Advertisement:

Same-Sex Marriage Bill Filed, But Its Future Uncertain

Same-Sex Marriage Bill Filed, But Its Future Uncertain
Last June, Illinois made civil unions legal with the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act. Yesterday, a trio of Illinois legislators vowed to take the next step by filing the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, which is a full-fledged same-sex marriage statute. Same-sex marriages are currently banned by statute in Illinois. In... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
Thursday at 7:40 am
• Leave a comment

Forbes: Chicago Sixth Most Miserable City

Forbes: Chicago Sixth Most Miserable City
In the type of story designed to generate page views and arguments, Forbes released its list of America’s Most Miserable Cities, and Chicago is No. 6 on the list. A bit further down on the list, Rockford comes in at No. 9, while Miami was deemed the most miserable city in America. The list takes... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
February 3, 2012 at 11:41 am
• Leave a comment

Madigan Joins National Mortgage Fraud Unit

Madigan Joins National Mortgage Fraud Unit
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Jan. 27 formally joined a national team tasked with holding lenders more accountable for acts that led to the country’s housing crisis. The group, President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, will closely investigate questionable lender acts. She joins U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Housing and Urban Development Secretary... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
February 1, 2012 at 9:06 am
• Leave a comment
Advertisement:

Under Water, Without a Paddle

Under Water, Without a Paddle
The  Chicago Tribune yesterday reported that data through June of this year shows that about 1 in every 4 Chicago homeowners is under water on a mortgage, or owes more on their loan than the value of the property. It’s consistent with first-quarter figures, but it’s still a remarkable ratio to see in print. The... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
September 14, 2011 at 10:06 am
• Leave a comment

Get Foreclosed, Get Paid?

Get Foreclosed, Get Paid?
Today’s typical foreclosure results in the property being sold at a sheriff’s sale for less — often, much less — than what the bank was owed on the previous mortgage. But that isn’t always the case. Although it’s rare, sometimes the sheriff’s sale fetches a sale price higher than the note, which results in a... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
August 26, 2011 at 8:56 am
• Leave a comment

Foreclosed Properties Offer Incentives

Foreclosed Properties Offer Incentives
As the summer heats up, so too does competition for homes. Multiple offers on a property — a rarity in recent years — is more frequent today as the spring wave of home buyers starts to join up with the swarms of buyers getting antsy (Chicago Public School families, for example, looking to land a... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
July 10, 2011 at 2:43 pm
• 2 comments
Advertisement:

Foreclosure Audit Highlights Potential Bank Deception

The Huffington Post yesterday revealed information from a federal audit of five major banks. The data revealed to HuffPo sources shed more light on the problems related to America’s foreclosure logjam. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Ally Financial and Wells Fargo engaged in misleading and potentially fraudulent behavior in its foreclosure proceedings, according... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
May 17, 2011 at 8:55 am
• 1 comment

Experts Predict End of 30-Year Mortgage

The New York Times recently published an article discussing what might happen to the lending market if the government formally elects to shut down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the coming years. The loss of these two government-run lending powerhouses, the article supposes, could signal the end of borrower luxuries like low interest rates... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
March 7, 2011 at 10:40 am
• 2 comments

Census Confirms Migration to Suburbs

For individuals in the real estate game, trends are often based on perception instead of figures, since most of the time figures are hard to come by or simply take too long to calculate. But you can ‘feel’ certain things happening in and around the Chicago real estate market. Those feelings were confirmed by yesterday’s... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
February 16, 2011 at 9:44 am
• 6 comments
Advertisement:

Is It Time to Change Security Deposit Laws?

I’ve handled many, many cases involving landlord-tenant disputes in Chicago, and one of the most frequently litigated (or settled) areas of the law among landlords and tenants is the security deposit portion of the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance. And after representing both landlords and tenants, it’s become more clear than ever that it’s time... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
February 3, 2011 at 10:15 am
• 2 comments