from a verifiable source and can be proven to be available at closing.

For example, if your employer pays by direct deposit, it is easy to match your pay statements to the deposits in your checking account making the verification process easy. However, if you receive a physical paycheck, you should always deposit the entire check and then withdraw any required cash. This way, the lender can see the exact amount matching the paycheck being deposited on or near the payroll date. If you were to cash the check, pocket some of the funds and deposit the remainder, it will be more difficult to show where the funds came from.

Since the underwriter typically wants to see two months of bank statements, it’s important to pay attention to what your account looks like before you start house shopping. While it’s true that the underwriter wants to make sure you have enough funds to close, they may be less inclined to loan you hundreds of thousands of dollars if you have numerous overdrafts on your account. They like to see good money management skills.

A Few Acceptable Sources Of Down Payment Include:

• Bank Accounts – checking and/or savings. It is usually best to have all the necessary funds in one (or maybe two) accounts instead of many different accounts.
• Investment Accounts – money market and mutual funds. Will need to see a statement showing the available funds and the “paper trail” if the funds have to be sold and the cash moved to a checking account
• Retirement Funds – keep in mind that borrowing against a 401K plan or other retirement accounts may require repayment and that could affect your debt-to-income ratios. It is always best to check your plan guidelines first.
• Life Insurance – Cash value and face amount. Will need to show that these funds are available to use.
• Gifts – Family members can gift (no expectation to be paid back) down payment funds with certain restrictions. This is usually reserved for gifts from parents (or step-parents), grandparents, brothers, or sisters. There are a few exceptions to the family member rule, so ask us if you have someone willing to gift you the funds.
• Inheritance / Trust Funds – must show evidence that funds are available and, if this is a large source of monthly / yearly income, that the funds are sufficient to continue.
• Government Grants – Some state, county, and city agencies offer special down payment assistance programs. Many are recorded as a 2nd lien (a loan to you) and then forgiven if you stay in the home for a predetermined period of time. If you don’t, they may have to be repaid.

Warning – Unverified sources of cash are NOT acceptable. This includes “Mattress Money”. If you need $5,000 for closing costs and have $10,000 on hand but only $4,000 can be sourced and verified, you will NOT be able to close.

It is very important to discuss the source of your down payment and closing costs as early in the loan process as possible to make sure that it will be acceptable to the underwriter. While it is OK to use funds from your wedding or to sell an asset such as a car to get the necessary cash, it must be documented well and in a way that the underwriter will accept.

At the closing, you will need to have the funds wired from your account or bring with you a cashier’s check for the closing costs depending on the amount. While you can wire smaller sums, any amount over $10,000 MUST be wired to the title company prior to closing.

The Proper Source for Your Cash-To-Close

 

There are numerous factors that a home buyer will consider when visiting homes; everything from the location to the layout to the asking price. While all buyers have their own ideas of what makes a perfect home, there are some factors that they need to be aware of and keep their eyes open for.  A few of these red flags are listed below to serve as warning signs when touring your potential next home.

 

Signs Of Poor Or Deferred Home Maintenance

Unless the home is new construction, you should expect to have some signs of wear and tear. Since it is common for the sellers to make the home as presentable as possible before listing it for sale, a home that seems to be in poor shape should be a warning sign. If the sellers have not kept up on the aspects that you can easily see when walking through it, you should consider what other problems you may find that are not easily visible.

The Grading In The Yard

When approaching your prospective new home, be aware of how the yard is graded. In other words, when it rains or the snow melts, does the water flow towards or away from the house? If the water flows towards the home, issues with flooding and erosion are concerns. Even small issues such as downspouts not discharging the rainwater far enough away from the home can cause flooding or even structural damage.

Something Smells Fishy (Or Worse)

It is pretty common for someone selling a home to want it to smell as pleasant as possible. They may use deodorizers to mask a smell or even bake bread or cookies to make the home seem more appealing. It’s important for a home buyer to determine if this is just a tactic to make you want the home more or to cover up an underlying issue such as mold, mildew, or even backed-up sewers or leaking gas.

Repairs To Only One Area

Many times a homeowner will repaint or redecorate a wall to make it look more appealing, cleaner, and brighter. This in and of itself is not cause for alarm, but use some caution if you note that one wall or section of  a wall appears to have been recently painted and/or repaired. This could be something as minor as covering a child’s drawings to as serious as water damage and mold.

Signs Of Wildlife And Other Pests

Another red flag could be the signs or pests or even wildlife that has invaded the home. Even if you don’t see an army of ants in the kitchen, a wasp nest in the bedroom, or a raccoon in the living room, the presence of bug spray, traps, and other related items may be a clue that the seller has an issue with unwanted pests.

While some of these warning signs may be obvious when you walk through a prospective home, others may require more skill and specialized equipment to see. Because of this, it is always a sound idea to order a home inspection to learn more about the condition of the home before agreeing to finalize the purchase of what is probably the largest investment you will make in your lifetime.

Photo by kevin dooley

Searching For A New Home?