Monthly Archives: February 2015

Cook County adds new zoning check to home sales

Real Estate-Sales

The administrative tangle of selling a home keeps getting thicker every day.

For years, the city of Chicago required a zoning certification if you sell a home (condos are exempt) within its borders. The purpose of it is to warn the buyer of “illegal” apartments in multi-family housing. There are many illegal garden and converted attic apartments in the city and the zoning certification alerts the buyer to the correct number of units.

Now, starting March 21, 2015, homeowners in unincorporated Cook County will have to order a zoning use certificate before they sell their homes. The county is aiming to warn buyers of improper uses of land. At least 10 business days before closing (two weeks for those who are counting) the seller will have to pay $100 and submit a survey, a legal description and a statement that all work was done with building permits. The Cook County Building Commission then will  (or will not) issue a certification that the property is being used according to the zoning. Theoretically, a buyer might refuse to close if the county refused to certify that the property use was within the zoning.

A couple of problems with this:

1. It is very hard to determine whether properties are located in unincorporated Cook County in a village or a town. The new zoning requirement will be missed by many who will think the property is in a village or town, not unincorporated Cook county.

2. The fee of $100 is high and waiting two weeks for a decision is crazy.

3. Submitting the statement that no work was done without permits is kind of excessive, because a lot of work is done without permits. And a lot of work is done without permits by a prior owner, so how does the seller supposed to handle that?  There is no inspection of the property and most likely the county will look at the survey for additions made without a permit or outbuildings added without a permit.

4. The certification is good for 6 months and really should be ordered before a home goes on the market to avoid jam ups and closing delays.

So plan ahead if you are selling a house in unincorporated Cook county this spring.

(Thanks to Matt Hernacki www.misterhomes.com for pointing out this new rule.)

 

 

 

What assets do NOT go into a living trust?

Living Trusts
I spend a lot of time helping client “fund” their living trusts. My policy to to have a separate funding meeting at which we complete all of the funding forms. That means filling out many, many change of beneficiary forms. Filling these out is numbing and not real fun, but it’s necessary for the trust to work right (avoid probate).
I often brag that if I drafted a trust for a client, there has never been a probate afterward. What a claim to fame. Truth be told, there are always some assets in a person’s own name at death, but in Illinois we are lucky to be able to transfer $100,000 or less of assets to a trust after a death without opening a probate. This is done by small estate affidavit. It’s a quick, easy way to mop up assets left in a deceased’s own name and only costs about $100 to prepare. Thank Ja for the small estate affidavit .
There are some items that do not go in to a living trust:
1. IRAs. Retirement accounts are not retitled to a trust. The trust is sometimes (rarely) the beneficiary of the IRA, but the IRA is never retitled to the trust.
2. Cars. Cars do not cause a probate and can be transferred using a small estate affidavit easily. Not necessary to put a car in the trust. In fact, it’s a waste of money to do so. Same goes for mobile home titles and motorcycles.
3. Stock Options. Some lucky clients have these, but most companies will not let you retitle the account to a trust. Some have a beneficiary form, but very few.
4. Internet bank accounts. I have found that several internet banks will not let clients put their accounts in a living trust. This is crazy, but the only cure it to close to account and open it at a brick and mortar bank.
5. Cemetery Plots. These little devils are not deeded like regular real estate. The titles are just the contract with the company owning the cemetery. No need to try to put it in the trust.
6. International real estate. Many clients own real estate in the UK or India. Real estate in another country cannot go in the living trust.