Long before the real estate market crashed, developer Kimball Hill signed an agreement with the City of Elgin to develop land. Kimball Hill was to improve the land at its expense, and Elgin would then annex the land into the City of Elgin. Kimball Hill obtained bonds from two separate insurance companies to guarantee its performance of the Annexation Agreement it had signed with Elgin. Back in 2003, when all of this was done, the real estate market was booming. Unfortunately, by the time the property was developed, the economy had crashed; Kimball Hill filed bankruptcy in 2008. A company called TRG purchased the property out of bankruptcy, and subsequently refused to make the improvements Kimball Hill had promised to make in the Annexation Agreement. As a result, in 2012 Elgin sued TRG and both insurance companies that had issued bonds. Eventually, the case was appealed, and in City of… read more →
The SBA 504 program is a refinancing program for owner-occupied commercial real estate. It will be available starting in mid-2016, and will likely be a popular choice amongst small-business owners who also own their own real estate. If you’re looking to refinance your commercial property, it might be worth looking into the SBA 504 program. To qualify, your commercial property must be owner-occupied, and the project cost cannot exceed $15,000,000. Moreover, you need to be able to put 10% down. If you qualify for financing under SBA 504, you will get a fixed-interest rate (presumably lower than conventional financing, although that remains to be seen). You will essentially have two mortgage liens on your real estate. The first lien will be for 50% of the total project cost. The second lien will cover an additional 40% of the project cost, but it will be 100% guaranteed by the SBA. The… read more →
Condominium associations can generally determine whether or not they want to allow renters. If they choose to allow renters, they can then decide to what extent renters are allowed. They can limit the term of the lease, the total units available for rent, and require tenants to submit to background checks. But whatever they do, they have to go about it the right way. A recent decision by the appellate court, Stobe v. 842-848 West Bradley Place Condominium Association, 2016 Il App (1st) 141427 (Feb 3, 2016) Cook Co., 3rd Div., proves just that. In Stobe, the association’s condominium declaration allowed owners to rent their units. The condominium association’s board, however, had adopted rules that limited how many units could be leased at a time. The plaintiff argued that this conflicted with the condominium declaration. Clearly, the intent was to allow owners to lease their units, and it was wrong… read more →
As you may know, if you are facing foreclosure, under the Homeowner Protection Act, the bank is required to notify you that you have a 30-day grace period before they will file a foreclosure suit. During those 30 days, the bank cannot file suit against you. Moreover, the bank needs to maintain proof that they sent you notice of the 30-day grace period. In Bank of America, N.A. v. Adeyiga, 2014 IL App (1st) 131252 (September 30, 2014) Cook Co., 5th Div., the lender found this out the hard way. The lender foreclosed the Adeyigas and completed a judicial sale of the property. The Adeyigas filed suit, claiming, among other things, that the bank breached the Homeowner Protection Act by failing to provide the mandatory 30-day grace period. The lender was unable to produce evidence that it had, in fact, sent a grace-period notice, or when it was sent. The… read more →