Robert Darrow, @properties

Posts Tagged ‘Rant’

Your Guide has been updating readers on his experience riding the CTA around the Lakeview neighborhood and back and forth between home, the office, and the Loop.  For a solid year, it seemed the CTA had gotten its act together.  From fixing all the slow zones that plagued the Blue Line to O’Hare, adding Cell Phone service to the Subways, and eliminating stoppages and slowdowns along the Red Line, I had grown comfortable depending on Public Transportation to get downtown. 

Because the State of Illinois can’t properly fund the CTA, I don’t blame the CTA for the latest round of Doomsday Service Cuts (read about them at the Trib here) but the fact remains:  I can’t depend on the darn thing to get me to my appointments on time. 

I could do as the CTA recommends: leave extra time.  But at its best, the train can get me to my destination in about the same time it takes me to drive, park and walk.  As service cuts add a half hour, or more, to the trip, the train starts to waste time.  Unfortunately, time is money.  Dang.  Because I have really liked the convenience of grabbing the Red and Brown lines and riding hassle free into the Loop.  It’s worked quite well as all the Title Companies are conveniently located near a Brown Line stop, or within 3 blocks of the State Street Red Line.

At least with the ridiculous parking meter rate hikes, there is a lot more street parking available.  My round trip costs on the CTA are $5.50 round trip.  I started riding the Red Line when parking rates at downtown parking garages hit $38 for a few hours in the middle of the day.  But street parking is still a bargain at around $10 per hour.  And the extra $4.50 on top of my $5.50 fixed cost for riding the train is a small price to pay to guarantee on-time arrival, or to have the extra hour to use as I need to rather than shivering outside waiting on the slow-lane.

You nearly had a committed customer, but you’ve broken my heart for the last time.  (Until next year, perhaps.)

Residents in Chicago and Cook County should be on the lookout for their Property Tax Bills this week.  Your Guide’s arrived yesterday.

Normally your first installment tax bill is half of last year’s bill.  Not so, this year.  Check out a friend’s Facebook status update:

Sneaky State of Illinois. First installment property taxes are out and the State decided that the first installment should be 55% of last years total and not the 50% it has been for decades. I’m sure they just accidentally forgot to publicize that. Spineless, sneaky bums – throw them all out this election!

From the Sun Times article:

Get ready to dig a little deeper, Cook County homeowners.

Under a new state law, you’ll be forced to pay slightly more of your property tax bill up front so county agencies, municipalities, school districts and other local governments can improve their bottom lines.

Sweet.  Illinois Tax Payers have to send along more money up-front so taxing bodies can have more money sooner, all while the State of Illinois is more than six-months behind in paying it’s bills. 

Homeowners that have their taxes paid from escrows should check the status of their tax bills.  You can do so at the Cook County Treasurer’s website at www.cookcountytreasurer.com. 

Regular reader and commenter Mike Wasserman (www.wasserlaw.net) read my post on Monday and commented:

I definitely feel your pain all the way around on this post. sadly, there is probably a 120 way tie for “worst mortgage broker in the world” and that is a problem for all of us. we used to keep a list in the office, but it got too long. we work VERY hard now to make sure that our clients understand that chasing the last 1/4 point discount on a mortgage loan by directing business to unreliable lenders is a very risky proposition. when properly counseled, most (but sadly not all) rethink their positions.

Ordering zoning certs the week of closing? really? they are good for 12 months anyway. why would anyone leave that sort of thing to the last minute? we get ‘em early on in the process to avoid these very sorts of problems. again, just not worth it.

If only it were that easy…

When the City of Chicago started the Zoning Certification program, the City allowed offices to stop by City Hall and grab a box full of the forms required to request your certificate of zoning.

And you were allowed to mail in your form with the required fees.

So it was customary for an agent such as myself to request a certificate of zoning at the time I took a listing.  But the City – in its infinite wisdom – has enacted every bureaucratic hurdle possible to ensure that the process is more difficult now.  Oh, and costs more.

But in the subsequent years, the City has totally screwed up the process by:

1. Raising the fee to $75 from $50.
2. Making the form a 5 part carbon form and requiring all 5 carbons be submitted.  Photocopies are not permitted anymore.
3. Not allowing offices to come and grab stacks of the forms.
4. Not accepting applications via US Mail.  In person only.

So now it’s not possible for agents to take care of this seemingly minor paperwork, and we often depend on our attorneys to send a messenger to City Hall to fetch the certificate of zoning.

This means that the certificates won’t be ordered until a property goes under contract.  And worse, since lots of attorneys work on a “Just in time” basis, Zoning Certs aren’t ordered until the week of – and sometimes the day of – closing.

One of my clients had a suburban real estate attorney who didn’t know a zoning certificate was required, and had to physically go to City Hall during the closing to get the zoning cert.  Always a barrel of fun when sitting in a Title Company.

Woke up this morning to see all my colleagues’ Facebook status updates looking forward to a great week.  Bah Humbug in August.  Here’s how my week is shaping up…

Tech Support

Spend some time on the phone with Tech Support with Top Producer because my Blackberry crashed over the weekend, and I can’t figure out how to re-install my Top Producer database.  That should take less than an hour – don’t you think?

Zoning Certs

I have a closing this week that will require a Zoning Certificate.  But I know that my attorney did not order a Certificate of Zoning early.  And a co-worker writes to me to say:

The City of Chicago Zoning Department has initiated a work slowdown to protest Mayor Daley’s recent layoffs. This means NO zoning certificates until they return to a full working schedule. So if you plan on closing next week or maybe even in the weeks to come I am sorry to say that won’t be happening. Without the zoning certificate the deed cannot be recorded and a buyer utilizing a mortgage will not be fulfilling their obligations outlined in their agreement.

The last several hours have been quite informative regarding the issues at the zoning office. At this point things are still not 100% clear but we are getting some better information.

The “slowdown” may not be a planned/purposeful “slowdown” but rather a slowed down process due to understaffing in the zoning department or an increased demand on the services offered by the zoning department.

Bottom Line: if you are working on a real estate transaction that will require a zoning certificate make sure it has been ordered 10+ business days in advance of closing for multi units and 3 business days in advance for single family homes. If the mortgage commitment date is extended make sure there is ample time to obtain the zoning certificate before the closing date.

Worst Mortgage Broker in the World

I set up one of my faithful and loyal buyers with a top performing Mortgage Broker.  He turned in his application and package dutifully.  But one day the buyer saw an ad in the paper for a fly-by-night Mortgage Broker with a slightly lower interest rate, and went with him at the last minute.

That mortgage broker has blown the closing date.  Twice.  And each time requires a week to re-schedule.  And I think he’s changed the interest rate anyways – which is why we blew the closing today.  He didn’t comply with Federal Regulations notifying the buyer of an interest rate change.

Oh, and because I’m in the mood for sharing:  Your Guide’s Opinion for The Worst Mortgage Broker In The World…

Mike White  -  Market Mortgage Corporation
Professional Mortgage Services
1211 West 22nd Street Suite 802
Oak Brook, IL. 60523