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TimeOut Magazine features Andersonville storefronts in this week's article. Check it out. This is what makes Andersonville such a great neighborhood to live in. Interested in moving to Andersonville? Reach out to us here at iMove Chicago and we can hook you up. 
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Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios - aka "I'll be The Mouthpiece for Anyone with a Dollar" - is pushing legislation in Springfield that would raise the real estate taxes paid by Illinois landlords. He has advocated denying the homestead exemption to landlord's which would result in substantially higher real estate taxes. Under current law, the homestead exemption may be sought on rental properties if the tenant is responsible for the payment of taxes. As we all know, any costs associated with a rental property are almost universally passed on to the tenant - whether it be the mortgage, maintenance, repairs, etc. The proposed legislation is entirely misplaced and comes at the worst possible time. Many Illinois landlords are operating on razor thin margins and find themselves with properties that are in many cases under water. In short, may landlords are on the brink of bankruptcy themselves. Either they are pushed over the edge or the costs of the increased tax burden are shifted to the tenant. Either way, one party will bear the burden at a time when the economy is fragile and the housing market is far from stable.
To add insult to injury, Commissioner Berrios also wants to levy fines and penalties going back six years to gouge landlords for even more in taxes. Enough. Joe Berrios - you are an idiot! On December 31, 2009, the City of Chicago announced the security deposit nterest rate for all 2010 leases subject to the Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance ("RLTO"). The new rate is .073%. It is important that landlords update their lease forms to reflect proper disclosure of the new rate to be in full compliance with RLTO. Failure to comply can expose a landlord to significant liability.
Consult with your own legal counsel to learn more or contact a iMove agent for a reference to an attorney familiar with these matters. If you live in Chicago and you have rented an apartment recently, you may have noticed the fact that more and more landlords are not requiring security deposits. In fact, most large managed apartment buildings have done away with deposits altogether. What is behind this trend? Certainly, it could be that Chicago landlords recognize the dire economic times we all live in and are loosening their requirement out of a well-placed sense of rental brotherhood. Do you buy that? Didn't think so. Then what is behind it? The answer: LAWYERS. Yes, that's right, for once, law firms are on the side of the little guy. Chicago lawyers have identified the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance ("RLTO") as a perfect tool to go after the deep pockets of landlords recovering thousands of dollars for their clients while pocketing a little for themselves in the process. RLTO places significant burdens on Chicago landlords when it comes to security deposits. Among the requirements are that the landlord give a proper receipt for any security deposit that it accepts, that the deposit not be co-mingled with the landlord's money, and that the deposit be returned or properly accounted for upon lease termination. As easy as it seems, landlords are having difficulty following RLTO and the Court in Chicago have been unforgiving in their strict enforcement. The result is that many landlords have been faced with large judgements and class action claims that threaten their bottom line. In response, many landlords have chose to drop the requirement that tenants post a security deposit altogether. This is a windfall for Chicago tenants. No longer will tenants be required to come up with an extra month or sometimes two months for a security deposit freeing up substantial amounts for other needs. Deposits are often replaced with nonrefundable "move in" or "processing fees" which may or may not be returned to the tenant or credited against the rent due. These fees average about $250, but can vary widely.
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