Our Useful Links page does not consist of highly commercial real estate sites with real estate or real estate services to sell. Instead, the links on this page will direct students, instructors and real estate practitioners to hard to find information.

The links will connect you to sites that deal with such real estate information as aerial photographs, wetland maps, copies of entire laws, pending legislation, HUD occupancy standards, fair housing cases, information on transfer taxes and municipal inspections, RESPA requirements and much more.

If you need help in finding a real estate related item not found on this page, email us at linkquestion@real-estate-pros.com. We will try to help.

The entire Community Reinvestment Act can be found downloaded from this site.

 

The Cook County Assessor's Office has put together a very informative web site. Besides explaining the real estate tax process, the site provides information on tax exemptions, tax protests and appeals and a menu of forms that can be downloaded. If you own any property in Cook County, its worth a look.

This site provides summaries of Illinois Supreme Court and Appellate Court decisions. The timely posting of the summaries (usually the day following their issue) makes this site valuable resource. 

Looking for the court's decisions in their entirety, see the following link to the Illinois Judicial Systems Online Office of the Reporter of Decisions. www.state.il.us/court

On the EPA's site, you'll find information regarding asbestos, brownfields, electromagnetic fields, hazardous waste, lead-based paint, radon, Supervened sites, underground storage tanks and drinking water.

 

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act can be downloaded from this site.

 

        The maximum loan amount depends on if the property is single  family or a 2, 3 or 4 unit property.  Check out this current table.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Information on the ordering of FEMA flood insurance rate maps and flood way maps can be found on FEMA's web site. The site explains the duties of FEMA, how they accomplish their goals and lists the other products available through FEMA. The site provides a good deal of technical information about floods and other disasters and the measures being taken to prevent them.

 

This site records all the new regulations and bulletins that come out of HUD. The site contains links to newly issued (as well as archived) Mortgagee Letters, Housing Notices, Federal Register Publications of proposed rules, OMB Circulars and Super NOFA. Keep up with HUD by reading the mortgagee letters and their Federal Register inserts. 

 

This is the home page of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. There is current real estate information for both real estate practitioners and consumers. 

The site contains all of Illinois' Compiled Statutes. So if you're looking for a particular law, you'll find it here. Don't know which law your looking of, a text search function on the compiled statutes page will help you narrow it down.

If you feel like giving your state representative or senator a piece of your mind you will find their local and Springfield addresses and phone numbers here.

No need to head to the IRS or your public library for that elusive form. You'll find all the IRS forms on this site. All forms are in PDF format.

The site has many different sections to it - find a realtor, find a neighborhood, search for property, order materials from the REALTOR® library, and much more.   

This page has several quick links to what the NIPC has to offer. Aerial photos, census information, flood maps, municipal populations and population projections, land use studies, traffic corridors, Chicago consumer price index, building permits issued, etc.

On this site, you will find links to the HUD opinions on occupancy standards. The site provides you HUD's publications in the Federal Register.  If your looking for guidance on the number of adult or children tenants per room or room area this is the place to head.

 

FHA's RESPA site has everything you would want to know about RESPA. There is a lot of general information provided by the many links on this page. There are two FAQ's, one for consumers and one for the industry. The industry FAQ is quite informative and will probably answer any question for which you may be looking for an answer.

This page of the Illinois Association of REALTORS® web site will direct you to the web site of the other local REALTOR® associations.

 

The National Center for Home Equity Conversion (NCHEC), an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to reverse mortgage analysis and consumer information on reverse mortgages.

This site is loaded with information on the pro's and con's of reverse mortgages. The site has an easy to read, easy to understand FAQ section that takes the mystery out of reverse mortgages.

Another good source for information on reverse mortgages is the Consumers Union - the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.  Find them at www.igc.org/consunion/finance/mbwc798.htm

 

The South/Southwest Association of REALTORS® has put together an informative web site.

Studying for the state salesperson or broker exam?  This site will provides lots of study and test taking tips.  Get the most from your classes and seminars and check this site out. 

Want to know if a south Chicagoland community has a transfer tax or a municipal inspection? The South/Southwest Association of REALTORS® has a web page devoted to transfer taxes and municipal inspections. The site has a section for each suburb and explains who is required to pay the tax (buyer or seller) and the amount of the tax. Also noted is whether they require a municipal inspection before a sale.   

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service makes available maps indicating federally  designated wetlands.