Posted on 07/22/2009 11:13:55 AM PDT by STARWISE
WILMETTE | Home on auction block carries hefty back-tax burden
A property tax bill of more than $200,000.
That's the added cost that awaits whoever comes out on top in next month's auction of the foreclosed Wilmette mansion of convicted influence-peddler Tony Rezko.
Records show Rezko stopped paying real estate taxes on the 8,400-square-foot mansion more than four years ago.
He owes a total of $140,409.86 in back property taxes, plus $69,402.24 in interest.
The new owner will have to pay that, says Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.
Rezko stopped paying the taxes around the same time he stopped paying the mortgage on the $5.9 million home, which led Bank of America to foreclose on the property. It goes on the auction block Aug. 10.
Rezko is the onetime top campaign fund-raiser for then-Sen. Barack Obama and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Rezko was convicted last summer of wide-ranging corruption linked to his influence in the Blagojevich administration. He is now in prison, awaiting sentencing.
~~DING!
Wow.
Why would the new owner have to pay taxes owed by the previous owner? The person (Rezko) owes the tax, not the house.
It’s the Chicago Way.
The title can’t transfer in most areas until back taxes are paid. In order to take ownership these ‘obligations’ must generally be met.
The city has a lien on the property. If you want it, you have to pay off the lien.
It’s that way everywhere. A property cannot be transferred to a new owner unless it is unencumbered by liens. I faced that about 17 years ago. The house I was buying had two tax liens against it and the seller had to pay up or I could have walked away from the sale. I’m certain the selling price will reflect the liens.
Rezko’s Mansion up for Auction (Sun Times:)
Once the site of fund-raisers for politicians including soon-to-be president Barack Obama and then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Wilmette mansion of convicted businessman Tony Rezko is on the auction block.
Bank of America, the mortgage holder that won a foreclosure judgment on Rezko's defaulted $5.9 million note in May, will auction the opulent, two-story, 8,400-square-foot home next month.
A blight on the neighborhood removed.
P.S. Maybe ACORN could help him out and stop the foreclosure. For old time's sake, you know, the FOBarack love connection. Just a thought. Rezko's trial is next June. Should provide some nice Dem culture of corruption coverage before the midterm elections.
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Rezko's home in Wilmette to be auctioned
Bank of America will auction off Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s north suburban mansion early next month to try to recoup part of the imprisoned developer’s past-due $5.15-million mortgage.
Mr. Rezko took out the loan on his more than 8,400-square-foot home at 1250 Chestnut Ave. in Wilmette in September 2003, roughly three years before he was indicted on federal fraud and money-laundering charges.
The original lender, Chicago-based LaSalle Bank N.A., filed a foreclosure lawsuit in October 2006, after Mr. Rezko, a key fundraiser for politicians including former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, allegedly missed his August 2006 payment, according to a copy of the complaint filed in Cook County.
Now, the home where Mr. Rezko once held a lavish fundraiser for President Barack Obama will be auctioned off Aug. 10. Bank of America, which acquired LaSalle Bank in fall 2007, is expected to set a minimum sales price for the property, though the amount was not yet known, says Scott Jensen, a partner at Murray Jensen & Wilson Ltd., a Chicago-based law firm that’s representing the bank.
Even if a buyer steps forward, it’s unlikely that Bank of America will recoup the $5.2 million in principal, interest and late fees that Mr. Rezko allegedly owed as of October 2006, according to the foreclosure complaint. Several Wilmette residential brokers estimated that the property would sell for between $3 million and $4 million.
“It’s a small market for homes that are in that upper bracket,” says Sharon Freidman, a sales associate in the Winnetka South office of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate LLC. “There aren’t that many people out there with a lot of money. The dot-commers have come and gone.”
Mr. Rezko, a developer and fast-food entrepreneur who opened more than 25 Papa John’s pizza franchises, remains in federal custody awaiting sentencing. A jury found him guilty in June 2008 of crimes including pocketing kickbacks from money management firms that sought state business.
The federal government has requested that Mr. Rezko forfeit his interest in the residence in the unlikely event that the home’s value is greater than the debt Mr. Rezko owes.
Mr. Rezko acquired the two-story Wilmette home, which has five full bathrooms and a three-car garage, for $1.9 million in January 1999, according to property records.
A message left for one of Mr. Rezko’s lawyers, Howard Adelman, was not returned. The auction will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 10 in the office of Intercounty Judicial Sales Corp., 120 W. Madison St. in Chicago.
That's the normal practice in such deals. The buyer has to settle any outstanding liens. Of course, that hammers down the price the buyer is willing to pay, so BAC ends up effectively paying part of the tax.
The cool outcome in this case would be for the tax lien to grow to the point where nobody will buy the property. May the weeds grow! Couldn't happen to a nicer county.
Every one that i’ve bought the bank had to pay off outstanding liens and give me clear title.
The taxes are attached to the house as are any other lien.
Rezko stopped paying the taxes around the same time he stopped paying the mortgage on the $5.9 million home, which led Bank of America to foreclose on the property.
It's good to part of the corrupt Daley Democrat machine and friend of Obama.
You try not paying your mortgage and taxes, I'll bet you're out on the street and your home sold in far less than four years.
Maybe because you or attorney/rep negotiated that issue.
Everything’s negotiable.
“Maybe because you or attorney/rep negotiated that issue.”
I don’t use those leaches, I do my own dealing.
Didn’t I say you or .. ?
Land contracts complicate things in states that allow them.
Intercounty Sales Corporation is a private firm that specializes in conducting foreclosure auctions. Judges from each county decide if they will allow entities other than the Sheriffs Department to conduct sales on behalf of the plaintiff. Intercounty Sales Corporation can be reached at 312-444-1122
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Interesting company .. many websites
INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORP. 120 W Madison St. Suite 718A, Chicago IL 60602 Tel: 312 444 1122. Sales are conducted Monday through Friday at 11 AM at their offices.
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Wonder what Chicago insider owns them.
All I get is this again and again.
Would they be registered with the state AG office?
“Company Information: The Intercounty Sales Corporation is a private company providing services to foreclosing plaintiffs and their attorneys when a judicial sale is ordered in the course of a mortgage foreclosure action”
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