Recent Articles

Market Conditions: November Sales Plummet 41.3% Year Over Year

December 24, 2008 16:39

Its not like anyone in the Real Estate market needs numbers to quantify the severity of the pain, but just the same, here Crib Chatter's is a quick, dirty summary of Illinois Association of Realtors' November sales reports:Chicago home sales continue to plunge, as November recorded the sharpest...

Mortgage Appraisals

December 22, 2008 17:33

Here's a head scratcher....My client wishes to purchase a bank-owned property. His mortgage lender orders an appraisal to confirm the property value. So far, so good, right?The appraiser visits the property, checks for comparables in the neighborhood and reports that the contract price is fully...

Property Disclosures - tales of the Macabre

December 19, 2008 20:08

Back in September, we discussed the emerging trend that requires sellers in some states to tell buyers whether or not a particular property was ever used as a meth lab. Today, our discussion of disclosures turns on quite a different circumstance. This is an actual case decided in the Supreme Court...

Pointilism in West Lawn

December 14, 2008 14:38

Here is a fairly sobering graphic. The map shows ONE ZIP CODE on Chicago's South West Side, 60629.The red dots represent all of the properties in that zip code that are either in pre-foreclosure or are already bank owned. In just the first four months of 2008 alone, there were nearly 600...

Happy New Year (TItle Fees are Going Up Again)

December 12, 2008 19:11

Well, what else would you do if the volume of your business is down; and if the pricing scale for your product is tied to real estate sales prices , and the stockholders are upset that the dividends are being cut? Raise the rates!Chicago Title announced their annual fee increases a bit early this...

What the puck? Blago a hit in Las Vegas....

December 11, 2008 22:10

Who knew they even played hockey in Las Vegas? Apparently they do, and oh boy have they got a promotion cooked up. Kudos to their promotions department for getting way out ahead of the rest of the hockey-as-political-satire poser organizations.The Las Vegas Wranglers face off against the much...

The Real Estate Downfall

December 10, 2008 20:53

a cute parody of our "current situation."a belly laugh good for what ails ya!contact mike: mwass@wasserlaw.net www.wasserlaw.net

HOW TO MAKE MONEY IN REAL ESTATE - December, 2008

December 02, 2008 21:44

For the most part, I try to focus my real estate practice on residential properties, but as someone who offices downtown, I was particularly taken aback by two news items reported this morning. Both involve what appear to be real estate plays that will generate sizeable revenue streams, even in...

FIDELITY & LAND AMERICA - the story continues

November 27, 2008 13:00

"Door Buster" is to Black Friday, as Turkey is to Thanksgiving. And so it will go on the day after the turkey day. Sleep deprived and crowd-worn citizens will set out in hopes of buying the things they want (or think they want, anyway) at a discount to what they had previously been selling...

WHAT???? closing costs are going up?? again??

November 26, 2008 20:03

OK, maybe not everyone's. yet.The McHenry County Recorder's office has announced an $8 fee increase for each document recording, effective December 1.The minimum fee per document is now $50.00. Buyers record a Deed and Mortgage. Sellers record releases of all mortgages and other liens that are...