Skip to main content

New Water Department Fees for Chicago Homer Sellers

For years, and with very few exceptions, home sellers in Chicago have had to prove at closing that their municipal water & sewer bills were paid in full. Naturally, the City of Chicago's Department of Water Management has charged a modest fee to produce the required certification.

Effective December 17, 2007, that fee will increase from $25 to $50.

The new requirement will also apply to condominiums, a practice that was discontinued back in 2004, when the department was plagued by certain irregularities (scandals) and the volume of closings caused massive delays in getting such certifications processed.

There has been very little publicity about this change so I expect that more than a few closings are going to be delayed or skewered as uninformed condo sellers and their lawyers scramble to obtain the necessary paperwork. Making things worse, I understand that there have been several recent departmental layoffs so do not be surprised when you re-acquaint yourself with those nasty long lines at the department's service counter and payment window.

The measure is expected to generate $11 million in new revenue for the City.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PLM Title Shuttered

Title insurance is a critically important part of any real estate transaction; or at least it should be. The title company guaranties the "quality" of an owners interest in the property - that there aren't any (unknown) liens or defects. No buyer that I work for will purchase a property without it. Title insurance is only as good as the insurer. We want to know that the insurance company, like the Rock of Gibraltar , will always be there. We want to sleep easy at night, knowing that the client is protected. That said, it was a bit distressing to see that PLM Title Company shut its doors, without any forewarning last week. Worse still, this morning's news is that there is a criminal investigation underway - and that we do not yet know why. Old timers like me shudder with memories of the great Intercounty Title debacle five years ago. Here's to hoping that this one is nothing like that one. Set aside the problems involved trying to make a claim against a defun
6 comments
Read more

FHA Loans and Condo Sales - Is Relief on the Way?

By all outward appearances, state government in Illinois has ground to a complete halt, with all eyes focused on the Governor's "problem" and all the related fal - der -rah. Its hardly business as usual in Springfield, but not everything has ground to a halt. Several new bills have been introduced this week. That is not to say that they will be of benefit to we the people. Nonetheless, the cogs and gears are turning, and we are hoping for the best. One such proposal comes from Rep. LaShawn Ford of Chicago's west side, who is himself a real estate broker and entrepreneur . He is the author of House Bill 155 , introduced & referred to the Rules Committee Wednesday. It seeks to address one of the most common problems I am seeing in condominium resale transactions these days; the tension between many Declarations of Condominium and FHA loan guidelines. Many Condo Declarations provide Associations with a "right of first refusal," which basically allows t
3 comments
Read more

MAYOR DALEY PROPOSES TIF FINANCING FOR SOME DISTRESSED PROPERTIES

Lets see how City Council reacts on this one, but the Mayor introduced a pretty interesting little ordinance that might be a real boon to first time area home buyers willing to buy and rehabilitate some bank-owned properties. Progress Illinois reports that the mayor's bill, introduced on March 9: "seeks to tackle the growing problem of vacant homes that are blighting neighborhoods across Chicago, and in particular in minority communities. Called the Vacant Building TIF Purchase and Rehabilitation Ordinance, the  bill  (PDF) proposes allowing residents with a household income no greater than 100 percent of the regional median income to apply for a tax increment financing (TIF) grant that would pay for up to 25 percent of the cost of purchasing and rehabilitating an empty residential property. Single-family empty homes or units in condo and cooperative buildings with four units or fewer are eligible. The empty homes must be located in a TIF district and must be in need of
Post a Comment
Read more