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 Our day to day focus in this office is to facilitate safe, secure, and pleasant closings for our clients when they buy and sell real estate. We work very hard to assure success and to solve the problems that get in the way of our shared objectives. We are always on the lookout for ways to make the process even easier. We spend an inordinate amount of time on improving the system and the client experience.  Like many other businesses, we see the year's end as a time of reflection. We step back from the day to day work and try to appreciate the results of our efforts. To consider our achievements and to express our deepest gratitude to everyone we work with. We thank the other deal participants, our referral partners and we consider how fortunate we are that so many hundreds of families entrust us us on work on their real estate deals. We can do none of this without them. We cannot do any of this without you. We appreciate all of you. Our hearts are full. ...

by Michael H. Wasserman Steve Schneider I’m not sure how you spent your Memorial Day weekend, but if you are in the market to buy a new home in or around Chicago, you very likely spent much of it out and about looking at new homes. By all accounts real estate activity right now is quite strong despite a limited available inventory of homes to choose from. Buyers seem to be re-energized right now and the effects have been staggering. Most buyers who have contacted me this week have won out or are still engaged in bidding wars over properties they like. Brokers are reporting the clients are back out, looking at 5-10 homes before making offers. Our initial fears of the COVID-19 pandemic seem to be waning. Confidence in our Realtors’ ability to keep us safe and secure in the house hunting process is increasing. We have seen more new contracts come into the office in the past seven days than we had in the preceding three weeks combined. If you are a seller waiting on the sidelin...

by Michael H. Wasserman The two-bedroom, Lakeview condo seemed huge when Meg and Cary first moved in 10 years ago as newlyweds. That was two dogs and two daughters ago. Before the stay-at-home order. Before COVID-19. The small house movement may be “a thing,” but Meg and Cary are living proof that small houses are not all that they are cracked up to be. Especially now that they have all been cooped up together for the last two months. Every useable surface is covered by school projects, computer electronics, pet toys, and kid toys. Meg laughs to herself nervously. “I guess everyone’s home must feel small by now but there just isn’t enough space here. Is this a dining room or a “school?” Is Cary working in the living room or his office? Am I sleeping in my bedroom or my office”? The is once spacious home is getting smaller and smaller by the hour. Hopefully, Jan will call soon. It’s Monday afternoon and Meg has been trying all day not to think about it. She cannot help check...

CLOSING TRENDS - What We Lack in Volume, We are Making Up for with Success by Michael H. Wasserman Our April stay-at-home order ends tonight, and the May stay-at-home-order starts at midnight. The sequester is dead. Long live the sequester. Here’s what you need to know about the closing real estate contracts in Chicago right now. Contract Activity: We are still open for business and taking in some new really solid purchase and sale transactions (more on that in a moment). But, as is the case for most of the colleagues I talk to, the numbers fall far below seasonally appropriate levels. I don’t want to say that its slow, but birds are building nests on our office printers. (They outgrew their perches on the typewriter and fax). I’m the new Maytag repairman. Our numbers are not statistically significant right now, but some intel is available on Gary Lucido’s blog and at CribChatter . Both are on my regular reading list. Good stuff.

by Michael H. Wasserman We are now four full weeks into the Illinois Stay-at-Home regimen. Hopefully, the last of winter’s snowfalls are finally behind us. I’m not bike-commuting on the lakefront these days, but the firm is still actively engaged in real estate transactions. Here is our take on the current real estate closing landscape and where we think it is heading. The good news is that (some) buyers are still buying. (Some) sellers are still selling. Lenders are still lending out (some) money, and Realtors are still out in the neighborhoods putting contracts together. The firm is still closing clients’ contracts.