the wasserblawg

Cook County tax bills are due March 2nd by Michael H. Wasserman "'Tis impossible to be sure of anything but death and taxes." Christopher Bullock's infamous quote still rings true, some 300 years later.  Cook County tax bills are due March 2nd Cook County's 2020 First Installment property tax bills are due March 2nd. Surrounding counties will be due soon enough too. Thankfully, while none of us can avoid death, there are a few ways to save money on property taxes...which might make living a little sweeter. We are talking here are 2020 property tax bills that we will all need to pay this year, in 2021. Exemption eligibility is determined as of January 1st, 2020 . If you closed on property last year, you can certainly check the former owner’s status and ride on his or her coat-tails. You will not be eligible to claim exemptions you may qualify for yourself. Check out all the property-tax exemptions currently available for Cook County homeowners. Scroll below to f...

Set aside any discussion of climate change or COVID for a moment. It’s winter. It’s Chicago. It snows. As a homeowner, you owe it to your friends, family, neighbors and delivery people to keep the sidewalks free of snow and ice.

By Michael H. Wasserman It’s exciting to find a home to buy and have a signed contract in hand. This is when most home buyers start thinking about the fun stuff, like remodeling and decorating. Yet many forget one important step: securing homeowners insurance—which could derail the closing.

Hurry, Cook County tax bills are due March 1 "'Tis impossible to be sure of anything but death and taxes." Christopher Bullock's infamous quote still rings true, some 300 years later. Cook County's 2017 First Installment property tax bills are due March 1st. Surrounding counties will be due soon enough too. Thankfully, while none of us can avoid death, there are a few ways to save money on property taxes...which might make living a little sweeter.

Set aside any discussion of climate change for a moment. It’s winter. It’s Chicago. It snows. As a homeowner, you owe it to your friends, family, neighbors and delivery people to keep the sidewalks free of snow and ice.

O ne hundred reviews ago, our firm didn’t take Yelp seriously. We knew word of mouth was important, and that Yelp was an easy way for people to leave reviews about pizza joints, taverns and such. But then Yelp grew. As did our reviews. And they were mostly good.

Our real estate law firm loves Chicagoland. We live here; we work, cycle and play here. Most of us grew up here. We give back to our community here too through “Thanks to You,” our charitable program. With great pride and gratitude, we have delivered more than $48,000 in charitable donations since 2012. And we have pledged more than $8,000 this year so far.

Nothing should be simpler than a real estate closing. The buyer shows up with money. The Seller has a deed and some keys. They shake hands and trade. Nice. Turns out (over and over) that in the Venn Diagram of life, "simple" and "closing" seldom intersect. We learned of yet closing-related complication this week, courtesy of our friends at the City of Chicago, Department of Revenue . The Department is charged with "maximizing revenue collections to support the City's "vital" infrastructure. One way they are doing this is by scrutinizing tax declarations filed with the County Recorder , every time a deed or other document is recorded of record. The Department is, apparently, checking the transfer tax declarations to see when they are dated and then comparing them to the dates when the transfer tax stamps are actually purchased.... and they going after purchaser's who may not being paying the tax in a "timely" fashion. For better or ...

Kudos to fellow lawyer / blogger Peter Olson for uncovering this nugget. He hit a home run on this one. I have been cry-giggling about it since I read his post last night Real Estate in Chicago: Chicago " CTA Portion" Transfer Tax Refund? Yes, yes. City Transfer Tax increased effective April 1. Yes, yes, the City Council made a last minute switch so that Sellers are paying the increase, not buyers. Yes, yes, the revised tax declaration form may be the worst, most confused tax form ever. Yes, yes, in the short term many Buyers will be forced to pay the seller's share of the tax based on the contract language they agreed to months ago, before anyone ever considered the increase or the fee shift. The absurdest cherry on top turns out to be the " CTA Portion Refund." Recall that refund, was proposed and passed as part of the original ordinance, in February, 2008, when the entire transfer tax was going to be borne by Purchasers. At that it made good political...

Well that didn't take long. Chicago's City Council reconsidered yesterday, and by a 49-0 vote, passed a revised ordinance on the municipal transfer tax increase passing it off from buyers to sellers. The new seller-paid $3/$1,000 transfer tax can be added on to increased recording fees, and water department full payment certification fees. And, based on recent history anyway, stand by for title companies fee increases which seem to hit every spring....

Until this morning, few of us would have made a direct connection between the funding of public transportation in the metropolitan Chicago area and real estate conveyancing. But now the link has been established and it spells bad news for anyone wanting to buy or sell real estate in the City of Chicago. Buyers about to absorb the brunt of yet another closing cost increase; a possible (likely) 40% increase in the amount of the City of Chicago Real Property Transfer Tax. With just five days left until the 3rd public transit funding "doomsday" in the last six months, the cat has finally jumped out of the bag. This morning, we all woke to the news that the proposed transit "bail out" will be funded by a combination of local county sales tax increases, state general funds, and that transfer tax increase. Never mind that the transfer tax is levied by a completely different body of government - the City of Chicago and not the State. We must all prepare for the coming rea...