the wasserblawg

Chicago Title Insurance Company sent out notice today that, effective August 1st, it is increasing escrow closing fees and title insurance premium charges for residential closings.  Escrow services will cost an additional $100 per transaction. Fees charged for Owners and Lenders insurance policies will also rise, $50.00 each. I have not yet checked with any of the other title insurance companies but do not be surprised if others follow suit with rate increases of their own in the coming months. For the records, this is CT's 4th rate increase in the last in the last three years. Owners policy premiums have increased 20% since July, 2007. Lenders policies are up 33%. The cost of escrow closings, depending on the amount of insurance purchased, have increased as much as 55% in that time span as well.  ( To be clear, these historical rate increases span the whole Chicago Residential Market , not just at CT).  Chicago Title remains my preferred source for title services. I ...

Last week , the I.H.D.A. announced t hat it awarded a total of $2.8 million to 436 first time home buyers in the form of down payment assistance and contributions towards closing costs of up to $5,000 and subordinate financing (0% loans of up to $30,000). The funding for this program is derived from the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which itself is funded from property transfer taxes. Has the economic slowdown impacted this very important and valuable program? You betcha. In 2009, the IHDA awarded $4,178,000.

Two years ago today, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation  initiated the Illinois Anti-Predatory Lending Database ( IAPLD ) project. Since then, details of most every Cook County mortgage transaction have been manually entered into the State's super computers, not once, but twice, sometimes even three times.... all at additional expense to the borrowers the process aims to protect. Closing are taking longer too. Predatory lending, while "discouraged," remains legal. Today, the program expands to three neighboring counties, Kane, Will and Peoria. As with Cook, all three have been hit hard by foreclosures, many the result of those too-good-to-be-true loans we saw so much of  back in those go-go days before the bubble burst.   The APLD law requires loan originators to enter details of proposed loans into a state database. The state computer screens the loan and - where appropriate - mandates that would-be borrowers attend  loan counseling ...

Is the City of Chicago preparing  to start taxing foreclosures? @ Properties agent Robert Darrow of @ Properties posted an interesting  piece yesterday on his always informative blog, suggesting that very thing, Apparently, 26th ward Alderman Roberto Maldonado has  introduced proposed legislation to the City Council, assessing the transfer tax on bank acquisitions of foreclosed properties.  There is not much other information on the internets to flesh this story out, so it may be a bit premature to take sides on this one. What the heck, here is my take so far:

It is just not getting any easier for home buyers hoping to finance their deals with mortgage backed loans. Beginning June 1, lenders originating mortgages being sold to Fannie Mae will have to pull a second credit report just before the loan closes. According to the National Mortgage New s, the new quality control requirement is designed to prevent a type of mortgage fraud called "shotgunning," a mortgage scam in which someone obtains several loans (from multiple, unwitting lenders) on the same property. all at the same time. Typically, a shotgun fraudster skips town with the proceeds of all his loans. Most of the lenders do not recoup a cent because their mortgages are subordinate to the first one recorded and the home will not fetch enough in a sale to cover the junior liens.  The second credit reports, it is thought, will alert lenders to other creditors who have recently requested information about the mortgage applicant.  Buyers are cautioned (as always) to defer ...

direct from the you tube: markenlei — April 28, 2010 — Morning rush hour in the 4th largest city in the Netherlands. Streets look like this when 33% of ALL trips are made by bicycle! This is an ordinary Wednesday morning in April 2010 at around 8.30 am. Original time was 8 minutes that were compressed into 2 minutes, so everything is 4 times faster than in reality. The sound is original. This is one of the busiest junctions in Utrecht a city with a population of 300,000. No less than 18,000 bicycles and 2,500 buses pass here every day. And yet Google Street View missed it. Because private motorized traffic is restricted here. These cyclists cross a one way bus lane (also used by taxis and municipal vehicles), two light rail tracks and then a one way street that can be used by private vehicles. Behind the camera is a railway (you can hear the squeaking sounds of the trains passing) and the main railway station is very close too. A number of rental bikes from the station pa...

Not only is Sunday Mothers Day and my sister Judy's birthday, it marks the 25th anniversary of my admission to the Illinois Bar. A heart felt thanks Mom (& Dad) for encouraging me in my studies, and in my pursuit of a life-long dream. Thank you to everyone who has supported my efforts and who helped me reach this goal. Thank you.