the wasserblawg

Some news is (finally) starting to leak out regarding those inevitable Cook County property tax bills everyone has been waiting for. We all, of course, know that local property tax bills are sent out in two installments. The first installment, a/k/a the estimated bill, is always taken as a percentage of the previous years levy. Formerly half of the prior years taxes, the most recent bill demanded 55% of the last known taxes, owing to a recently changed state law. The County, it seems, needs more money sooner. A prior blog post alerted readers to this change earlier this year. The second, of final installment of the tax bills is supposed  to get mailed out in August, providing a theoretical  due date of September 1st. These bills are very often mailed much later. Last year they went out in November  and were due December. There has been a good deal of rumor mongering and speculation about the timing of the second installment 2009 tax bills. Harken back to this report ...

Ronald Reagan famously remarked that "[T[he nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" I am reminded of the quote as a wave of emails and voice messages cascades through the office today. Last Thursday's declaration that Cook, DuPage and five other local counties are federal disaster areas should be a great help for the hundreds of homeowners and small business that were adversely effected by last months severe storms and flooding. The disaster declaration however is fast becoming a disaster of its own for many Chicago area buyers and sellers hoping to close their contracts this week.   As a direct result of the declaration of a flood-related disaster area, most mortgage lenders are requiring re-inspections on all appraisals dated August 7th, (the last date of the storm/flooding "incident" or earlier.  How many closings will be delayed as lenders and appraisers scramble to documen...

I am continually amazed by the creativity and effort that goes into mortgage fraud. Ask anyone who has been through the process of trying to use a mortgage loan to buy a home or condo in the last two years. Dollars to donuts you are going to see an eye roll, hear a clucking noise, or a heavy sigh before that person describes an ordeal of verifications, re-verifications, and cross-verifications. The majority of transactions I have worked on this year have been delayed as loan originators and underwriters try to parse every bit of data presented in a loan application. Lest your toil be for naught dear borrower, check out this story reported on Crib Chatter today that picks up on a r eport from Reuters about the scam running over by Back of the Yards. How big is the problem? In its first-quarter report, Interthinx said its Mortgage Fraud Risk Index rose 4 percent to 151, the first time it had passed 150 since 2004. A figure of 100 on the index wou...

On Monday, the Federal Reserve Systems' Board of Governors issued a final rule that places strict new limits on the way in which mortgage loan originators can get paid. The new order: Prohibits lenders from paying originators added compensation when borrowers agree to accept higher interest rates or other loan terms than they might otherwise qualify for  (the yield spread premium or "YSP"). Disallows originators receiving compensation from lenders or other third parties if the borrower pays them too, and Mandates that originators not "steer" consumers to loans that increase originator compensation but that are not in the consumer's best interest.  Consumers have long been at risk when dealing with loan originators who are compensated based on the terms of the loans offered. Loan officers, having superior knowledge about various loan programs were often offered very lucrative in Publish Post centives (i.e. more money) if they could convince (or mislea...

I was very sorry to learn today that Mercury Title Company closed its doors yesterday. Great company. Really nice staff. Another victim of the down real estate market. Mercury is transitioning all active files and post-closing matters over to Chicago Title.

I really enjoyed watching   Crazy Heart  on the Netflix with Susan last week. A whole lot more than I expected to.  The scenery and music were really nicely captured. A fair mix or sweet/sappy romance and fortune re-gained. Nice show, with one significant problem - every time Bad Blake hit the chorus on Fallin' & Flyin'   my mind kept wandering from whatever west Texas bowling alley or honky-tonks he was singing in to that other Southwester icon, Wile E. Coyote. More specifically, the look on Wiley's face every time he ran off a cliff while chasing road runner, just after he lost all forward momentum, and looked down. In terms of Chicago area real estate transactions, I wonder - where are we on the falling/flying continuum? This weeks' Illinois Association of Realtors news release certainly has a lot of  pundits feeling lighter than air. The headline says it all really: Illinois Home Sales Up 10 Months in a Row, Chicago Region a Full Year, Statew...

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 ...