the wasserblawg

by Michael H. Wasserman Home buyers on the hunt for information about a prospective new home have a new arrow in their quiver - DiedinHouse.com . This web site provides a service just exactly as its name suggests. Customers willing to pay a nominal fee ($11.99) receive a report on whether or not anyone has ever died at a given United States address.  Does this matter? I suppose that depends on how curious any given buyer (or homeowner) is about such macabre things. This could certainly effect one's comfort level living at the scene of a past crime or other tragedy. And certainly, there is the money thing - according to Trulia (as reported in Forbes ) a prior death or violent crime in a home can reduce its value by up to 30%! Illinois home sellers have no duty to tell prospective buyers about a home's violent past or about deaths that have taken place there.  In fact there are only three states of our 50 that impose any duty to disclose such events within 1-3 years ...

Like them or not, zoned parking in Chicago presents a terrible challenge for Realtors showing properties to their prospective buyer-customers - risk a ticket to show a potential home or park the car blocks away? Finally, City Clerk Susan Mendoza is moving a forward on a long wished-for proposal that will be a godsend for these Brokers - an all-access-parking-pass-for-real-estate-agents. more details here

by Michael H. Wasserman  We live in a terribly unsafe world transacting real estate purchases and sales. There is a lot of money passing between Buyers and Sellers and Lenders and Title Insurance Companies. Unfortunately, there are a great many scammers out there trying to divert those funds away from the deal and into their pockets. In the coming weeks, I intend to write about several new rules and protocols being implemented to try to avoid calamities of this sort. For now, I wish to alert Realtors and other lawyers about an increasingly common email fraud.  I am seeing multiple emails every day from lenders and title companies with the seemingly innocuous email caption: HUD-1 Approval***. Hud-1, of course, the form number for the federally mandated settlement statement used in most every residential purchase/sale and mortgage re-finance transaction. We need these forms in order to advise our clients of their closing costs and the amounts of money they need ...

by Michael H. Wasserman Cook County property owners can now see their 2014 1st Installment property tax bills online at the County Treasurer's web site . Tax bills are due on or before March 3, 2015.  The first installment bill is not a predictor of what the final annual tax bill will look like. This is merely 55% of last years bill and is simply an estimate  of what the final levy may look like. IF YOU ESCROW FOR TAXES WITH YOUR LENDER: Property tax payers who escrow for taxes with their lender need not take any action - the lender is supposed to pay for you. (OK, maybe you should check to make sure that your lender actually does pays the bill.). IF YOU PAY YOUR OWN TAXES: Make sure that you pay on time! The County charges 18% per anum interest on delinquent taxes (1.5% per month). You can pay any number of ways, including - Payment the County directly , in person at the Treasurer's Offices or by mail at any local (Illinois) Chase Bank branch location at oth...

by: Michael H. Wasserman According to Active Transportation Alliance, the 18-mile  Chicago lakefront path is the busiest trail in the country, with peak usage at more than 30,000 users per day during the summer. (Lucky me) it is also the main artery of my commute to work most days. Even the most  occasional  user can tell you - it is simply not engineered/able to accommodate such a large volume of mixed mode users all travelling at different speeds. ATA is campaigning  to support increased investment in separating pedestrians and bicyclists on the trail and other safety improvements. Everyone should enjoy the lakefront. Often. It is one of the City's great assets. Improving park facilities like trail improvements will only enhance the experience for us all. 

by Michael H. Wasserman The spring 3.5% closing cost credit incentive offered on newly listed Fannie Mae “HomePath” properties has been extended for one more month.  Introduced back in February, the original program applied to offers submitted by March 31st for contracts closing by May 31st. The deal now applies for offers submitted by April 30 that close by June 30th. This appears to be a highly popular incentive program. I am working with several clients on FNMA purchases fortunate enough to participate here. These are great opportunities to boost buying power for select Chicago area home and condo purchases. More information available from FNMA here , 

The mortgage industry is poised to start making sub-prime mortgage loans again. CNN Money reports that several smaller lenders are now offering loan products to borrowers with credit scores of 640 and lower . Last month, Wells announced it would offer FHA guaranteed loans to borrowers with credit scores as low as 600. Now Carrington Mortgage (a firm I have not seen funding Chicago area home mortgages) has announced it will lend to consumers with credit scores as low as 540. In fact National Mortgage News reports that the average minimum  FICO score for the 15 lenders with the lowest minimums in fourth quarter 2013 was 571, down from 599 one year ago. Lenders are aiming principally at two market segments - young first time home buyers and former owners who were wiped out in the market collapse. Why? two forces seem to be driving the softening of the lending standards: A shrinking pool of new loan applications and rising costs associated with adaptation of the new QM (qualified ...