New Federal RESPA rules became effective on January 16, 2009 and new forms are required to be used as of January 1, 2010. Lenders are required to use a new Good Faith Estimate form (GFEs) and a new HUD-1 Settlement Statement (HUD-1).
RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) is a HUD consumer protection statute which covers closing costs and procedures. It also requires that consumers receive disclosures at various times concerning fees involved in a closing and also prohibits cost inflating “kickbacks.”
These new rules standardize the Good Faith Estimates of Closing Costs, promote transparency, and allow buyers to make educated decisions when shopping for a lender. These new rules apply to all residential contracts.
As of January 1st, 2010 the amended Act created some new forms and amended some of the old forms. It is increasingly important that you are using the most recent forms. The forms can be downloaded at the Illinois Association of Realtors® website store.
The Illinois Real Estate License Act of 2000 is intended to protect the public through the regulation of all real estate licensees. Although the Act was passed in 2000, it is amended each year.
On January 1st 2010 The Illinois Human Rights Act was amended by Public Act 96-447 (HB 721) which added “order of protection status,” as a protected class. What this means for housing is that housing cannot be denied to a person based on the fact that the person is covered by an order of protection in Illinois, or any other state.
Tribune Co., the newspaper company that filed for bankruptcy in December, is looking for options for two buildings other than a sale because it doesn’t expect to find buyers.
Falling real estate values and tighter lending restrictions hurt the publisher’s plan to divest the Tribune Tower in Chicago and Times Mirror Square, home of its Los Angeles Times newspaper, said Gary Weitman, a company spokesman. A sale is still an option, he said, denying a Crain’s Chicago Business report that Tribune scrapped plans to put the Chicago building up for sale.
“Given the downturn in the real estate market, it’s less likely that we’ll sell the properties but we are still looking at all the options to maximize the value of both properties,” Weitman said.
Tribune is working with real estate firms to secure tenants and determine other uses for the buildings, Weitman said.
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