Chicago Illinois Real Estate Blog

Equity Residential, benefiting from the moribund housing market, reported surging third-quarter results Wednesday evening.
The Chicago-based real estate investment trust, which owns more than 400 U.S. apartment properties, said funds from operations climbed 18 percent to $200 million, or 63 cents per diluted share, from $169.7 million, or 55 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
Funds [...]

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According to the Chicago City Council, if a home has been abandoned then the lender who holds the lien on the property is responsible for the upkeep of that home – even if the lender did not foreclose on the property and the borrower still holds the title[1]. Rahm Emmanuel, Chicago’s mayor, stated that he [...]

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RealtyTrac has deemed Chicago as the city with the biggest backlog of foreclosed homes among the 20 top metropolitan areas in the nation. More 118,000 homes were either owned by banks or going through the foreclosure process in May.
Real estate experts say the high numbers are due to a number of factors including Attorney General [...]

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Bridgeview Bank Group has filed to foreclose on Brittwood Creek, an exclusive 56-acre development of posh single-family homes in Oak Brook by longtime suburban homebuilder Callaghan Associates Inc., another reminder of the nearly dormant market for new high-priced homes.
After paying $21.3 million for the site in late 2006, a Callaghan-controlled venture has apparently sold just [...]

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Could the foreclosure plague be ending?
Foreclosure filings were down 3% in October, the third consecutive month-over-month dip, according to RealtyTrac, the online seller of foreclosed homes.
To be sure, foreclosure rates are still elevated from a year ago: They’re up 18% compared with October 2008. But the month-over-month decrease followed a 4% drop in filings during [...]

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Foreclosure suits seeking more than $8.2 million have been filed against two sites controlled by a developer of high-end Lincoln Park homes whose customers have included Eric of the “Eric & Kathy” morning radio show.
State Bank of Countryside is seeking to collect more than $5.7 million on the two parcels at 1701-03 N. Dayton St., [...]

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1. Finding one has become easier
You don’t need to show up at courthouse auctions or comb through legal filings. These days many banks sell foreclosed homes through real estate agents.
To find listings, look on sites that specialize in foreclosed properties, such as realtytrac.com and foreclosurepoint.com. The local multiple-listing service often has selections as well. [...]

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Chicago Foreclosure Prevention
When mortgage borrowers fall behind on payments and run the risk of losing their homes, they sometimes grab the first lifeline tossed their direction. Often that lifeline is a TV or Internet advertisement making grand promises - and has more than one string attached.
"The challenge used to be to encourage people to reach [...]

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A lender has filed a $39-million foreclosure suit against the owners of properties near McCormick Place once envisioned as sites for two major developments, including 1,500 hotel rooms.
CenterPoint Properties, an Oak Brook-based firm best known as an owner of industrial properties, sued husband-and-wife developers Pam Gleichman and Karl Norberg of Maine last month, alleging that [...]

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For homeowners stuck with expensive mortgages on houses they can’t sell, President Obama served up a $75 billion program — in addition to another $200 billion to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — Wednesday to ease their burden.
The plan doubles the federal guarantee, to $400 billion, for mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie — which hold [...]

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