Posted on May 15, 2025 in Real Estate

If you are planning on buying a home, you may have been closely watching mortgage interest rates to see if they could drop. Right now, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.76 percent, and for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, it is 5.89 percent. These rates are almost double what we saw during the pandemic years. Current housing market data and financial data show little indication of a coming drop in interest rates.

Add to that the fact that tariffs could make building materials considerably more expensive if you consider building a home. With all the uncertainty swirling around us, it could be smart to consider a home-buying strategy that is less about interest rates on your mortgage and more focused on home ownership. If you need assistance in your home-buying quest, you could benefit from speaking to an experienced Waukegan, IL real estate lawyer.  

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 Posted on April 30, 2025 in Foreclosure

Unfortunately, Illinois foreclosures are on the upswing, with the state now having the ninth-highest home foreclosure rates in the nation. About one out of every 3,753 homeowners in the state now faces foreclosure actions, and there are few signs that these actions will slow down in the coming months.

If you have been unable to make your monthly mortgage payments due to unforeseen circumstances, you are likely very anxious about whether you will be forced to leave your home. Many people in this situation simply choose not to think about potential foreclosure because it is too frightening. They hold onto hope that "something" will change, allowing them to catch up on their mortgage payments.

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 Posted on April 08, 2025 in Real Estate

Seasonality is a normal pattern in the real estate market, causing the volume of sales as well as the pricing trends to peak and dip, depending on the time of year. Seasonality is the result of market dynamics, the overall economy, weather, holidays, and even school schedules.

As a seller or a buyer, you can make more informed decisions when you have a solid understanding of seasonal housing sales trends. If you are a new buyer, it can be extremely beneficial to speak to an experienced Gurnee, IL real estate lawyer before you make any decisions that cannot be undone.

What is the Traditional Seasonal Real Estate Cycle?

Barring exceptional national issues – like a recession – the real estate market follows a fairly predictable cycle. Although the specifics of this cycle can vary somewhat, based on the region, most real estate markets experience the same seasonal cycles, which include:

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 Posted on March 28, 2025 in Foreclosure

In 2024, Illinois ranked fifth for the number of foreclosures, after California, Florida, Texas, and New York. There were 13,082 foreclosure starts in 2024 across the state. A "start" means foreclosure proceedings were legally begun, but they may or may not have ended in actual foreclosure.

Illinois is a judicial foreclosure state, which means lenders must go through the courts to foreclose a property, which requires a judgment of foreclosure from a judge. Homeowners have the right to defend against that foreclosure and have the right to proper notice. If you are facing foreclosure of your home, speaking to a knowledgeable Libertyville, IL foreclosure attorney gives you the best chance of a positive outcome.  

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 Posted on March 10, 2025 in Estate Planning

If you are the legal guardian of an adult with disabilities, you may worry about what would happen to the ward if you could no longer serve as his guardian. Due to great medical advances in caring for people with conditions like Down Syndrome, children with disabilities are now more likely to outlive their parents than ever before. Even if you are younger than the person you serve as guardian for, there is always a chance that something could happen that would prevent you from continuing to fulfill your guardianship responsibilities. One way to prepare for this possibility is to choose a successor guardian. A successor guardian is someone who is able and willing to become the ward’s guardian should you become unable to continue serving. A Libertyville, IL adult guardianship attorney can help you establish a successor guardianship and facilitate a smooth transition should the successor guardian need to take over.

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 Posted on February 26, 2025 in Real Estate

The formal home-buying process begins when the buyer makes a written offer to buy a house. If the seller accepts your offer as it is written and also signs it, it becomes a binding legal contract. You might hear your real estate agent or Libertyville, IL real estate lawyer refer to the house as being "under contract" at this time. This is normally the point where it is too late to back out of a sale without repercussions. However, you may still be able to back out of the purchase if you have a valid reason.

When you make an offer on a home, you are not blindly agreeing to buy the home no matter what. A properly written offer should list contingencies that would allow you to abandon the purchase. If one of those contingencies arises, you have grounds to refuse to follow through with buying the home. This makes things much more fair for buyers who have not yet had a chance to conduct a thorough inspection or have an attorney carry out the necessary legal research on the property.

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 Posted on February 11, 2025 in Foreclosure

Illinois is one of the top three states with the highest foreclosure rates, with one in 2,837 housing units in foreclosure as of August 2024. Illinois has a high percentage of underwater mortgages left over from the last housing crisis, plus there are lingering fears about recession and the potential loss of jobs under the new administration.

If you are facing home foreclosure, it can be an extremely difficult time in your life. The thought of you and your family potentially being homeless is a frightening thought, especially if you are behind on your mortgage because of the loss of a job or an illness that has generated huge medical expenses.

While there are many different ways to approach a home foreclosure, the best step you can take is to speak to an experienced Grayslake, IL foreclosure attorney. Your attorney can look at your individual situation and help you determine whether filing for bankruptcy is the best option or whether there are better options available.

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 Posted on January 21, 2025 in Estate Planning

Estate planning is usually thought of as something older adults do when their health starts to fade. While certainly, people who are becoming elderly should review and update their estate plans, younger adults should establish at least a basic will or trust. No one expects to pass away before they grow old, but life can bring unpredictable surprises.

Few younger adults who pass away unexpectedly have estate plans in place for their families to fall back on. Not having a will or trust to rely on can make an already upsetting time even more difficult for surviving family members. Executing a simple will or trust gives your family or other loved ones instructions to fall back on and can provide them some comfort knowing that your final wishes can be carried out. An experienced Lake County, IL estate planning attorney can help you create the plan you need now.

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 Posted on January 08, 2025 in Foreclosure

Few things are as stressful for a homeowner as knowing your home needs major repairs you cannot make. Some types of essential home repairs can cost upwards of $20,000 - an amount few people can pay out of pocket. If you were already at risk of foreclosure when you found out about the repairs your home would need, fighting to stay in your home might not be the most beneficial option for you. There are ways a Libertyville, IL foreclosure defense attorney can help you during the foreclosure process when keeping your home is not the ultimate goal. You might consider options like short-selling, making a strategic default, or consent foreclosure. These options can help you make a clean financial break from the home without taking on liability for the repairs.

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 Posted on December 27, 2024 in Estate Planning

Most well-designed estate plans include at least one trust. A revocable living trust is usually used when the purpose is simply to distribute estate assets after the trustor’s death. Some plans include an irrevocable trust for asset protection purposes during the trustor’s life. There are many other types of trusts that serve more specialized purposes. You may want to include a smaller trust with a specialized purpose in your estate plan depending on who you want to leave property to and for what purpose. An experienced Lake County, IL estate planning attorney can help you decide if you need one of these special types of trusts.

Pet Trusts for Protecting Your Furry Companion

A pet trust is designed to provide financial support for your pet for as long as it lives. If you have a cat, dog, or other animal that you want to make sure is well provided for should the pet outlive you, you may consider using a pet trust. First, you would use your testamentary instrument to designate the person who should take your pet. You can then instruct your trustee to distribute funds to your pet's new caretaker to meet the pet's needs. Pet trust funds can be used to pay for your pet’s food, medical care, toys, and other necessities.

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