What if you buy a condominium, relying on the disclosure information the condominium association board or management company provided you, only to find out that they didn’t give you everything they should have? What if you would never have bought the condominium if the association had disclosed all of the information they were supposed to? Well, you’re out of luck. In a recent case, D’Attomo v. Baumbeck, 2015 IL App (2d) 140865, this very issue was decided by the Illinois Appellate Court in favor of the condominium association. In that case, the contract purchaser of the unit sued the condominium association board, stating that they had breached their fiduciary duty by not providing the buyer with a copy of the amendment to the condominium declaration which prohibited leasing. The court held that the condominium association has no fiduciary duty to a contract buyer. Their duty is only to existing owners… read more →
Although it may not seem like it, banks abandon foreclosures all the time. And to help guide them through this process, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC) issued guidelines last week to clarify its expectations for lenders canceling a foreclosure. The FDIC encouraged lenders to work with borrowers to come up with an alternative that would allow borrowers to stay in their homes, which would make it more likely that homes would remain well-maintained and care form. The FDIC stated that when abandoning a foreclosure, banks should: Comply with state and local laws. Notify state and local governments and other relevant authorities of their decision to abandon the foreclosure. Notify the borrower that they are abandoning the foreclosure. Notify the borrower that they have the right to remain in the property for the time being, until the property is sold or transferred in some other way. Notify the borrower… read more →
RealtyTrac determined that 11.5% of homes nationwide were “seriously underwater” on their mortgages; in other words, they own at least a quarter more than their home is actually worth. RealtyTrac tracked one hundred U.S. cities, and only five of them had a higher percentage of homes underwater than the nationwide average. Chicago, unfortunately, is one of those cities. 21.5% of mortgaged Chicago-area homes are seriously underwater. As of December of 2015, that amounted to approximately 516,000 homeowners. Incidentally, that’s an improvement from December of 2014, when about 521,000 Chicago-area were underwater. The highest percentage of underwater homes were in Las Vegas, where 27.7% of homeowners with mortgages owe at least a quarter more than the value of their homes. Despite all of this, according to Black Knight Financial Services, while 1.09 million homes nationwide were at least 90-days past due on their mortgage payments (though not yet in foreclosure) at… read more →
If you are selling your home and looking at offers, you have so many things to think about. Are you getting the price you want? Can you be moved out in time for closing? What kind of repairs will you have to make? Will the buyer be looking for a credit? How much are your closing costs? Is the buyer going to get a loan? Is the buyer putting down enough money? Is the buyer getting an FHA loan? What does that mean for me? And at the end of the day, is this going to close? That’s what it all comes down to: Is it going to close? As a Seller, are you going with the right offer – the one that’s most likely to close and still give you the price you want? You already know you need to make sure the buyer either has the cash or… read more →