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Real Estate & Property Law

Closing Real Estate in Chicago

On getting real estate deals closed the right way.
By Peter Olson, Esq.

Post Frequency: 2.3/day

Last Entry: March 13, 2009 at 11:57:00

My First "Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards"

Posted on February 15, 2008
So I got my first radon disclosure this week pursuant to the Illinois Radon Awareness Act. Not a lot to it...Seller must give Buyer some informational pamphlet and disclose any "knowledge" and records she has of elevated radon concentrations.What's "elevated"??Well, just don't test and don't acquire "knowledge" and you're fine...

Free CLE: February 18th

Posted on February 15, 2008
Yeah so Monday's another one of those dead President court holidays so instead of spending your morning slugging it out at Daley, come and break bread at the Loyola School of Law, Protecting the Rights of Chicago Tenants - 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Seriously, you've got to know your Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance if you practice in this field and that's the gist of what this about...

Not a Bad Week...

Posted on February 09, 2008
Hey we saw two new residential contracts in the office this week...it's been a while since that's happened.

Should Ya Be a "Mortgage Walker"??

Posted on February 09, 2008
The WSJ had an Op-Ed on the subject Friday. The point of the article is essentially that an increase in people just leaving homes once they get behind on a mortgage is sort of the proper flow of the "market." In the author's view it's rational behavior:Borrowers acted rationally in response to market forces and incentives during the bubble: Buy a house because prices always go up; you can't lose...

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Feeding the Combine: Part IV

Posted on February 09, 2008
Well, ya knew it was coming right? Of COURSE the Chicago City Council passed the $3 increase to the Chicago Transfer Tax. Who wouldn't say no to Mayor Daley's pleas about not having bus and train service if the tax increase isn't passed? Of course the $$ is going towards the CTA's pension fund for employees, not that bus route you take every day...

What if my Lender Closes or files for Bankruptcy??

Posted on February 06, 2008
Ummm...checkout this new publication from the Federal Trade Commission, "How to Manage Your Mortgage If Your Lender Closes of Files for Bankruptcy."

Know Thy "Care Contracts"

Posted on February 06, 2008
Jane Adler's always informative 55 Plus column had a nice overview of the various types of contracts out there that are being signed by seniors moving into "continuing care" communities. I'll say this, I'm no expert on these arrangements, however, we probably get one call a month about this general topic and it's important to have a basic working knowledge of these set-ups...

The Chicago Public Library Presents:

Posted on February 06, 2008
Home Buying 101...hey, and all its branches do have free WiFi. I'll get out of the office once-in-a-while and work at the Harold Washington Library downtown...but I digress:The Chicago Public Library is hosting two sets of free programs on home buying at various branches around the city...

Sweet...another Way for a Buyer to Terminate a Contract!!

Posted on February 06, 2008
Saw this interesting case (Muir v. Merano, No. 5-06-0626, IL 5th) recently interpreting provisions of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act...a case of first impression looking at a Buyer's ability to terminate a contract when a Seller didn't provide the required disclosures...

Free Mortgage Advice...Fast

Posted on February 02, 2008
Here's a press release and their site.

Gone Fishin'

Posted on February 02, 2008
Field & Stream's top 20 fishing towns in the U.S. Minocqua, WI is great!

Ok so the Patriots WON Again...Now, it's Real Estate Season!!

Posted on February 02, 2008
Alright I'm posting this pre-Super Bowl so if it helps you win $$ here's my address. Giants fans, well, that's a good year for you guys. But the real importance of Super Bowl Sunday is that it's the start of the "spring" (we just got dumped in snow here so I use that term lossely) real estate season...

Feeding the "Combine:" Part III

Posted on February 02, 2008
Well the real estate crowd finally started attacking the proposed Chicago transfer tax increase late in the week. Where have you guys been?We've previously written about this here and here. Hmmm, we could have come out against this bill before it got passed in the General Assembly OR when it was voted on again after the amendatory veto when Blago added the senior free rides OR after the bill was passed and only the Chicago City Council had to approve the transfer tax increase (yeah Daley loses a lot of votes in the Council)...

"For Sale" Signs Often a Barrier to Refi

Posted on January 29, 2008
"Zillow" Mary had a good reminder article Monday about how one's ability to refinance a mortgage can often be hurt when the home has recently been listed for sale. There's nothing hard and fast on this or any firm time-lines but here's the key:That's because...

"Ozone Man" and Buying Real Estate

Posted on January 29, 2008
Saw this piece about buying "green" houses. The article has many good tips but what stood out was the guidance that the pricing is nearly at a point where the "green" homes are the better value...Five years ago, anyone who wanted to build an environmentally-friendly home could expect to pay a premium of 11% to 25%, depending on just how green they wanted to go...

A Statistical Anomaly??

Posted on January 29, 2008
Did anyone take a close look at the new home sales released Monday? Yeah they dropped 26.4% year over year, no surprise there. But if you look region by region here's the breakdown:The drop, which marked the worst sales year on record, represented weakness in every part of the country except the Northeast, where sales posted a 1...

Mortgage Brokers Beware

Posted on January 26, 2008
Anyone takin' a look at this Senate Bill 1167 recently signed by the Governor w/ an effective date of 6/1/08?? There are some pretty punitive penalties included for mortgage brokers.Here's an overview from January's ISBA Bar Journal:The law clarifies that brokers must verify that the borrower has the ability to repay the loan at the time it is made through proof and review of the borrower?s income, employment, and other financial records...

Tenant Procedures Changed Regarding Foreclosures

Posted on January 26, 2008
The IL Code of Civil Procedure has been amended to allow foreclosure tenants who are current on their rent to retain possession of their property for a designated period. 735 ILCS 5/15-1701. Section 15-1701(h)(4) provides that, in a case of foreclosure where the tenant is current on his or her rent, any order of possession must allow the tenant to retain possession of the property for ?120 days following the notice of the hearing on the supplemental petition...

A Plug for a Chicago Real Estate Blawger

Posted on January 26, 2008
Just a quick note about a "newish" blawger and frequent commenter here: Attorney Michael Wasserman and the wasserblawg. I'm not sure what a "blawg" is but he's got some good info. over there.

Feeding the "Combine" - Part II

Posted on January 26, 2008
A follow-up to our recent post here regarding a proposed Chicago Transfer Tax increase. From the sounds of it the increase to $10.50 per $1,000 from $7.50 is a done deal with a city council vote set for February 6th. Hey I'm no economist, although I am a weekly reader of The Economist, but I never thought it was great to raise taxes heading into a recession...

When there's Water Leaking Through the Ceiling...

Posted on January 23, 2008
grab an umbrella. But what next? I'm talking about condos here. We get consistent calls regarding this sort of scenario: Condo unit gets damaged due to water leaking through the ceiling from the unit above it. Of course first you call your neighborhood real estate lawyer...

And the Lawsuits Begin...

Posted on January 22, 2008
Saw this article over the weekend...it describes a lawsuit brought by a California couple against their real estate agent seemingly for breach of his fiduciary duty in allowing the couple to purchase a house that wasn't worth what they paid for it. It seems the suit originally included the mortgage broker and appraiser but they've both settled...

Seriously, an Energy Audit

Posted on January 19, 2008
The Weekend Journal had a piece here. Something to consider as the mercury broke the negative digits today in ChiTown. I mean I feel a draft here sitting next to the window in the library. Some guidance here from the Dept. of Energy.

Pay Your Property Taxes & Oh, and Never Trust...

Posted on January 19, 2008
the flunkies working at the desk of the government agencies when serious legal consequences are at stake.Saw this property tax case reported recently from the First District Appellate Court. In 2000 the property owner failed to pay her property taxes and the property was put up for auction in April, 2002 at the Cook County annual tax sale...

Buy your Second Home First?

Posted on January 14, 2008
Good or bad idea? There was an article over the weekend suggesting the above.The gist of the piece was to get the cheaper home first and start building equity instead of waiting until you're reading to drop $400k in the Chicago area.

Will County Real Estate Trouble

Posted on January 14, 2008
There was a front page overview piece yesterday in the Sunday Trib. regarding the state of the real estate market in Will County. Too long to summarize but what that piece really emphasizes is how broad the down market's impact is. Because Will County continues to grow about as fast as anywhere in the county and the job growth is there too.

Feeding the "Combine"

Posted on January 14, 2008
Anyone notice w/ all the political grand standing related to this state transportation bill fight that one of the funding sources for the measure is an increase in Chicago's real estate transfer tax which those of you in the field know is an already fairly steep buyer's charge of $7...

Association Trade Show

Posted on January 14, 2008
We've attended and presented at The Community Associations Institute Illinois Chapter annual conference and trade show in the past. It's coming up 1/19/08 in Rosemont.

The "HUB" for all things Radon

Posted on January 14, 2008
Well we're some 14 days into the effective date of The Illinois Radon Awareness Act. Recall you Sellers only have a duty to disclose if you have prior knowledge of unsafe levels of radon. Here's the IL Emergency Management Agency's Radon program with information on licensed "mitigation professionals...

Failure to Pay Use/Occupancy is NOT Grounds for Order of Possession...

Posted on January 10, 2008
Interesting landlord/tenant matter recently out of the First District:1st Dist. Circle Management, LLC. v. Olivier, No. 1-07-0621 (December 28, 2007) 3rd div. Reversed Trial court erred when it granted plaintiff, landlord, possession of apartment occupied by defendant for failure to pay the use and occupancy order during the pendency of plaintiff's forcible entry and detainer action...

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