An interesting case, Perron v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 15-2206 (January 11, 2017) S.D. Ind., Indianapolis Div., recently decided by the Seventh Circuit Appeals Court, started out when the homeowners neglected to tell their mortgage servicer that they had switched their home insurance carrier. Since their mortgage servicer paid the insurance out of their escrow, their new insurer didn’t get paid. As a result, in 2011, the plaintiffs sent two letters to the bank accusing them of paying the wrong insurance company out of their escrow account. Since Chase had not received any notice of the switch in insurance carriers, Chase, not surprisingly, paid the old insurance company. Chase told the plaintiffs that the old insurance company would send them a refund, and that they should send that refund on back to Chase so that Chase could replenish the homeowners’ escrow account. The old insurance company did send… read more →
The Super Bowl is over, Valentine’s Day is over, and despite the fax that the groundhog saw his shadow, it seems that our Chicago winter has been relatively mild as far as winters go. Spring is definitely in the air. And spring means. . . . .tax season. As you get ready to do your taxes this year, keep in mind you may qualify for some tax breaks you didn’t expect. If you have made certain home improvements, they may pay off in more ways than one. For example, installation of the any of the following energy efficiency items or appliances make your home more green and save you some green at the same time: Central air conditioning can get you a $300 credit. Insulation can save you up to $500, or 10% of what it costs – whichever is less. A solar water heater can save you 30% of… read more →
An interesting case, Cantrall v. Bergner, 2016 IL App (4th) 150984 (December 19, 2016) Sangamon Co., started out as a breach of the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, and turned into a fee-shifting dispute. Here’s what happened: The plaintiff entered into a contract to purchase the defendants’ home in March of 2011. The defendants provided the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure, which stated that they were not aware of leaking or material defects in the chimney, ceilings or roof. During the home inspection, the inspector found damage and rotting wood. The parties entered into an addendum which stated that the defendant could complete the repairs himself, if he was competent to, or he could hire a contractor. The defendant chose to make the repairs himself, even though he had no knowledge of roofing. Although her inspector suggested that she have a roofer make sure the work was done correctly,… read more →
Some new bills have been proposed in the state legislature this year. It remains to be seen whether they will pass, but if they do, they will tweak existing laws and regulations affecting real estate in various ways. Here’s a quick summary of some of the proposed legislation: Of course, foreclosures are on everyone’s mind, at least for the last 8-10 years. One of the proposed laws takes some of the burden off of the bank. Specifically, the proposed legislation would create a prima facie case of foreclosure if the bank can admit the following two items into evidence: the mortgage and the note. That’s really all the bank would need. After that, the burden would shift to the mortgagor to contradict the prima facie case of foreclosure. The mortgagor would have to prove the amount still outstanding on the note and also make any affirmative defenses. The bank will… read more →
The Illinois Housing and Development Authority (IHDA) has updated its first-time homebuyer assistance program, which is called 1st Home Illinois. Here’s what you need to know to help you figure out if you qualify for IHDA down-payment and closing cost assistance under the 1st Home Illinois program: First of all, you don’t really have to be a first-time homebuyer. As long as you have not owned a home in the last three years, you may qualify. Even if you have owned a home in the last three years, you still may qualify if you are purchasing a home in a “targeted area”. For more information on targeted areas, see IHDA’s website. Moreover, if you’re a veteran, it doesn’t matter if you owned a home last week; you still qualify. The home you are purchasing must be in either Cook County or one of the following Illinois counties: Boone, DeKalb, Fulton,… read more →
Trulia recently studied old census data, as well as current population surveys, to try to figure out why less and less millennials are buying homes. Are they renting? Moving somewhere else? What is going on? Well, it turns out that more and more millennials are staying put – with mom and dad, that is. About 40% of millennials are living at home with their parents. The last time 40% of adults ages 18-34 were living with their parents was in 1940. Back then, the country was still feeling the effects of the Great Depression. By 1950, only about 30% of adults ages 18-34 were still living with their parents. By 1960, that number had gone down to about 24%, the lowest it ever was. The Federal Reserve recently completed another study that shows more millennials are living at home, but tied their findings to student loan debt. Apparently the more… read more →
Transfer taxes can be tricky when it’s not a simple buy-sell transaction. Sometimes looking at the statute and the documentation can be confusing, even for the government entity imposing the tax. Do the parties involved owe transfer taxes or don’t they? From the parties’ perspective, it’s always nice to find a situation when they don’t, which is what happened in City of Chicago v. Elm State Property LLC, 2016 IL App (1st) 152552 (December 22, 2016) Cook Co., 4th Div. Back in 2009, one of the defendants, Halsted West, purchased a mortgage from PNC Bank. The loan was in default, and the borrower transferred title to the property to Halsted West in 2010 via deed in lieu of foreclosure. The deed in lieu of foreclosure was subsequently recorded, along with the City of Chicago transfer tax forms, claiming a transfer tax exemption. In 2011, the City of Chicago sent a… read more →
In a recent case, TCF National Bank v. Richards, 2016 IL App (1st) 152083 (October 28, 2016) Cook Co., 5th Div., the court determined that the bank’s service by publication, as opposed to service by sheriff or special process server, was sufficient service, and the defendant homeowner was properly foreclosed. Of course, the decision was not made lightly. The bank filed for foreclosure in December of 2013. The bank’s counsel retained a special process server to attempt service on the homeowner. The special process server was unable to secure service on the homeowner. In January, the bank filed a affidavit of service by publication, and furnished four affidavits in support. The first affidavit was from the bank’s counsel, stating she had made diligent inquiry but could not track down the defendant. The other three affidavits were from three different special process servers, all employed by the company the bank’s counsel… read more →
A recent case, CF SBC Pledgor 1 2012-1 Trust v. Clark/School, LLC, 2016 IL App (4th) 150568 (September 8, 2016) Vermilion Co., demonstrates just how dangerous it can be to let your limited liability company or other entity lapse when you own real estate you have a mortgage on. Ten years ago, the defendant borrowed money from plaintiff’s predecessor-in-interest, secured by an apartment complex in Danville, Illinois. Among other things, the terms of the loan required the defendant to keep the property in good repair, and to maintain the borrower (the limited liability company) in good standing. Failure to do these items was an event of default under the loan. In December of 2013, the lender filed suit to foreclose the defendant, citing failure to maintain and failure to keep the company in good standing. In January of 2014, defendant countered, stating the emergency maintenance situation at the property was… read more →
Until recently, when a potential lender evaluated your credit report, they could see whether you made payments timely and whether you had defaulted on any loans. Your lender could not figure out if you were a “revolver” or a “transactor”. What does the mean? Well, a “revolver” is a person who makes minimum payments on debts, such as credit card debt, and continues to roll the debt forward. A “transactor” is someone who pays off their bills – and we’re mostly referring to credit cards – in full every month. Basically, until recently, the lender could not tell if you were paying your credits cards in full every month, or just paying minimum payments. Analysis done by the credit industry suggests that transactors are less likely to default on mortgage loans. Effective June 25, 2016, though, things changed. Fannie Mae, who purchases many loans, required that mortgages presented to them… read more →