the wasserblawg

by  Michael H. Wasserman, Attorney at Law Applications for the Cook County property tax Homeowner, Senior Citizen and Senior Freeze Exemptions are now available from the County Assessor's Office. Homeowners who apply & qualify for exemptions will receive deductions off of their second-installment property tax bills - which are expected to be issued by summer 2014. Forms are available as follows: 2013 Homeowner Exemption 2013 Senior Citizen Exemption 2013 Senior Tax Freeze 2013 Disabled Persons Exemption 2013 Disabled Veterans Exemption 2013 Returning Veterans Exemption 2013 WAIVER of Exemption  More information is available from the County Assessor

by  Michael H. Wasserman, Attorney at Law The City of Chicago offers refuse rebates to condominium and homeowner associations that have give or more units. Rebates are paid one year "in arrears" so that the next round of rebates will be against waste collection costs incurred in 2013. The 2013 rate is $25.00 per unit. . Applications for the rebate must be submitted to the associations' local aldermanic office ASAP (eg, in the 48th ward, no later than January 12, 2014) . A full description of requirements, qualifications and forms needed to request the rebate is available from the Chicago City Council, Department of Finance .

by  Michael H. Wasserman, Attorney at Law The Wall Street Journal reports that lenders are offering lower down-payment requirements to lure more borrowers wishing to purchase more expensive homes.  Many small lenders, (primarily community banks and credit unions), are now willing to cover jumbo loans with 5 percent to 10 percent down payments. In Chicago, jumbo loans are those that are $417,000 or higher.  These opportunities are being made possible by mortgage lenders wishing to increase market share as real estate property values are on the upswing coupled with the re-emergence of mortgage insurance companies will to insure against the risks of borrower defaults. 

by  Michael H. Wasserman, Attorney at Law Starting today,  Fannie Mae   homebuyers who plan to be owner-occupants get a 20 day “First Look” at foreclosed homes without competition from investors.  Freddie Mac  has been offering the 20 day first look since December 17th. The first look window for Chicago area properties had previously been 15 days, Homebuyers shopping for homes  can see which properties are restricted to First Look bidders in Fannie Mae’s “real estate owned” (REO) inventory at  HomePath.com  and for Freddie Mac REOs at  HomeSteps.com    Source:  fanniemae.com  and  freddiemac.com . - See more here.

by  Michael H. Wasserman, Attorney at Law The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act expires Tuesday at midnight. Sadly and perhaps all to predictably, Congress has three bills pending that would extend tax relief for underwater home owners, but has not acted to move any of them forward for passage. As new years approaches, several buyer-clients and I find ourselves standing on the sidelines watching several short sales that were "all but" approved but have ground to a full stop over the last several weeks, for no apparent reason. Waiting to see what happens next, if / when the Sellers lenders approve any or all of these deals next year.  Will Seller's attorneys advise their clients of the tax liabilities their clients will now face? Will they kill deals outright Delay closings until (?) Congress acts? (Will Congress act to extend the tax relief law?), or, Will they sell their clients down the (tax liability) river to close contracts (and get paid)? More on ...

by  Michael H. Wasserman, Attorney at Law

by  Michael H. Wasserman, Attorney at Law Cook County property owners wee mailed last week. Better start asking around if you did not receive yours yet - those bills are all due by March 1st. If you know a property's PIN, you can look them up at the County Treasurer's web site.  If you do not know the PIN, you can look that  up at the Cook County Assessor's site . How to Hold  Your Cook County Tax  Bill QUICK TIPS FOR HOME BUYERS Home buyers especially for first time home buyers, should not panic after looking at a 1st installment tax bill. Sure it looks  like a 10%  increase over last year. Yes, the tax bill  may (probably will?) go up, but for now - it is just too soon to tell. First installment bills are estimates only . They are automatically set at 55% of the previous year's levy. County and Municipal taxing bodies still have to finalize their respective budget processes and the actual tax bills will not be computed or ...