The Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association is comprised of experienced attorneys dedicated to assisting individuals and businesses in connection with real estate transactions of all types.

Regular meetings of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association take place at 8:00 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the Holiday Inn in Rolling Meadows, Illinois (847-259-5000) (or at other announced locations).

 

 

"The Illinois Residential Real Estate Transfer On Death Instrument Act"

was the topic of the monthly meeting of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association (IRELA) held on

Wednesday, June 9, 2010, at 8:00 a.m.,

at Belvedere Events and Banquets,
1170 W. Devon, in Elk Grove Village.

(Map and Directions.)

Our speaker, Attorney Charles G. Brown of Boyle Law DeKalb, LLC, DeKalb, Illinois, provided an in-depth analysis of the genesis and implementation of this new proposal, designed to provide a mechanism for residential real property to be passed to beneficiaries at death outside probate. Mr. Brown serves on the ISBA Trusts and Estates Section Council, and has been spearheading the proposal. Topics included how the proposed Act works, how it differs from the Uniform TOD Act adopted in other states, and how it will affect real estate practitioners and their practices. 

Handouts from the seminar are available to IRELA member attorneys in the Members Only section of this web site.

 

At our Previous Meeting on Wednesday, May 12th,
Dick Bales of Chicago Title addressed the membership regarding

"Road Vacations, Covenants and Other Minefields"

 

Richard F. Bales, well-known Assistant Regional Counsel and Assistant Vice President with Chicago Title Insurance Company, Wheaton office, discussed how to deal with vacated rights of way, vacated alleys, CCRs, TIFs, municipal plat approvals and the like.  Mr. Bales brought to bear his extensive experience in solving title problems, with reference to many real life examples.

Thanks very much to our gracious host, IRELA Board Member Dick Kuhn.

 

 

IRELA President Ralph J. Schumann Spoke at a Chicago Bar Association Seminar on May 6, 2010, on the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 5.0

To access and download a copy of the Powerpoint from Ralph Schumann's presentation as a PDF file, click on: 

Schumann Powerpoint

 

IRS regulations issued recently shed light on questions relating to the 1997 law that substituted a capital gains exclusion of up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly) for the old "replacement residence" rules. The regulations answer questions such as how to determine if a home is a principal residence, how to allocate gain between residential and business uses of a property, and under what "unforeseen circumstances" an exception to the usual two-year ownership requirement will be available (e.g., a move triggered by a "divorce or a legal separation" may qualify). To access the relatively readable IRS article on this topic, click on: IRS Newsroom Article on Home Sale Exclusion Rules

As proposed, HUD`s new regulations would give control of the entire conveyancing process to lenders,and allow them to all but dictate the title services provider!

Although the initial period for comments to HUD has closed, you can still voice your opinion to your congressperson. Many congressional representatives have expressed opposition to the proposed regulations (due in large part to IRELA`s lobbying efforts in Washington), but many others have not yet staked out a position. Write to your Congressperson! Select and Download a Sample Letter in Opposition to Proposed HUD Amendments to RESPA.

Click here for IRELA sample letter to HUD in Word format. (We suggest you modify this letter for sending to your congressperson.)

Click here for ATG sample letter to Legislator in Word format.

We suggest that as you draft your letter you keep it to no more than one page. Send it by snail mail or overnight courier, not e-mail. Remember, grass roots efforts CAN ultimately succeed! For more information, call IRELA at (847) 593-5750, or e-mail us.

Click here for List of Names and Addresses of Illinois Senators and Congresspersons in PDF format. (You will need Acrobat Reader to view this list.)
(16 k; Download time: 4 sec. on 56 Kbps modem)

Joseph R. Fortunato, Jr., President of IRELA, has developed, in conjunction with other associations, a new Loan Status Disclosure Form designed to help standardize information provided by lenders regarding the status of mortgage loan processing. (Do you know the difference between a "pre-approval" and a "pre-qualification"?) IRELA urges you to download and use the form in your practice to help bring some order out of the chaos.

Click here for the NEW Loan Status Disclosure Form in Adobe PDF format.

Joseph R. Fortunato, Jr., President of IRELA, is pictured at left at a recent IRELA meeting in Chicago with candidates for ISBA Third Vice President Jack Carey (left) and Irene F. Bahr. Joe Fortunato is to the right of Irene Bahr, and to the right of Mr. Fortunato is IRELA Past President and Chairman of the Board John O`Brien. Fortunato, who was elevated to the presidency from his position as Vice President of IRELA, has long been active in the DuPage County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association Real Estate Section, and in IRELA.



John O`Brien, immediate past president and chairman of the board of IRELA, has been elected to the board of governors of the Illinois State Bar Association. The 25-member board functions as the governing body of the state`s largest bar association. O`Brien, who served five consecutive terms as president of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association, saw IRELA grow under his leadership from a group of a few dozen lawyers in 1997 to an organization of over 1,200 members which has gained a reputation nationally for its efforts in combating the unauthorized practice of law. O`Brien has long been active in the ISBA, serving as a member of its assembly as well as on its Real Estate and General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section councils. In the fall of 2001, he was appointed vice chair of the ISBA Task Force on the Unauthorized Practice of Law.

In the Spring of 2002, O`Brien was elected to the board of directors of Attorneys` Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. In the Spring of 2001, O`Brien received the President`s Award for distinguished public service from the Northwest Suburban Bar Association for his commitment to protecting the public against the unauthorized practice of law.

To access the section of the web site for the Office of Banks and Real Estate that has links to the new rules for licensing of home inspectors and to the text of the Illinois Home Inspector License Act as amended, click on:
OBRE Home Inspectors Information

For persons interested in more information on the topic of mold and mold inspections, additional data can be obtained at: http://www.safestartinspections.com/ (Web site for the inspections division of Safestart Building Consulting, Inc.)

IRELA Members can access additional information in Portable Document Format (.pdf)regarding mold by clicking on: additional mold information

Mold Information Booklet is in Adobe PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this document. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here:

The IRELA GOLF OUTING was held July 21, 2003 at the St. Charles Country Club. It was again a great success, setting a new standard for bar association golf outings! Watch this space for information about next year's golf outing. Questions? Call Naomi Schuster (708-448-8081; nhschuster@aol.com) or Leanne Walsh Klein (847-255-7100; lwklein@premier-title.com).

		IRELA PRESIDENT FORTUNATO SOUNDS OFF!
		Joseph Fortunato`s timely Letter to the Editor of the ISBA Bar Journal on the economics of the practice of real estate law.

		AMENDMENT TO TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETY REQUIREMENTS!!
		The requirements for Tenancy by the Entirety have been eased. Now, it is sufficient to indicate "John Q. Client and Mary T. Client, his wife, as tenants by the entirety" to create this estate. IRELA is pleased to have been instrumental in bringing about this change, which should make life easier for all of us. To view a summary of Public Act 92-0136, click on the heading above.

		IMPORTANT CASE INTERPRETING "SOLE INTENT" STANDARD IN TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETY SITUATION DECIDED BY SECOND DISTRICT
		In La Salle Bank v. DeCarlo, (Docket # 2-01-1146, Decided January 17, 2003) the Illinois Appellate Court, Second District, has addressed the issue of "sole intent" in connection with a post-judgment transfer of residential property. Affirming the decision of the Circuit Court of DuPage County (Honorable Bonnie M. Wheaton) setting aside a transfer of residential property formerly held in joint tenancy into Tenancy by the Entirety, the appellate court stated that the intent of the spouse who claimed to have no knowledge of the underlying litigation that resulted in a judgment against her husband (or of the judgment itself) was "irrelevant" and concluded that the transfer of the title to Mr. DeCarlo`s residence into tenancy by the entirety was made "with the sole intent to avoid the payment of debts existing at the time of transfer" beyond DeCarlo`s "ability to pay those debts as they became due." To view the case, click on the heading of this paragraph.

		IRELA HAS SETTLED ITS LAWSUIT AGAINST KOENIG & STREY!
		The Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association (IRELA) is pleased to announce that IRELA and the Koenig & Strey Defendants (Koenig & Strey/GMAC Real Estate and Ft. Dearborn Title) have settled the unauthorized practice of law case filed by IRELA, and entered into a Consent Decree (available on this website).

		ILLINOIS COURTS OFFICIAL WEB SITE
		The Illinois Courts Official Web Site can be accessed through this web site. It contains a wealth of information regarding the Illinois Supreme Court, as well as the Illinois Appellate Court and Circuit Courts. The web site also includes a link under the heading of "Bar Associations and Related Links" to IRELA`s web site.

Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract  "Knock-off" Alert:

Some unauthorized versions of the copyrighted Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract (the "Common Contract") used widely in Illinois are still surfacing with deceptively altered provisions. Typically, a service provider such as a title insurance company modifies the authorized contract form by, e.g., inserting a provision in the "Title" paragraph requiring that it be used as the source of title insurance for the transaction, and sometimes this change is accompanied by a modification of the attorney review clause blocking attorneys from proposing modifications to "stated purchase price and title insurance company". To download the authorized version of the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract, see the Members Only Section of this web site. For more information on this issue, please click on the "Developments" button above and then click on "Contract Alert" in the menu box on the left margin.