Dean's Team Chicago Real Estate Blog

NEW REAL ESTATE SETTLEMENT RULES - PRE-CLOSING REVIEW OF CLOSING COSTS MADE MORE DIFFICULT FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS REPRESENTING SELLERS, BUYERS!For our Clients here in Chicago and Nearby, our Team routinely verifies our Client’s Closing Documents prior to the closing of their transaction to make ...

It's Human Nature - for Condo Owners!   Everyone wants to keep their Monthly Homeowner's Assessments as Low as Possible. However, keeping the Owners' Assessments TOO LOW might result in an Under-Funding Situation, especially in the event of an unanticipated building expense - like a failed hot wa...

In recent years, U.S. Homeowners and Homebuyers have been grateful recipients of Popular Tax Benefits that have prevented them from possibly-considerable tax payments to the IRS.  They took advantage of other tax programs that created incentives for things like making Energy-Efficient Improvement...

  In what many experts consider a clear signal that the Housing Market in Chicago may be making a comeback, Bank-Owned Foreclosed Homes, as a percentage of all homes on the resale market here, fell by 27% in 2013, versus 2012.  At the end of last year, 1 out of 5 homes for sale in Chicago were Ba...

By now, you've heard the stories - from several years ago, in the hardest-hit Real Estate Markets in California, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and other places.   Highly-leveraged homeowners, severely underwater on their mortgages, just pick up and move away, leaving their homes to face eventual fore...

Greetings, from (finally) Springlike Chicago IL! In mid-April, an unusually-heavy, widespread rain dumped six or more inches of rain on Chicago and many suburbs. Many homeowners endured devastating flooding - 12 inches or more water rising in their basements.   Hardwood Flooring, Carpets, and, wo...

Given the vast geography of the Chicago Area - City and Suburbs - it's quite hard to generalize as to how the Real Estate Market here will turn in 2013. Some Chicago Neighborhoods are undergoing quite a resurgence, with many Homes and Condos selling in Multiple Offers, quickly after coming to mar...

Private Mortgage Insurance!  Many curse the very name! Without it, however, most low-down-payment home buyers might never get a chance to own. If you're like thousands of homeowners across the US who put less than 20% down payment on your home, there is a good chance part of your monthly payment ...

Scan your favorite Real Estate Blog or National News Sites on the Internet these days, and you'll often see story after story about how the Real Estate Market is recovering across the USA. Average Homes Prices are up! Units Sold are up! Mortgage Financing - incredibly cheap, at some of the lowest...

Here in many of the North Side of Chicago Neighborhoods our Team works extensively, good housing deals abound. Most Chicago Home Sellers are getting used to the new reality of lower market prices on their homes, while others must sell due to their own economic uncertainty. Mortgage Interest Rates...