Chicago is a city of condos. From downtown to the outskirts, there is an endless variety of properties that fall under the “condo” category of housing. Condos are a very popular type of real estate that home buyers in Chicago are often looking to purchase. But even with a primed pool of potential buyers, it can be tough to sell your condo in today’s market. Here are some good pointers to make sure your Chicago condo is prepared for sale and that you are ready to take advantage of the resources at your disposal.

1) Stage the house – This is a very important step in selling your condo. Much like you would detail a car before trying to re-sell it or spruce yourself up before going on a job interview, staging your home will help create the perfect first impression for potential buyers who either see your place online or visit it for a showing. There are professional services that will stage your condo for a fee (typically between $500 and $1000, although it can cost more). Note: It’s always best to have the staging done before taking photos of your condo to post online.

2) Utilize all resources available – Chicago condo owners can find help with selling their property in unexpected places. For instance, some community colleges now offer classes on home selling. Chicago-area condo owners and home owners who are ready to sell their places can attend the College of DuPage’s “Get It Sold” class, held on Feb. 18th and again on April 4th. The length of each class is two hours.

3) Read – Owners of Chicago real estate can improve their home selling savvy by reading books like “301 Simple Things You Can Do to Sell Your Home Now and For More Money Than You Thought: How to Inexpensively Reorganize, Stage, and Prepare Your Home for Sale,” by Teri B. Clark, or “How to Sell Your Home in Any Market: 6 Reasons Why Your Home Isn’t’ Selling…and What You Can Do to Fix Them,” by Loren Keim.

4) Surf the web – The Internet is an invaluable resource for many things, including tips on How To Sell Your Home. There are plenty of sites with helpful information for Chicago condo owners wanting to sell their properties. You can even find home-selling tutorials, such as the videos on This Old House’s website (thisoldhouse.com), which offer up hands-on lessons about what to do when selling a house or condo.

5) Get legal advice – Because the sale of a home of any type is a complex issue, it is important to know your rights and responsibilities as a condo owner. Enlisting the representation of a professional real estate attorney is a smart idea no matter what the circumstances, but it can be especially important for property owners who rent out their units and/or work with rental agents as an alternative to selling their condo outright.

Above all, it is essential to price your Chicago condo right. No amount of staging, hitting the books or seeking legal counsel is going to help if your listing is extremely over-priced. Take note of the market in your neighborhood and find out what comparable properties are going for in your building, on your street and in the surrounding area.

Like other American homeowners, people who own Chicago condos can take advantage of tax credits offered by the federal government for specialty home improvements, such as making your residence more energy efficient. These credits are available for certain alternative energy upgrades and can significantly increase the amount of money a property owner saves.

Previously available credits that allowed homeowners to claim 30% of energy-efficient hot-water heater or roofing renovations have expired. However, there are other tax credits for similar home improvements that won’t expire until December 31, 2016 that today’s Chicago condo owners can cash in on.

As reported in a Chicago Tribune article this month, homeowners can claim tax credits for 30% of what it costs to outfit your residence with a solar energy system, geothermal heat pump or small wind turbine (not that there’s a lot of room in most Chicago condo buildings to set up a turbine!). According to the Tribune article, which cites information from EnergyStar.gov, there is no ceiling to this tax credit and it can be collected on either existing homes or new construction residences. Rental properties, however, are exempt from the credit.

Anyone looking to make their Chicago condo a little greener, will be happy to know there is also a credit available for 30% of the cost of residential fuel cells (maxed out at $500/0.5 kilowatt of power capacity). Residential fuel cells are an alternative energy system that can cut a home’s utility bills by up to 50 percent.

Owners of Chicago condos might also be able to claim a deduction on taxes, depending on the type of home improvement or repair. It is always wise to keep receipts and talk to an accountant or tax professional about whether future improvements you plan to make are deductible. You never know, someone who is in-tune to government regulations and tax laws may find other deductions you can claim as well.

The cost of green home improvements may seem high to some home and condo owners. However, with the savings on home energy bills, the upfront expense could eventually pay for itself. Planning ahead on such investments by finding out which tax credits or deductions you qualify for in advance will help with budgeting any green home renovations you want to do to your Chicago condo.

There is plenty more information about energy efficient home improvements on the government’s EnergyStar website (energystar.gov) and updated tax deduction options can be found on the IRS website (irs.gov).

The weather in Chicago, which until now, had been relatively mild, plummeted to below freezing last week. The sky opened up, unleashing a torrent of freezing snow, blanketing the city in white for the first time since last winter. Perhaps, it is finally time to declare the official onset of winter in the Windy City!

And while temperatures haven’t exactly been tropical the last few weeks, most Chicago condo owners were able to save money on heating bills due to the relatively warmer weather we’ve experienced as of late. The sudden arrival of freezing temperatures, however, means it is finally time for Chicago residents to crank up their heating units, unpack the space heaters from the attic, and stock fireplaces with heaps of dry wood.

But before firing up the heating devices in one’s Chicago condo, you should first conduct a routine check. After all, most heating implements have been lying dormant for months, waiting for cold weather to once again render them necessary.

The first important step any Chicago condo owner should take before cranking up the heat is to locate emergency shut-offs. Most furnaces and other heating devices have them so you can kill the power quickly and decisively in case of an emergency. Running heat sources without knowing where their emergency shut-offs are is dangerous, so be sure to locate these essential switches early on.

Chicago condo owners should also take care to regularly service all combustion sources in their condo. Oil-fired furnaces need to be checked and tuned-up every year, while gas-fired furnaces require attention every two to three years. Electric-powered furnaces should be services every four or five years. Fireplaces, wood stoves, chimneys and flues should also be attended to seasonally, as they may have developed issues during the warmer months.

Smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers need to be checked as well. Alarms should be equipped with fresh batteries on a regular basis, and tested every so often. The National Fire Protection Agency reports that 62 percent of all home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms, or homes with alarms that don’t work properly. So it is extremely vital to ensure that your Chicago condo is fully equipped with functioning smoke alarms.

The state of Illinois will receive $15 million for a Home First Illinois initiative to take unoccupied Chicago condos and convert the units into residences for those with physical disabilities. This massive undertaking will enable Chicago-area residents with certain physical disabilities to live independently.

Funding for the project comes from the capital program called Illinois Jobs Now! The program does more than just provide new living opportunities to Chicagoans, it also create jobs, saves the state of Illinois money, and replenishes unused Chicago real estate.

The initial stage of the project includes eighteen Chicago condos that are to be rehabilitated and used for the program. Nonprofit lender IFF received financing for the project from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. These funds will be used to rehab vacant condos in buildings with elevator service.

Additional accessibility features that will be installed in the renovations are wider doorways, bars and handles in the bathrooms, and flashing lights that notify hard-of-hearing residents of visitors. Access Living, a not-for-profit organization, will assist new condo occupants with relocation from institutions into the new condominium units. The President and CEO of Access Living had this to say about the venture, “This is private/public partnership at its best. The purchase of distressed properties will help communities grow stronger, and people with disabilities in institutions will find a place to live in the community.”

Governor Quinn believes the program will aid the state’s economy through renovating vacant properties into appealing places for people with special needs to live. “By increasing accessible and affordable housing opportunities for our state’s residents with disabilities, we are helping to increase their independence and improve their quality of life,” Quinn said in regards to the rehab initiative. “Through this program and other initiatives, we are expanding choices for those who want to live in the community.”

Home First Illinois plans on developing nearly 100 affordable and accessible Chicago homes over the next three years. The project is set to receive $4 million from Chase Bank as well as $125,000 from The Chicago Community Trust for operational support. These new units are expected to benefit a total of 145 residents with physical disabilities in the Chicago area. The project will also create 21 new construction jobs.

Vacant, buildable lots are in high supply in Chicago. During a time when homebuyers are not as plentiful, this may cause concern. According to Houston-based housing data research firm Metrostudy, the number of vacant developed lots that are prepared for new Chicago-area homes has fallen to 51,250 in the 3rd quarter of 2011, which is less than a one percent decline from the second quarter (51,867) and a 2.5% decline from a year earlier (52,565).

Metrostudy data also concluded that the current Chicago real estate market has a supply of lots that would last 23.2 years, down 2.3% from the second quarter when inventory was 23.8 years. The current rate is still up considerably compared to 3Q 2007, which had a supply of a little over 2 years.

Numbers like these show that the demand for new homes has not increased greatly in the entire nine-county Chicagoland area. However, the market for suburban Chicago homes—otherwise known as infill locations—are increasing in demand, according to a December article in Crain’s.

A driving force behind the demand for infill lots is public builders. As in the case of K. Hovnanian Homes, an affiliate of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., which purchased sites in Glen Ellyn, Mundelein, St. Charles, Bolingbrook and North Aurora over the past year. Lots located in prime real estate territory are in high demand. Infill lots currently account for approximately 10,000 of the 51,250 lots available presently.

Lance Ramella, director of Midwest consulting for Metrostudy, stated in the December Crain’s article that a few developers are thinking about converting raw land into developed lots in the favored areas. “We haven’t seen that in a long time,” he said. Many new buyers were willing to live on less desirable lots during the housing boom in order to get certain perks like a good school system.

“We reached the bottom of this cycle in late ’10 or early ’11, and we’re seeing an uptick in starts and closings and activity,” Mr. Ramella continued in the article, noting it is movement in the right direction. Conclusive data from Metrostudy showed that Chicagoland real estate experienced an uptick during the 3rd quarter 2011, rising to 728 from 588 in the 2nd quarter and even up from 696 in the 3rd quarter of 2010.

Owners of Chicago real estate (and homeowners nationwide) who are struggling with making their mortgage payments received a holiday gift this year from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with other lending giants. The lenders pledged not to foreclose on delinquent buyers during the holiday season.

According to a December article in CNN Money, condo and homeowners who have loans with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could rest easy that they would not be evicted between December 19th, 2011 and January 2nd, 2012. The good will measure does not end legal and administrative proceedings for evictions, only allowed families to stay in their homes for the full extent of the holidays. Executive VP for Fannie Mae Terry Edwards explained, “No family should have to give up their home during this holiday season.”

Additionally, Chase pledged not to evict any of its struggling borrowers from December 22nd, 2011 through January 2nd, 2012. Wells Fargo also postponed evictions during this time. However, the bank said evictions would not be dissolved completely where foreclosure-related actions may need to be taken for loans it services through separate lenders. In a similar vein, Bank of America stated they would “avoid foreclosure sales and displacement of homeowners or tenants around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays” on loans they own, according to the CNN story. Still, like Wells Fargo, the organization said it would proceed with certain foreclosures on loans it services if the loan owners were so inclined.

A monthly average of 89,000 foreclosure auctions were scheduled in 2011, according to information from RealtyTrac as reported by CNN Money. Eviction is the next course of action after foreclosure auctions. This holiday suspension of foreclosures is said to have aided tens of thousands of people who own homes, condos and other residential properties throughout the country. It is expected that, in at least a few of these cases, the extra time gave delinquent homeowners the extension they needed to come up with the back money owed on their mortgage, allowing them to keep their home in 2012.

Recently, legislation was passed that allows for a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits that were set to expire January 1st, 2012. Those buying or refinancing homes this year will be the ones paying for the payroll tax cut. Someone who buys a $200,000 home or refinances that amount after January 1st, 2012 will now have to pay an approximated additional $17 a month on their mortgage.

The payroll tax cut is currently working its way through congress—the bill was passed in Senate mid-December, 2011 and the House was supposed to act on the bill during the last few days of December. The increases in fees are proposed to gradually phase in.

Due to the state of the housing market and large amount of foreclosures in recent years, private insurers have contended with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who are backed by the federal government. As it stands, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) subsidize roughly 9 out of 10 new mortgages. In order to handle the $33 billion dollars the government owes, the payroll tax cut in turn raised the fee for government-subsidized mortgages through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in order to insure these mortgages.

The rise in fees also applies to anyone with a mortgage subsidized by the FHA, which includes many first-time and low-income homebuyers. President Obama’s administration felt raising the mortgage guaranty fees Fannie Mae currently charges could restrict Freddie Mac’s domination in the mortgage market.

According to a December article in Crain’s, an investor who typically invests only in shopping centers is branching out to the suburban Chicago apartment market. The investor, Mosaic Properties & Development, LLC, who is based out of Northbrook, paid $11.6 million for a large complex in Skokie. The owner, a venture associated with Interforum Holdings, Inc., a developer that had planned to turn the real estate into condos, sold the 144 units to Mosaic.

This will be the first multifamily property owned by Mosaic, which currently owns shopping centers in Deerfield, South Elgin and West Chicago. During summer 2011, the shopping center investors sold a 50% stake in one of the three properties in South Elgin, after the property was purchased from a bank in 2010.

The 144-unit, 50-year old property located at 10100-10116 Old Orchard Court was previously bought in 2006 by Interforum, also based out of Northbrook. Demand is strong for apartments these days in locations like Skokie. Mosaic acquired the Old Orchard Apartments with plans of upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms to make them more competitive in today’s booming rental market.

The developer originally purchased the Skokie apartment complex, built in 1961, for $22 million. The apartments consist of five buildings with 216 units and are in a prime location, just to the east of the Westfield Old Orchard shopping mall and bordering the Westmoreland Country Club golf course. However, Interforum only converted two of the five buildings and only 72 units were made into condos. The other three buildings remained apartments. Monthly rental rates at the Skokie apartments range from $869 for one-bedroom units to $1,021 for units containing two bedrooms.

The broker for the sale, Matt Welke, principal and managing director of Essex Realty Group, Inc, mentioned in the Crain’s article that the apartment market has been driven by lenders the past few years. Many have been taking back assets, having to sell them for capital. “Now that has started to turn the corner a bit and we’re seeing some properties in better locations and good quality coming on the market,” he said.

The 309-unit Chicago condos located at 200 N Dearborn, in the city’s well-known Theatre District, are offered buyers a gift for the holidays. For a limited time, American Invsco provided sales incentives to those buying these downtown condos. The sale reduced the original prices as much as 51% and homebuyers paying in cash received an additional 10% off with closing costs covered. At the time of this writing, the 47-story building recently received 18 cash deals that closed in one month, most likely due to the added discount for cash purchases.

Here’s a look at some examples of this holiday pricing: Unit number 905, priced at $193,830. The 835-square-foot unit has one bedroom and was originally listed for $339,000. This sale price is without the additional cash discount. Another unit, number 1106, is a three-bedroom, 2,015-square foot condo with the sale price of $449,085. The unit was previously listed for $833,300.

Here’s a bit more general information about 200 N Dearborn… The building was originally constructed as Chicago apartments in 1989. Recently, the property was redeveloped and modernized into condos by American Invsco, which has developed 45,000 residential units all over the United States. The full-amenity building also houses 24,000 square feet of commercial space, including a 7-Evelen, food court, dry cleaners and Pedway system that connects to different points in downtown Chicago, making winter walks comfortable. Amenities in the building consist of a fitness center, party room, same-day maintenance service, laundry facilities, 24-hour doorman, an indoor swimming pool, a 3,200-square-foot landscaped terrace with barbecue facilities and five floors of indoor parking (residents must pay an additional fee for parking spots, though).

Upgrade packages are also included in deals for this downtown Chicago high-rise. The Majestic package incorporates new hardwood floors or marble entrance, stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, new cabinets, countertops made of granite, upgraded bathrooms, and new countertops and sinks.

Recently, the Grammy Award winner R. Kelly’s suburban Chicago home has been listed as a short sale. The Olympia Field’s home is listed for a little under $1.6 million. The R&B singer-songwriter previously faced a $2.9 million foreclosure lawsuit after failing to make payments since June 2010.

According to its listing, the sprawling piece of Chicago real estate located on Marcos Lane includes 22,000-square-feet, six bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, a four-car garage, an indoor pool, a theatre room, six acres of woodland and a lake. The mansion itself was built in 1997 and Mr. Kelly paid $3.5 million in 1999 for the home.

Similar to many American homeowners, R. Kelly’s mortgage is “underwater”. His home lost 26% of its value during 2009-2010. The performer’s net worth is said to be around $150 million and yet he has failed to make payments on the Olympia Fields home since last year. As a result, JP Morgan Chase Bank has taken action with a foreclosure lawsuit in Cook County.

The reasoning behind his failure to meet loan obligations is a story that’s increasingly common in this country. According to an article in Crain’s, Mr. Kelly discontinued payments in an unsuccessful attempt to make the bank renegotiate and modify the loan. However, even someone with the financial assets and high-quality legal access as a world-famous celebrity had trouble getting the lender to make adjustments.

Once Mr. Kelly stopped making payments, it is said he discontinued living in the home. He probably won’t totally default on the property but he will take a big loss on it. The two-story suburban Chicago mansion presents a great deal for potential buyers, due to the hugely reduced REO pricing.