About 80,000 people visit the Cook County Clerk’s office each year, just to find out if a parcel of real estate they own or are interested in has delinquent property taxes. Additionally, the Cook County Clerk’s office gets 96,000 calls a year, for the same reason. This doesn’t include all of the other phone calls and visitors they field. In order to be more efficient, the Cook County Clerk’s office has now posted this information online. Visitors to this new database can view the status of properties with unpaid taxes in the last 20 years, including information about whether the taxes have been sold or not. This information helps not only homeowners and prospective purchasers, but real estate attorneys and title companies as well! If you would like to visit the database, click here.
A bill passed the state house and senate earlier this month, and if it is signed into law by the governor, it could change the foreclosure landscape significantly when it takes effect on June 1, 2013. What would the new bill accomplish? First, the bill would charge more money to banks who file frequent foreclosures. Any lender that filed at least 175 foreclosures in the last year would have to pay an additional $500 for every new foreclosure complaint it files. Lenders that filed between 50 and 174 foreclosures in the last year would be charged an additional $250 per new filing, and lenders that filed between 1 and 49 foreclosures in the last year would pay an additional $50 per new complaint. With the amount of foreclosures filed annually, it is estimated that an additional $41 million in revenues will be collected in the year after the law takes effect.Second, the… read more →
A recent case, Spanish Court Two Condominium Association v. Carlson, 2012 IL App (2d) 110473 (June 27, 2012) is going to affect forcibles involving condominium associations throughout the state. In that case, the condominium association filed a complaint in forcible entry and detainer against the defendant based on defendant’s failure to pay regular and special assessments for six months. The defendant did not deny that she had not paid assessments. Rather, she claimed she did not owe assessments because the condominium association had failed to maintain the roof and the brickwork above her unit, causing damage to her unit and its contents. Further, she claimed that the condominum association had ordered her bathroom to be partially “destroyed”, believing that it was causing a leak in a neighboring unit. When the plumber determined the leak did not originate in her unit, the association repaired the bathroom, except for the toilet, which was inoperable. Based on these items, the defendant… read more →
When you apply for a short sale, you have to submit a LOT of paperwork. It’s a time-consuming process. And if you fail to respond to the bank quickly, well, they just close out your file and you get the privilege of applying all over again. It’s not a fun road, but it’s traveled all too often these days. If they’re going to put you through all that, make sure at the end you get what you deserve! There are a number of incentives out there to encourage short sales. For example: 1. If you are a seller who qualifies for a short sale under the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA), you could receive up to $3,000 in relocation costs. 2. Larger banks are offering their own incentives to sellers. Bank of America, Chase and Citibank often offer some relocation assistance as well, even if the loan does not qualify… read more →