the wasserblawg

Changes afoot at the City of Chicago, Department of Water Management may be having (adverse) impacts on real estate closings.  Over the course of the last several weeks, I have seen an uptick in closings being delayed as some Sellers are finding it harder to some required paperwork from the City. One source described a six week backlog for some certification requests. At least two contracts have been outright cancelled because of the delays. Buyers simply could not, or would not wait any longer. In order to close on home purchase or sale involving Chicago real estate, the Sellers must present a "Full Payment Certification" to show that the water bill is current. These certificates are typically obtained directly from the water department's basement lair at the DePaul Center, 333 South State Street. If you have never been there, the offices are uninviting, inhospitable, and doing business there has long been (for my, anyway) unpleasant. Slow and unfriendly to say th...

by: Michael Wasserman Good news for anyone interested in buying & flipping single family homes. The FHA has extended it's "90 day anti-flipping" waiver for another two years. The extension leaves open some great money-making opportunities for individuals and enterprises interested in real estate transaction. It should also be a benefit to communities burdened by vacant/run down/abandoned housing stock. (Not bad for those of us who facilitate home purchases and sales either).  In this context, "flips"   are two-step real estate deals where a distressed home is purchased cheap, fixed-up quickly and then resold at a profit. The art of the deal involves finding the right homes at the right price, making the right repairs, and then reselling as quickly as possibly to minimize the "carrying costs" associated with owning the property.   THE PROBLEM WITH FLIPS: Historically, flipping can be a very profitable enterprise. Unfortunately, many such ...

by: Michael Wasserman The City of Chicago Department of Buildings has quietly announced a January 1st increase in the cost of a Zoning Certificate of Compliance. In the new year, the fee will rise from $90 to $120. The certificate is required at the time of closing for all single family homes and multi-unit buildings with up to five residential dwellings. It does not apply to the transfer or sale of condominiums or cooperative buildings. Chicago Zoning Certificate A Seller applies for the certificate at the Building Department's City Hall offices (room 905), stating the number of residential units Seller believes exist at the property location. The Building Department either "agrees" with the Seller's representation and certifies, or denies certification as it believes another number may exist. The purpose here is to prevent buyers from acquiring property with illegal dwelling units. The process notifies both the seller and the buyer as to how many lawful un...

by: Michael Wasserman The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation have both announced that they will halt mortgage proceedings during the holidays.  While this will not suspend pre-foreclosure collection or loss mitigation activity, at least delinquent home owners can have some peace of mind knowing that they will not likely loose their homes altogether, or be evicted before years's end.  JP Morgan Chase & Citibank are expected to also announce a Holiday moritorium. Bank of America recently also made a similar announcement.  Fannie and Freddie halt foreclosures for the holidays This is somewhat comforting news coming out, considering that the New York Times is reporting today that the fastest growing demographic for foreclosure/delinquency activity is widows 50 years old and older, who's late husbands held home mortgages in their names alone.   UPDATE: Following suit, US Bancorp, PNC Financial, SunTrust, W...

by: Michael Wasserman Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is warning businesses to beware of a scam targeting Illinois corporations. A firm called Corporate Records Service is contacting Illinois businesses in an attempt to collect a $125 fee to fill out a corporation’s “Annual Minutes Records Form.”  The Illinois Business Corporation Act does not require corporations to file a “Minutes Records Form” or pay such a fee with the state or any private entity. “The problem is that the form this bogus firm is sending out looks similar to our Secretary of State’s annual report form,” White said.  “We are concerned that companies are filing the form and paying the $125 because they believe they are filing their annual report with us, as required by law.” Although the bogus notice states that the fee must be paid by September 21, 2012, there is no fee due to the state for that purpose.  The only fee that corporations must pay is the fee that is paid with their ...

No snow in the forecast and the earth has not frozen over, but indeed, your Cook County 2011 2nd Installment Property Tax bill is on its way to your mail box and will be due August 1st. First time it is out this early in 40 years. MORE INFORMATION HERE.

by: Michael Wasserman Here is a really great article from a blog over at Zillow detailing some of the potential pitfalls of buying recently rehabbed / "flip" properties. Flipping is a "term of art" used to describe an investor's quick sale following the purchase of a home or condo, (hopefully with a tidy profit earned in the process).  There have been many reports in the media these days about  "flipping" properties, mostly touting them as investment opportunities, and the massive profit potential they offer. Six years ago, those flips would have started with  pre-construction condo purchases, resold shortly after the properties were completed. These days, almost all the flips I see involve the "rehabilitation" of foreclosed or otherwise distressed real estate. (Including, ironically enough, flips of those new-construction condos from years gone by). From a Sellers' point of view, there are great opportunities for profit here. I hav...