Chicago real estate brokerage firm @properties today announced that company co-founders Michael Golden and Thaddeus Wong were named finalists in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2012 program in the Midwest.

The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and commitment to their communities. Golden and Wong were selected from a large pool of nominations by a panel of independent judges. Awards will be presented at a special gala on June 21 at the Hilton Chicago Hotel.

@properties was established in 2000, and has grown to become the largest real estate firm in the city and the second largest and fastest-growing brokerage firm on the North Shore. Despite the challenging Chicago real estate market of the past four years, the company has thrived and expanded by differentiating its service to brokers and clients through innovative marketing and professional development.

“We’re honored to be among the Midwest finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® award. It is one of the most prestigious awards an entrepreneur can receive, and it’s an honor to be among such an impressive list of companies,” said Golden.

Now in its 26th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 140 cities in more than 50 countries throughout the world.

Following the gala, regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year Program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 17, 2012. The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2012 originally posted at Realty Evolved

This past Monday, Anthony Renzi, who heads the largest division at Freddie – the single family mortgage division is leaving. This past year has seen a slew of talent and executives leave this past year, and was no surprise back in March, when Freddie announced their 2011 financial results.

               “Freddie saw its voluntary-turnover rate rise to about 13% in the first six months of 2011, up from 8.5% on average over the previous five years, according to the firms’ federal regulator. Fannie’s rose to around 11% after averaging slightly above 6% over the preceding three years.”

After operating in conservatorship for the past few years, the names of both Fannie and Freddie can be unwelcoming to the public, leaving many who currently are employed at either organizations questioning their own commitment and compensation there.  Whatever role Fannie and Freddie played during the housing boom and bust, more top talent is expected to leave accelerating destabilization in the organizations, especially as compensation is expected to move away from performance based compensation.

Whether they should be privatized, be dissolved or other, a resolution of any kind would be needed.

Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM

Escalating Exits originally posted at Realty Evolved

Artist Chris Pritchard highlights the beauty of Chicago in these beautiful time-lapse HD videos. Set to an amazing score, the city comes to life:

Time-lapse videos of downtown Chicago originally posted at Realty Evolved

In this era of unpredictable weather patterns, insurance companies are raising rates, cutting coverage, shying away at some payouts and generally shifting more expense and liability to homeowners, according to reports from the industry and its critics.

In the wake of Hurricane Irene last summer, for example, Allstate informed some 45,000 North Carolina policy holders that it would not renew contracts that were not bundled with auto insurance.

But it is not just natural disasters that can prevent homeowners from renewing or having their rates raised.  Homeowners prone to claims may be dropped or have their rates raised.  Frozen pipes, burglaries and other claims are all reviewed and will affect your insurability.

Potential homeowners can ask for reports (C.L.U.E. reports) during their purchase which insurers use to determine the risk of a certain property or area.

Even after obtaining insurance, with many policies being reviewed and modified, homeowners and even associations will have to review their policy to see if they need additional coverage.  In some cases policies can only be renewed after specific, and sometimes costly repairs are made.

Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM

Into Insurance originally posted at Realty Evolved

Jay Strauss, 76, of Scottsdale, Ariz., also was ordered to pay $2 million in restitution, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Chicago. The judge, Robert Dow Jr., noted in court that it is unlikely restitution will ever be paid.

Mr. Strauss pleaded guilty to defrauding the condo associations, made up of more than 700 individual unit owners, by falsely claiming that his property management company, Chicago-based Regent Realty Group Inc., was using association payments for property maintenance. The funds actually were being used to pay off debt on other real estate owned by Mr. Strauss and a partner.

Mr. Strauss’ sentence would be followed by two years of supervised release, with the first 18 months under home detention with electronic monitoring. Because he is 76 and has severe health problems, his lawyer asked that he be assigned to a medical facility. It was disclosed in court that Mr. Strauss has severe heart problems, prostate cancer and paralysis that confines him to a wheelchair.

Mr. Strauss has not been assigned to a specific prison but reports to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on July 10, according to the U.S. Attorney’s spokesman.

Mr. Strauss’ lawyer, Patrick Cotter of Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Chicago, did not immediately return a call Tuesday.

Mr. Strauss agreed to plead guilty to federal wire fraud charges last year, after his former Regent Realty partner, Donald Doering of Wilmette, accepted a plea agreement in which he would be available to testify against Mr. Strauss.

Both men were indicted on three counts of wire fraud by a federal grand jury in February 2011 and had remained free on bond. At the time, Mr. Strauss pleaded not guilty.

Now that the case against Mr. Strauss has been resolved, a sentencing date will be set for Mr. Doering, the spokesman says.

Mr. Doering’s lawyer, Robert Gevirtz of Gevirtz & Born in Northfield, also did not return a call Tuesday.

Federal guidelines call for a 51-month sentence as part of Mr. Doering’s plea agreement. The judge can opt to impose that sentence or reject the plea agreement at the sentencing hearing, the spokesman says.

Guidelines called for 78 to 97 months for Mr. Strauss, but judges have the leeway to decrease sentences based on factors such as failing health.

Prosecutors say the men diverted owners’ payments to their own real estate developments from 2005 until 2008. When the firm shut down, condo associations began informing authorities that their buildings’ reserve funds had been depleted, and Regent Realty was found to have tapped building funds beyond the management fees to which they were entitled.

The two disguised the misappropriations with falsified monthly financial statements, prosecutors say.

Originally published by Crain‘s.

Jay Strauss sentenced originally posted at Realty Evolved

FHA is reducing its up-front premium to .01 percent, from 1 percent, for streamlined refinancing of loans originated prior to June 1, 2009, and cutting the annual fee for these refinancing in half, to .55 percent, from 1.15 percent.

FHA says that the reduction in fees could save homeowners approximately $1,000 a year in addition to the saving from the refinance.

“That would make refinancing even more attractive to more families. It’s like another tax cut that will put more money in people’s pockets. We’re going to do this on our own. We don’t need congressional authorization to do it.”

A typical FHA borrower with $175,000 outstanding on a mortgage would be able to reduce the monthly payments to $915 a month, assuming a new mortgage at 4 percent. Without the fee reduction, the monthly payment after a refi would be $1,010 a month.

The fee cuts begin June 11.

Under the assistance to home owners in the military, the administration says it will take the following five steps:

1. Conduct a review of every service member foreclosed upon since 2006 and provide any who were wrongly foreclosed upon with compensation equal to a minimum of lost equity, plus interest and $116,785;

2. Refund to service members’ money lost because they were wrongfully denied the opportunity to reduce their mortgage payments through lower interest rates;

3. Provide relief for service members who are forced to sell their homes for less than the amount they owe on their mortgage due to a permanent change in station;

4. Pay $10 million dollars into the Veterans Affairs fund that guarantees loans on favorable terms for veterans; and

5. Extend certain foreclosure protections afforded under the Service Member Civil Relief Act to service members serving in harm’s way.

Read a transcript of the President press conference yesterday.

Read the current release for more information on the Proposal

Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM

FHA Premiums Lowered for Refis originally posted at Realty Evolved

Major issues in the home sometimes are too costly or may be difficult to address.  Previously, these homes may have been touted as potential tear-downs, with a small pool of possible buyers.  However, with the rise in green technology, these “tear-downs” are being reborn in new homes, instead of heading to the landfill.

In Chicago, many of the homes are from the early 1900s and feature many architectural and design appeal, perhaps even historic!  Chicago’s architecture after all is famous throughout the world.  Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies Van Der Rohe, Louis Sullivan and many others have influenced Chicago’s architecture and history.

While not everything in a home can be saved, deconstruction will typically save wood material, bricks and fixtures.  With the raw material salvaged, homeowners now have additional options, instead of just tearing down and building new.   Some homeowners sit down and plan a new home, utilizing as much of the salvaged material as possible.  Others donate raw materials to local organizations and realize potential tax benefits.

During Greenbuild in Chicago, I spoke with Habitat for Humanity, one of the local organizations that accepts reusable building material and resells them.  The ReBuilding Exchange in Chicago’s Lincoln Park is also another organization that accepts materials from deconstructed projects.  The ReBuilding Exchange also offers workshops which provides hands-on educational opportunities for the homeowner. A copy of their current schedule is available here.

Keep in mind that in many cases, these are materials that would have headed to the landfill.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, forty percent of the country’s solid waste material is construction and demolition debris.  Highly sought after are old-growth lumbers, which is highly valued for their density and strength, vintage hardware, stone pieces, leaded glass and mantles.

During the deconstruction and construction phase, homeowners can look for waste companies that recycle potential waste.  Many waste companies can recycle discarded materials from trash containers and will prepare a report on the percentage of materials they are able to divert from landfills.  Reusing materials also saves on the carbon footprint if new materials were needed to be produced and transported – in deconstruction projects, the entire process from deconstruction to reuse typically happen locally.

With the continual growth and demand for green tech, expect to see a rise in deconstruction projects.  If you or anyone you know is considering deconstruction project, I would love to document their project here on my blog at Realty Evolved – please email me here to discuss!

Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM

Deconstruction Savvy originally posted at Realty Evolved

This is no surprise as tightened credit leave cash buyers as a significant percentage of purchasers when competing offers that require financing sometimes cannot qualify for certain properties.

The majority of cash purchasers tend to be investors, leaving investors a large percentage of the market, and possibly needed for recovery, helping remove homes that may be difficult to finance.

But the fight isn’t over.  Community banks, portfolio lenders and other niche programs are opening up lending solutions for buyers unable to purchase on a all-cash basis.  With contracts and sales on the rise, affecting the MSI (months supply of inventory), and new home listings being reduced investors are now expanding their target market, sometimes spilling over into neighboring communities and suburbs to fight for desirable properties.

With  spring approaching, we shall see if cash purchases still make up a large percentage of home sales and if demand continues to grow and how current supply is affected by the recent mortgage settlement.

Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM

Coaxing Cash originally posted at Realty Evolved

Subscribers will be able to view the full article with links and phone numbers to contact their lenders. View the full article here after logging in.

Understanding the Mortgage Settlement originally posted at Realty Evolved

Madigan joined with attorneys general in others states and federal officials to announce the roughly $25 billion settlement in Washington.

Read the full story:  Illinois to get $1 bil. in mortgage settlement – Finance News – Crain’s Chicago Business.

View the Administration announcement: Administration Announces $25 Billion Mortgage Settlement

Illinois to get $1 bil. in mortgage settlement – Crain’s Chicago Business originally posted at Realty Evolved