The Chicago 77

The first thing I learned as a transactional real estate attorney was the only sign of success to the parties involved is a successful closing. For many years the fact that the buyer and seller both signed the contract was an assumption of success. I was always confident that I could resolve most issues with [...]

The Up We are seeing the continuation of a trend that seems hopeful. According the Illinois Association of Realtors® home sales in Chicago for April 2009 were up when compared to March 2009 by 16.7 percent. There were 1,378 home sold in April as compared to 1,181 in March. This seems to reflect the time [...]

Many people out there want to take advantage of this buyer’s market and scoop up an excellent deal. Many are very successful at this, actually buying real estate for pennies on the dollar. Others, have no idea or clue what to do. The first thing one needs to ascertain is? “Am I a short sale [...]

Carl Case of S&P/Case-Shiller Price Index warns buyers that in good neighborhoods, you aren?t going to find bargains. People are not willing to sell and take a huge hit on the value of their home unless they absolutely must. He went on to explain that their research is showing that bargains are generally only found in lower-income areas.

Buying a home in Chicago (or anywhere) requires some homework. Whether you are planning on buying now or months down the road, there?s no time to prepare like the present. Buying a home is much more than just purchasing a new place to live, it?s one of the best investments you will ever make. Let?s [...]

Tax season is looming and homeowners everywhere should know the opportunities available to them for tax breaks and incentives. This info is also valuable for potential home buyers so they are aware of what expenses are deductible and the ins and outs of new tax laws, since there are so many nowadays!  Thanks President Obama! [...]

The recent stimulus plan that was enacted can help home buyers, but it’s limited to certain situations.  If you are a first time home buyer, or if you have not owned a home in the past three years you could qualify for this credit. The credit cannot be used at closing, however.  This credit is [...]

President Obama has signed into law the economic stimulus bill. That meant its name has now been changed to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $787 billion law has been greatly cheered and resoundingly booed by all sides of the political spectrum. It’s goal is to get the US economy going, and since housing is [...]

Condos in All Shapes and Sizes…But They All Have Associations We all know that the major type of property changing hands and being built in the city of Chicago is Property Type-2.  The formal term is Single Family Attached and what most people call a condominium or townhouse.  With condominiums you will more than likely [...]

There’s a lot to love about a new building: the smell of fresh paint, the gleam of new stainless steel appliances, the anticipation of waiting for the cardboard protecting the walls of the elevator to be taken down so you can finally see what’s behind it, the excitement of people wearing hardhats carrying blueprints around [...]

Any Real Estate agent that has been in the business for any length of time has heard of Realtor.com.  Many people outside of the real estate industry have also heard of Realtor.com.  When Realtor.com first hit the scene it was an excellent outlet to get a listing out on the internet.  That has changed rapidly [...]

We probably should have seen this coming, with reports from agents saying they were seeing an unusual increase in buyers wanting to do something. Today The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) released a report stating the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales of existing homes in December went up to 4.47 million units in December. [...]

The state of the current real estate market has made short sales more prevalent than ever before. When I started selling real estate five years ago, I rarely encountered a short sale. This past Sunday while out with buyers, two of the seven homes we previewed were short sales. Having just finalized a short sale [...]