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Business SECTION 2 - PAGE 5 - PLAINDEALER-HERALD. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20,1985 Real estate choice investment By Yvonne Beer executive vice president, McHenry County Board of Realtot Home ownership is unequaled in importance to the personal finances of American families. In fact, the more than $3 trillion in equity represented by Americans' stake in their homes is one of the biggest sources of ealtors ECORD savings and investment in the U.S. economy. For the third year running, a Gallup Nationwide Tracking Study found that real estate topped the list of investments preferred by Americans. Real estate edged out its nearest competitor, money market funds, as the investment most survey respondents (35 percent) thought was the best use of their money. Lately, interest rates have been more favorable than at any time in the recent past. With real (inflation-adjusted) in­ terest rates expected to decline throughout the next year or two, people who purchase homes today can expect the value of their housing investment to increase. This was not the case two to five years ago, when real interest rates were increasing. Restaurants analyze alcohol The McHenry County chapter of the Illinois Restaurant Association discussed ways of curbing alcohol abuse while not offending their customers at their monthly meeting held at the Old Mill Inn. The guest speaker was Daryl Fenton of the Illinois Restaurant Association. Fenton discussed ways restaurants can cut down on alcohol abuse through proper training of employees, serving snacks with cocktails and water with straight drinks. The key, said Fenton, is to slow the absorbtion of the alcohol into the blood. He noted that a man weighing 150 pounds can have three drinks with dinner over a two and one half hour period, and not be legally intoxicated. However, the same man having three martinis within 45 minutes, on an empty stomach, is going to have some trouble. Funeral home expansion The George Justen and Son Funeral Home, 3519 W. Elm St., is currently undergoing some major modifications in its parking facilities, front sidewalk, and entrance. According to George Justen, the work to expand the parking lot between 20 to 25 more spaces, improve the condition of the front sidewalk and building a brick "parking buffer" around the Elm St. entrance will cost cost approximately $45,000. It is expected to be finished about late April. In addition to investment value and affordability, the tax advantages of home ownership loom large in the minds of all homebuyers-especially first- timers trying to escape the heavy burden of taxes on young, two-income couples. But the reasons people give for buying may not be the same as their underlying motives. Real Estate Research Cor­ poration, a Chicago study group, found some interesting changes in the U.S. housing market in its latest Emerging Trends report. In the mictto-late- seventies, people bought as much for in­ vestment as for use. Today, they are buying principally for use, because they don't an­ ticipate dramatic appreciation. For the buyers of the eighties, having a home of one's own is as important as making a smart, profitable investment. "A home is an investment in the business of living," according to Garth Marston, author of Creative Real Estate Financing. Mar­ ston says people shouldn't wait for rates to come down half a point or a quarter of a point. Buying a home is a lifestyle choice as well as an investment decision. Many people would rather buy a home they really liked that would appreciate 10 percent instead of one that would go up 50 percent that they didn't like as much. It looks like salespeople will have their work cut out for them in matching buyers' budgets for housing with their needs for desirable housing features. Freund visits Case kickoff Jim Freund, co-owner of George P. Freund Inc., McHenry, joined nearly 2,200 other dealers for the formal kickoff of the expanded J I Case agr icul tural equipment operation Feb. 25 in Las Vegas. Tenneco Inc. recently pur­ chased International Har­ vester's agricultural equipment business, which has now been merged into Tenneco affiliate, J I Case, headquartered in Racine, WI. Included in the meetings was the unveiling of colors and graphics for the new Case In­ ternational product line, IH red. The new logo puts the two established logos side by side - Case IH. Case IH dealers participated in training seminars on product features. The seminars also profiled equipment lines, in­ cluding combines, hay and forage tools, planters and tillage equipment. In addition to product in­ formation,dealers learned of new financing programs, warranties, parts availability and other information vital to farm customers. 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