Foreclosure rights under oral lease

Q: I am a tenant in a house I rented last summer, planning on staying a year, but soon after I moved in, the owner told me that he was...

Rules can't be changed to block board candidates

Q: We live in a complex of 175 mixed town homes and condominiums. Our declaration lets owners running for the board and current board...

Here's to hue: Injecting color for artful yards

Savvy gardeners look beyond fleeting flowers to create visual appeal. Their gardening tool of choice is a gallon of paint or a can of...

Know risks if buyers move into home before the closing

Typically, the sellers turn their home over to the buyers at or after closing. It's not that common for buyers to move into the home they're...

Disney home lists at $3.65 million

Walt Disney's onetime residence in Los Feliz, the wonderful world where his daughters grew up, has come on the market at $3.65...

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  Hot Property houses

Lofty lifestyle for down-to-earth entrepreneur

For Travis Johnson, 32, his loft purchase at Van Buren Lofts, 1224 West Van Buren St. in Chicago, is a blend of business and pleasure.

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  Photo tour: Chicago new home developments

Avoid roommate problems when subletting apartment

Q: My three roommates and I rented a house for the year. One roommate left for the summer and sublet his room to a friend, Max. This...

State ramps up mortgage fraud investigations

Reports of potential mortgage loan fraud are on the upswing, and Illinois certainly is contributing its share to the troubling statistics.

Shrubs for that shady corner of the yard

Shade doesn't have to be boring. Gardeners can choose from many shrubs to brighten a dark corner. Susan Jacobson, landscape architect at The...

Agents shoulder small-business owner's burden

Eight out of 10 real estate agents are independent contractors, not salaried or commissioned employees.

Day lilies star at sale

For gardeners who love the flowers called day lilies (Hemerocallis), the Chicagoland Daylily Society will hold its annual plant...

Architecture graduate hones skills at home

When the one-bedroom condo adjacent to their two-bedroom unit was listed for sale in early 2008, Blair and Anne Schmidt took it as a sign. A...

Newsletter connects residents, if done right

Q: What is the legal status of publishing a condominium newsletter using some association funds? We wish to publish a one-page newsletter...

Back-up system operates garage in power outage

Ride through any housing development built in the last 15 or 20 years, and one aspect of the homes jumps out: the garage is right up front.

Where Verdi trumpets, lilies bloom

Woody Imberman isn't quick to let on just what it is that keeps his flock of nearly 1,000 lilies so merrily blooming.

Ex-Bull takes big loss on home

Former Chicago Bulls center Tyson Chandler who was part of this year's NBA...

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  Chicago's elite home buyers & sellers

Lease's crime-prevention clause stacks deck against tenants

Q: My landlord's association has given us a crime-free lease addendum that they suggest we use. It tells tenants that illegal...

Rental demand, prices rise

I recently heard a personal finance pundit proclaim that renting is the new owning.

Open-house strategies that work

Sellers often think of open houses as opportunity time. They expose a listing to buyers who might not otherwise see it.

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  Marketing a home

Will newly planted Japanese maple survive the summer?

Q. I bought a small "Bloodgood" Japanese maple tree this spring in a 3-gallon pot but forgot to plant it until late June. After the wet...