Michigan Real Estate Investors are Recognizing Investment Opportunities

Jeff Kaller, investor and pre-foreclosure specialist is touring the country to teach students the advantages of purchasing Pre-foreclosed property. See www.jeffsworkshp.com for details on upcoming events.

There is no doubt that a pre-foreclosure purchase can be a great way to save money on buying a home or investing in real estate. However, investors that are not armed with the latest pre-foreclosure information and techniques can easily become overwhelmed and possibly drown in a sea of financial losses. Finding the right property is the right way to get started.

Chicago UBS Tower sold: $550M

The credit crunch has forced many sellers of office buildings to yank them off the market. But that's not the case with the owners of the 50-story UBS Tower at 1 N. Wacker. Sources said they are selling the tower for $550 million.

Rreef Funds and Deutsche Bank AG are selling to a real estate fund run by Houston-based Hines Interests LP, the sources said. They said the deal calls for Hines to assume an approximately $215 million mortgage.

Parkway Properties Announces $100 Million Acquisition in Chicago

Located on 11.5 acres in the O'Hare submarket and within the city limits of Chicago, Illinois, the Propertyconsists of three interconnected, eleven-story Class A office buildings totaling 600,000 square feet. The Property was completed in phases between
1980 and 1982 and underwent significant renovations in 2006. Citicorp Plaza enjoys a highly visible location adjacent to I-90 (Kennedy Expressway) at the Cumberland Avenue interchange and is also directly connected with the Cumberland station of the Chicago Transit Authority train system (Blue Line).

Chicago real estate tax increase approved

No one liked it, but Chicago aldermen approved a big increase Wednesday in the city's real estate transfer tax. This was part of the deal to keep the Chicago Transit Authority running.

Compromise means not everyone is happy. The agreement to bail out mass transit in Illinois came with much compromise. The City of Chicago's part was an increase in transfer tax. At the same time the city considers ways to help homeowners.

Chicago city panel delays vote on CTA real estate tax

Some aldermen also want to spare seniors from the 40 percent tax increase, and separately, guarantee free CTA rides for active military personnel and disabled veterans. The developments came as Finance Committee members spent three hours peppering CTA and Daley administration officials with often hostile questions. During that barrage, they called for more say in the agency's operations in return for agreeing to supply about $2.3 billion in transfer tax revenues over the next 30 years.

Business coalition opposes hike in real estate transfer tax

Calling a proposed 40 percent increase in a government fee charged on Chicago home buyers "the wrong tax on the wrong people at the wrong time," a coalition of real estate agents, home builders and business interests Thursday urged the City Council to delay a vote on the increase scheduled for next week.