If you are entering into a contract to repair or remodel your home, you should be aware of the Home Repair and Remodeling Act (815 ILCS 513/1 et seq.). The purpose of this law is to protect Illinois homeowners and contractors, and it requires some disclosures and documentation so that the parties are aware of their respective obligations. Specifically, if a homeowner is remodeling or completing repairs for $1,000 or more, the contractor must give that homeowner a brochure entitled “Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights” prior to signing the contract. Then, prior to beginning work, the contractor must obtain a signed contract or work order. If a contractor does not comply with these requirements and the other requirements of the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, the contractor will be unable to enforce the agreement against the homeowner. It is important for homeowners to understand, however, that in a recent… read more →
Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors have helped save many lives. Illinois has codifed the necessity for these devices in the Smoke Detector Act and the Carbon Monoxide Detector Act. Following these rules can not only protect you and your family, but will also assist you in selling or leasing your home. Smoke Detector Act — Per state law, every single-family home must have a smoke detector installed on each floor, including the basement. For other dwelling units, there must be at least one working smoke detector within 15 feet of every bedroom or other room used for sleeping purposes. All smoke detectors must be installed on the ceiling, at least 6 inches from any wall. Smoke detectors may also be installed on the wall, so long as they are between 4-6 inches away from the ceiling. Additionally, if a building contains more than one residential unit, or if the… read more →
Lead-based paint was primarily used in homes built before 1978, but its effects are still being felt today. Lead is a toxic substance; exposure to lead increases the level of lead found in your blood, which can cause learning and other behavioral disorders. Chipped or cracked lead-based paint can increase your exposure to the lead in the paint. In 1978, Congress banned lead-based paint, and a variety of federal guidelines were put into place. As a landlord or property manager, under federal law you are required to do the following to protect yourself: 1) If the property was built before 1978, you must provide a disclosure to your tenants stating whether or not you have any knowledge of lead-based paint being present in the home; 2) Include a warning statement about lead-based paint in your lease; 3) Give your tenant a copy of the federal HUD/EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family… read more →
Home values seem to be dipping every month, and face it, you’re not getting any younger. Have you considered that upon your death, the value of your home might be enough to push your estate from non-taxable to taxable? If you were to die in 2008 and your estate was valued at less than $2,000,000, there would be no federal estate tax. But if the value of your house (or anything else, for that matter) causes you to exceed that magic number, then presto — your estate is paying taxes. A QPRT (Qualfied Personal Residence Trust) is essentially a way to move your home out of your estate, thereby lowering the value of your estate upon your death. At the same time, you still get to live in your home while you’re alive. How does this work? Let’s say your house was worth $750,000 in early 2007 but is only… read more →
Condominium owners often wonder if the information they were given about the size of their unit is correct. They find themselves asking questions such as: Is it really 1,000 square feet? Or: That second bedroom looks kind of small — Did I get cheated? Is the ceiling really 10′ high? Isn’t that what my contract said it should be? Well, there are two ways that developers and architects can measure footage of a condominium unit, and both are widely accepted: 1) From inside wall to inside wall — meaning, from the surface of the drywall on one wall, to the surface of the drywall on the wall across from it; this is commonly called the “paint to paint” measurement. 2) From the outside wall of the unit to the middle of the opposing wall. In a recent case, Kirkpatrick v. Strosberg, 2008 Ill.App.LEXIS 358 (1st Dist. 2008), the condominium owners… read more →
Many times property owners forget that they have escrowed money with their lender for property taxes. As a result, Illinois counties often receive duplicate tax payments on an individual parcel of property — one from the bank and one from the property owner. If your bank is escrowing your taxes and you erroneously make a duplicate tax payment, you should submit a property tax refund request to the county. To do so, you can go online to your county treasurer’s website and follow their instructions. Most of the time, you will receive a refund within a few months. But what happens if you forget to request the refund? How do you get your money back? Well, in Illinois you can get duplicate tax payments back as long as you submit your request within five years. The court recently confirmed this in Alvarez v. Pappas, 208 Ill.LEXIS 315 (2008). In that… read more →
People are always asking me about other areas of the law, and car troubles and their legal ramifications have come up more than once! Sergei Lemberg, an attorney specializing in lemon laws, is guest blogging today. I hope you find his article about lemon laws in Illinois informative! If you’ve ever bought a new car, you know what a rush it is. There’s the new car smell, the feeling of power as you hit the accelerator, and the peace of mind knowing that you’ll have a reliable ride for a long, long time. But what happens when that new car isn’t so reliable? When you wake up one morning and have to come to terms with the fact that you’ve bought a lemon? Well, Illinois lemon law can help. Every state has a lemon law, but that each of them is different. Under Illinois’ lemon law, some vehicles qualify as… read more →
On October 9, 2008, the Cook County Sheriff’s Department announced it was suspending evictions of all foreclosed homes within county limits. The sheriff’s primary concern was for tenants in foreclosed properties, not property owners. Tenants in properties facing foreclosure were not receiving notice of the potential or actual foreclosure from the banks as required by law. With neither the banks nor landlords notifying them, many tenants knew nothing about having to vacate their homes until the sheriff’s office came knocking on their doors. Last week the court promised to enforce the rules requiring banks to provide a four month grace period before forcing tenants to move out. Additionally, banks will have to notify the court of all tenants residing at the property, and prove that they gave each tenant notice of the foreclosure. While adhering to these rules will prolong the foreclosure process for properties inhabited by tenants, tenants will… read more →
More good news for distressed Cook County homeowners: The Cook County Sheriff’s Department announced this week that they are suspending service of evictions notices on people who are being foreclosed, as well as renters in buildings that are being foreclosed because the landlord has been unable to make mortgage payments. Particularly with respect to renters, the Cook County Sheriff is requesting that banks give tenants notice of the foreclosure and time to leave voluntarily if the landlord has not paid the mortgage; while landlords routinely get such notices from their banks, they usually do not share them with tenants. As a result, tenants often know nothing about having to vacate the property until the sheriff shows up at their door. The Cook County Sheriff’s Department has chosen to take this course of action despite the fact that it violates numerous foreclosure decrees issues by Cook County courts. It is yet… read more →
Finally, some good news for the thousands of people who are being foreclosed and losing their homes: Countrywide (now part of Bank of America) recently entered into an $8.4 billion settlement with 11 states, including Illinois. Illinois’ share of this settlement amounts to $190 million, and these funds will be used to assist approximately 21,000 distressed Illinois homeowners who obtained loans from Countrywide Mortgage prior to December 31, 2007. Specifically, these homeowners can expect to have their interest rates reduced; in some cases, even the principal of the loan may be reduced. The goal is to make their monthly payments more affordable, ideally 32% or less of a family’s income. Additionally late fees, loan modification fees, and prepayment penalties will be waived. Certain families that already lost their homes as a result of foreclosure proceedings shall receive cash payments. Countrywide/Bank of America will also suspend ongoing foreclosure proceedings for those… read more →