The Chicago 77

7 April 2009 – Due to the holiday week, financial news expected to be released this week is very light. However, recent speculation about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) releasing a report soon suggesting global toxic assets could top the scales at $4 trillion, of which it’s suggested that $3 trillion pertains to just the [...]

The new law forces lenders to work with homeowners for a longer time than they were required to provide before the law. The new law probits foreclosures during the first 30 days of a homeowner being delinquent with their payments. Lenders are now required to tell homeowners that they have an additional 30 days to work with a credit counselor. And, if the credit counselor is approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the homeowner is given an additional 30 days, totaling 90 days.

Two wonderful photos. The first is a gorgeous shot of Chicago at night. The second is a gorgeous shot of a Chicago pothole biting a semi’s front tire and not letting go!

Between 1990 and 2000, according to the census, the South Loop’s population increased by 39 percent?the third largest neighborhood population increase in Chicago for that 10 year period. That the area’s growth and popularity had grown was obvious and apparent in both housing costs and real estate values. Growth continued and rates rose due to [...]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting two important conclusions based on data from the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision: Seriously Delinquent Subprime Loans Rise from 10.75% to 16.4% The report found that the number of seriously delinquent subprimes loans is on the rise. This means that more and [...]

3 April 2009 – Again, mortgage rates have been holding fairly steady, not moving more than an eight to a quarter point in the last week. Home purchases have been down in Illinois over 20%, and the median home price is down over 20%, but that does include foreclosure sales and short sales. Unemployment is [...]

Over the past few months, the economic downturn has caused many of us to reevaluate our household budgets and seriously reconsider our spending. Along with this comes the direct insurance companies inundating our mailboxes with ?promises? to save you hundreds of dollars on your home insurance. If it sounds too good to be true…they generally [...]

2 April 2009 – Depending on the circumstances, we have been doing mortgages in high 4s to low 5s lately. Fannie Mae?s new ?Home Affordable? program is set to be rolling out in a few days, but the specific details are hard to come by. The intent of the program is to reward those who [...]

This morning at The Chicago 77 Media Group’s annual board meeting, a plan was discussed and adopted for The Chicago 77 to acquire and complete construction of The Spire. Last week’s news that the AFL-CIO is in talks with the Spire’s developers to fund the project made it clear that just about anyone can be involved.