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. [...]
Estate planning and real estate in the Land of Lincoln
Category Archives: Real Estate-Purchases
FHA may tag Strategic Defaulters with Scarlet S for life
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” [...]
Tax credit extended to September 30
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 [...]
Forms for tax credit
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 [...]
Strategic Default in Illinois: Q&A
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 [...]
Strategic Default in Illinois – Last man out of a dead condo complex
I get many calls and emails from my blog, mostly from people near or in foreclosure. This week, I spoke with a guy who bought a condo in the city in 2006 (generally considered the market peak). Then, and now, he had a good job, but the Chicago neighborhood where he lives is overrun with [...]
Buddha says: Seller should pre-inspect home
My client was able to snag a buyer for his home in Schaumburg after the tax credit expired, which was no easy feat. With my usual downer tone, I warned him that buyers can be brutal on home inspections and to expect the worst. When the inspection letter came, it had only three minor items. [...]
Speaking of septic, mold, radon and structural engineers…
There are many sub-specialties in real estate. I want to highlight some folks who do a nice job in some of these areas. Well & Septic Testing There are only a few sanitarians who deal with well and septic testing. Brian Sheehan of WS Inspectional in Buffalo Grove , 847-721-8615, does a nice job on [...]
More buyers taking job loss insurance
At my last three closings, the buyers got job loss insurance. It’s been around for years, but I’ve never run into it. Before last week, not one buyer purchased it….ever. It’s generally called “mortgage protection insurance” or “job loss protection” and the insurance company pays your mortgage directly to your lender in the event of [...]
Check your Cook Co. 09 tax exemptions online
If you bought a home in 2009, refinanced your mortgage in 2009 or recorded a deed into your living trust in 2009 please be sure to check to make sure that the county didn’t take away your homeowner’s exemption. This video, Tax Exemptions , explains that the county was yanking the homeowner’s exemptions of homeowners [...]
