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 [...]
Estate planning and real estate in the Land of Lincoln
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. [...]
New law: Home title can be protected from creditors in living trust
Most married couples hold title to their home in “tenancy by the entirety.” Married couples quit holding title as joint tenants when tenancy by the entirety was allowed in the mid 90’s in Illinois. This means that if one dies, the house snaps to the other avoiding probate. Also, the house is protected from creditors. [...]
Is HAMP loan modification program dying?
This is a well-written post on HAMP, the loan modification program. It talks about how HAMP appears to be dying due to “strategic defaults” (a person whose home is worth less than the mortgage just quits paying, without trying to sell it or modify the loan) and an overly complicated approval process. Fewer and fewer [...]
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 [...]
How to protest Cook Co. real estate taxes now
Real estate taxes have remained level or increased while home prices have tanked. With lower home values, clients reasonably expect that they will be able to lower their real estate taxes to reflect the lower home prices. Cook County real estate taxes can be protested at two levels, the Cook County Assessor and the Board [...]
Living trust funding: Whose job is it?
At home, I received a newsletter from a northwest suburban lawyer who prepares a lot of living trusts. This attorney does a lot of seminars and I must be in his direct mail target market now that I am old enough to be in the AARP army. I scanned the newsletter expecting the usual boilerplate, [...]
Will HAFA help speed up short sales?
It remains to be seem if the new HAFA program for short sales, which started April 5, 2010, will speed up short sales. Short sales were already speeding up a little on their own because lenders finally seemed to realize that with home prices nosediving, out of sheer self-interest, it was best to be less [...]
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 [...]
