The Chicago 77

28 January 2010 ?Last Friday, Nordstrom, Inc. announced plans to open a second Nordstrom Rack alongside the Magnificent Mile. The company currently operates one location on South State Street. That store opened in 2003. ?We have a lot of great Chicagoland customers and want to give them yet another way to shop with us,? Scott […]

27 January 2010 ? In April 2009, the Obama administration announced a plan to include second mortgages into its foreclosure rescue program. This program is designed to encourage mortgage note holders to reduce interest rates for five years on second mortgages. The government will share in the cost of these reductions or, as an alternative, […]

26 January 2010 ? Last year in February of 2009, President Obama signed the Home Affordable Modification Program or HAMP into law. HAMP was designed to help millions of people facing foreclosure by encouraging loan modifications among lenders. The Treasury Department was to spend $75 billion for these loan modifications. So far 760,000 mortgage holders […]

23 January 2010 ? U.S. Treasury to Limit Bank Response Time on Short Sale Offers to 10 Days For any buyer trying to get a deal out of a short sale, the waiting time and frustration level must be balanced with the savings realized. Banks have been notoriously slow, sometimes taking up to six months, […]

20 January 2010 ? According to the Wall Street Journal Real Estate section, housing construction is expected to rebound this year from its severely depressed 2009 level. The market, however, remains unpredictable as foreclosures continue to rise. In other news, Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said the percentage of people who are behind […]

19 January 2010 ? On January 14th HUD‘s Inspector General Ken Donahue and Commissioner David Stevens issued fifteen subpoenas to banks that had too high of a default rate. FHA is taking this seriously by looking into how banks manage risk and fraud. More audits are yet to come. Banks under scrutiny include: - Sterling […]

14 January 2010 ? The Jazz Age building, located at 188 W. Randolph has been hidden behind nets and scaffolding for so long now that many have forgotten the beauty of its elaborate facade. Village Green, an apartment developer, purchased the property out of bankruptcy in 2005 for $10 million and have since made some […]

13 January 2010 ? City bail out:: The fledging 263 unit mixed-income condo development, Parkside at Old Town, is getting a little help from the Daley administration. Unable to pay off its construction loan this past December, developer Peter Holsten was able to sidestep a potential $32 million loan default with Chase Bank by securing […]

12 January 2010 –After a meeting of the Chicago City Council, Walmart’s dreams of coming to Chicago have been thwarted yet again. The City Council turned down another proposal by Walmart and Alderman Ed Burke from the 14th Ward. The “Living Wage” proposal was an ordinance that would require large businesses of 50 or more […]

8 January 2010 ? While not located in one of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods, 1 World Trade Center (formerly known as Freedom Tower), the new tower under construction at Ground Zero in New York City, holds a symbolic place in all of our hearts. Despite its symbolism, the building is not immune from the troubled real […]

5 January 2010 ? The Department of Housing and Urban Development has recently sent out revisions to the 4155 manual ? the bible for underwriters. HUD appears to be seeing the light on problems associated with the HVCC regulations and the impact HVCC has caused throughout the real estate industry. One revision in particular states […]

30 December 2009 ? William Senne, a prominent Chicago condo developer, recently made a splash by criticizing rival developers who slashed their prices. Now, Senne is pursuing a similar tactic. His proposed ?green building? named EcoLogic and containing 94 condominium units near the intersections of Damen, Fullerton & Elston was to feature a rooftop garden, […]

29 December 2009 ? On December 31, 2009 the US Treasury Department will stop purchasing mortgage backed securities. However, they will spend whatever it takes to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac afloat. Fannie and Freddie have been given a blank check by the government. To date, American tax payer’s have spent over $111 billion […]