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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

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
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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

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

Things You Shouldn't Hear From Your Agent

This blog has discussed before the important role of a real estate agent in a home/condo purchase. Chicago is blessed to have some of the nation’s top agents helping homebuyers find a suitable property. There are, however, some distinct warning signs that your agent isn’t right for you. Here are five statements you don’t want... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
December 13, 2010 at 6:46 am
• 1 comment
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Can the Homeowner Associations Resurrect Condo Sales?

A funny thing happened during the real estate boom: Condo owners became vital businesspeople and condo boards (pictured) became crucial to their building’s future. Whether they wanted to or not, the individuals behind the Homeowners’/Condo Associations often times determined the fate of their entire building, and, to some degree, the Chicago condo market. One developing... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
November 9, 2010 at 9:18 am
• 1 comment

Bad Signatures the Least Concerning Foreclosure Trend

Over the last two weeks, the entire foreclosure industry has been turned upside down. Bank of America’s recent decision to put a halt to all of its foreclosure proceedings in the United States last week was the biggest shoe to drop, after weeks of other banks looking into their own potentially flawed foreclosure processes.  These... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
October 14, 2010 at 10:18 am
• 3 comments

'Shadow' Inventory Causing Concern

In the real estate community, the term “shadow inventory” has become a dreaded topic. Shadow inventory refers to real estate that is likely to become bank-owned, but is still in the early stages of that process. For example, homes with owners who are behind on their mortgage payments, with the expectation that the property will... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
September 30, 2010 at 9:07 am
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Added Home Repair Protection For Disabled

The real estate market relies heavily on the construction and home-repair segments. When people are building new homes and repairing their existing homes, things are likely going well in the real estate community. But with the slow-down of housing construction and repair, an increasing number of contractors have sought ways to keep their revenues steady... Read more »
By mazeklaw,
September 21, 2010 at 9:07 am
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