The internet is changing (for the better) the way people shop for and view real estate.
There is an new Iphone app that allows you to search listings from your Iphone. The nice thing about this app is that the GPS in the phone senses were you are located and will automatically map listings near you. Or you can search specific addresses. Then it shows you detailed listing with plenty of pics.
I have been playing around with it and it works very well.
Just this week, I’ve talked with three prospective clients who want to try to discharge student loans in bankruptcy. I don’t like delivering bad news, but it’s close to impossible to get rid of student loans by filing a bankruptcy. Before 2005, private student loans were dischargeable in bankruptcy. Since then, very few federal, state [...]
Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net An urban myth spread through my son’s school that gangs were putting baby seats on the roadside with blankets over the car seats and when an unsuspecting soccer mom stopped by to help out, the gang supposedly would rob the mom. This turned out to be totally untrue, of course. An [...]
The House just passed this strange law that would allow those filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy to keep $3000.00 in rifles, pistols and shotguns. It’s estimated that this would affect about 1000 people yearly. But it makes the NRA happy in an election year. Not cool. Share and Enjoy:
Okay, foreclosures are up 95% this year in Palatine, the town where I live. The high foreclosure rate in Palatine is because there are a lot of condos here. Many condos were purchased around or after the peak in June 2006. I would bet that more than half of those condo foreclosures were “strategic defaults” [...]
Every three years, Cook County does the triennial reassessment of real estate tax bills. Notices were just mailed to Barrington township. Evanston township notices were mailed July 15, 2010 and Barrington on July 8, 2010. These will be followed shortly by notices sent to other northwest suburban townships like Palatine, Schaumburg, Wheeling and Elk Grove. Why [...]
How to rebuild credit after filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy. It can be done. Share and Enjoy:
Congress finally approved an extension of the first-time and move-up buyer tax credits ($8000.00 and $6500.00 respectively) to September 30, 2010. This only applies to those who already signed a contract by April 30, 2010. I have very few clients who will be affected by this. I guess it’s good to help out those unfortunate [...]
There is a blitz of closings this month as the $8000/$6500 tax credits wind down. Here are the forms needed to amend your 2009 tax return to claim the credit. Be sure to use the updated 5405 form. A sharp client pointed out that form 1040x was amended recently too. All revised 2010 forms [...]
One client had no problem deciding to strategically default on his Chicago condo due to a triple-witching hour of crime, an abandoned condo complex and a declining market that left the unit worth one-third what he originally paid. For most people, though, the decision to walk away from a property is not easy. Here are [...]
