2007 Articles

Answers to the June issue Practical Problems By Robert Duffin & Myles Jacobs November 2007 The June issue raised two practical problems in residential real estate transactions.

Attorney General Opinion restricts county recorders By Howard Samson June 2007 In the portion of this author’s article on land split considerations dealing with the Plat Act, which appeared in the February 2007 issue of this newsletter, it was stated that the Attorney General’s office was in the process of determining “whether the provisions of 765 ILCS 205/5a are broad enough to allow a county Recorder to require” that a Plat Act affidavit accompany every submitted deed, even one wherein the legal description was an undivided lot in an existing subdivision.

Case law update By Samuel H. Levine July 2007 Recent cases of interest to real property practitioners.

Does size matter? Homestead and Tenancy by the entirety By Richard F. Bales August 2007 Are there limits to the size and nature of a married couple’s homestead that can be owned as tenants by the entirety?

E-alert—Rental equipment liens By Margery Newman December 2007 On August 17, 2007, Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law an amendment to the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, Section 1.2 permitting liens for equipment rental.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach December 2007 A reader of this publication recently posed this question: “I have some clients who hold a life estate in some farm land on which is a farm house which they rent out.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach November 2007 The typical illicit use of the first of the nine Plat Act exemptions (“The division …of land into…tracts of 5 acres or more…which does not involve any new streets or easements of access”) is a split of land that does, in fact, involve an access easement, expressed or implied.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach October 2007 The Plat Act (765 ILCS Act 205) is a much-used source of reference and a guide for many real estate projects for my clients.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach September 2007 Summer vacation is over so it’s back to work, although I don’t recall a busier summer in the office.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach August 2007 Some of you may remember Mike Rooney, who was (and still is) quite involved in real estate matters, especially title matters and professionalism.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach July 2007 This mid-summer issue features several articles that the readers will, hopefully, find informative.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach June 2007 In the last issue of this publication (April 2007, Vol. 52, No. 8) I suggested misgivings about the routine use of the general warranty deed and the casual reference to the quitclaim deed as a panacea for all real property ills.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach April 2007 The unauthorized practice of law is alive and not so well, causing problems for many unsuspecting consumers.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach March 2007 This issue presents a look inside the workings of the Real Estate Law Section Council, the members of which are listed in this publication.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach February 2007 I’m excited about this issue! Featured are a couple fact patterns from actual transactions, a call to arms for residential practitioners with a top 10 list of suggestions to enhance the economics of the deal, and a comprehensive analysis of the Plat Act exemptions.

Editor’s note By Gary R. Gehlbach January 2007 Margery Newman, who concentrates her practice in construction law and related matters, has provided us with a trilogy of articles that, taken together, illustrates an emerging paradigm in which businesses, especially competitors, combine resources to achieve more efficiencies.

Ethical and professional concerns By Robert Duffin & Myles Jacobs February 2007 Two scenarios that challenge practitioners' ethics.

H.B. 4050 back in the spotlight By James K. Weston, Sr. June 2007 The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (“IDFPR”), as the overseer of the Predatory Lending Database Pilot Program Act better known as “HB 4050,” has published a new Rule for the reimplementation of that law.

Illinois practitioners beware: Florida Documentary Stamp Tax and Intangible Tax By Lu-Ann Dominguez & Michael S. Schimmel October 2007 Over the past decade the number of multi-state real estate transactions throughout the United States has significantly increased.

IMFL: Attempted private sales after foreclosure sales By Jeffrey G. Liss November 2007 In the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court, different divisions have apparently found themselves at odds on a significant issue involving the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law (IMFL), 735 ILCS 5/15-1101, et seq.

ISBA Ethics Advisory Opinion 94-1 November 2007 This opinion is also available at http://www.isba.org/sites/default/files/ethicsopinions/94-01.pdf.

ISBA Opinion 94-1: The essential role of the lawyer in real estate transactions By Peter J. Birnbaum & Stephen J. Bochenek November 2007 In July of 1994, the ISBA Professional Conduct Committee issued Opinion 94-1.

Joint Venture Agreements: doing construction projects together By Margery Newman January 2007 A joint business venture, such a joint venture, is an organization where both members form a new entity, owned by both of them.

Land split considerations: The Plat Act By Howard Samson February 2007 Note: This article is an excerpt from and adaptation of a comprehensive article by Mr. Samson, in which the author addresses, in addition to the Plat Act, county and municipal plat provisions, general county and municipal zoning provisions, affirmations and disavowals, broker’s representations, inadvertent consolidation, access, and other land-split matters.

Legislation of interest to real estate practitioners: 2007 Session of the 95th General Assembly By Marylou Lowder Kent December 2007 To view Public Acts in their entirety, please go to the Illinois General Assembly Web site (http://www.ilga.gov).

Letter to the Editor By Darrell Dies April 2007 As a solo practitioner from central Illinois, I enjoyed reading the March 2007 ISBA Real Property newsletter and wanted to briefly comment on a couple points.

Letter to the Editor By Ronald J. Guild March 2007 Please accept a friendly response from a past editor.

Liability for construction claims By Margery Newman September 2007 The construction industry is rife with situations in which one party may become liable to or for another party in the construction process.

Lien cuisine and other construction delights By Samuel H. Levine April 2007 A lot has happened in the past three years in the area of construction law and mechanics liens.

Mentors: You can learn a lot from crash dummies and other ruminations By William J. Anaya March 2007 As a young lawyer, one of my mentors nominated me to the Illinois State Bar Association’s Real Estate Law Section Council.