When buying or selling a home, it is natural to look for ways to save money. Real estate transactions are expensive. There are inspection costs, lender fees, appraisal fees, title charges, moving expenses, commissions, taxes, and closing costs. By the time someone gets to the attorney fee, it can feel like just another line item. So some buyers and sellers choose their closing attorney based almost entirely on price. That is understandable. It can also be a mistake. The cheapest closing lawyer may save you money upfront. But if the legal work is rushed, incomplete, or too high-volume, the problems that get missed can cost far more later. Your Closing…
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Why Closing Dates Get Postponed in Chicagoland Real Estate Sales
A closing date feels final when it is written into the real estate contract. Unfortunately, anyone who has been through enough Chicagoland closings knows the truth: the closing date is often more like a target than a guarantee. Most buyers and sellers assume that once the contract is signed, everyone simply works toward the closing date and the deal closes on time. Sometimes that happens. But in many residential real estate transactions, the closing date gets pushed back because one piece of the process is not ready. That does not always mean the deal is falling apart. But it does mean the parties need to understand what is causing the…
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Cook County Commercial Property Owners: Don’t Wait for the Tax Bill to Think About Appeals
1. Introduction Commercial property owners often focus on property taxes when the bill arrives. That is understandable, but it may be too late. In Cook County, the appeal process is tied to assessment notices, township filing windows, and Board of Review deadlines, not just the final tax bill. 2. The Tax Bill Is Not the Starting Point The bill tells you what you owe. The assessment process helps determine how the taxable value was set. If the assessment is too high, the owner needs to act during the appropriate appeal window. 3. Commercial Appeals Require More Than Complaining About Taxes For commercial and income-producing properties, the appeal may involve real…
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Why Sellers Give Property Tax Credits in Chicagoland Closings
Why Sellers Give Property Tax Credits in Chicagoland Closings If you are selling a home in the Chicago area, one of the closing costs that can catch you off guard is the property tax credit. Sellers often see this line item on the closing statement and think: Why am I giving the buyer a credit for taxes if I already paid my tax bills? Fair question. Annoyingly, the answer is not always obvious, because Illinois property taxes are paid in arrears. That means the tax bill you pay this year is usually for the prior tax year. Naturally, because nothing says “efficient system” like paying last year’s bill while trying…
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Selling Without a Realtor (FSBO) in Chicago: What Sellers Forget to Negotiate
What Sellers Forget to Negotiate in Private Home Sales Private home sales are becoming more common in Chicago-area real estate, especially when a seller already knows the buyer. Sometimes it’s a friend, family member, neighbor, tenant, or someone who heard about the property before it ever hit the market. At that point, many sellers assume the hard part is over. They have a buyer, they have a price, and they are ready to move forward. But in many private sales, the real friction starts after that. Why? Because a buyer and a price are not the same thing as a complete deal. A private home sale still requires clear agreement…
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Putting the Fun in Law
Let’s face it — law firms are often considered pretty stale and boring places. Although most things surrounding the law are serious, like big real estate purchaes, there are ways to make the experience less drab and a little more enjoyable. Patrick Loftus understands this more than most lawyers. By taking a highly personal approach with his clients, Patric has found a way around the bore. While most law firms rely on suport staff to be the primary contact with clients, and their clients may not have a single conversation with their lawyer until the day of closing, if ever, that is not the case with Patrick. “Each one of…
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Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing Zillow of Conducting Appraisal Without License
This is a follow up to my post last week about some of the controversies surrounding the real estate website Zillow. Welcome back to the post! At the time of publication a lawsuit was pending against Zillow accusing the website of violating Illinois law by conducting appraisals without a license. The Plaintiff in the lawsuit sought an injunction stopping Zillow from publishing its Zestimates in Illinois, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. In what could be called a big win for Zillow, Judge Amy St. Eve held today that Zillow is not violating Illinois law, because Zestimates fall into an exception in the Illinois Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Act…
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Mindfulness & The Law
The topic of mindfulness is near and dear to me. Last year, I was in a bit of a funk when I was fortunate enough to stumble on Dan Harris’s podcast. Some of you may know Dan as the 10% Happier guy. Dan had a man named George Mumford on his podcast. I really liked the way George talked about this thing called mindfulness, so I decided to download is audio book, “The Mindful Athlete,” and my journey began. Mindfulness has a lot of definitions, but perhaps the best is from one of the first people to bring the practice of mindfulness from India to the western world, Jon Kabat-Zinn.…
