Favorites

Appraisal Subcommittee Website - National Registry

http://www.asc.gov/
The FIRREA people. Check to see if your appraisers name appears in the National Registry and is in good standing.
Appraiser Licensing Disciplines in Illinois
http://www.obre.state.il.us/REALEST/APPDISP/reappdis.htm
Are you using an appraiser that has been disciplined by the State for unethical practice? This site shows all disciplines against licensed appraisers in Illinois.
Chicago Sun Times Home Page
http://www.suntimes.com/classified/homes/transfers/index.html
Search sales transfers online for several counties in the Chicagoland area
Chicago Tribune HomePage
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/transactions/
Site reports sales transactions from recorder office data. Several counties are online. You can search by street address.
City News Chicago
http://www.newschicago.org/about
CityNews combines a database driven interface with an online interactive mapping component. There are two main sections: the Parcel Search & Tabular Data Section, and the Interactive Mapping Component.
City of Chicago - Building Permit Status
http://www.cityofchicago.org/DCAP/Permits/PermitStatus.html
This site provides historical building permit information for the last 18 months. Site is updated daily.
Cook County Assessor
http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/search/search.asp
This site has a picture of every residential property in Cook County. It also gives you an info list on the property including; property style, age, square footage, lot size, basement, garage, fireplace, C/A, # of baths, etc. Search by PIN # or by address.
Cook County Recorder of Deeds
http://www.ccrd.info
This is another awesome site for doing a mini-title search on a property. You can search by Grantor, Grantee, PIN number, etc. I prefer PIN number if you have it. If you don't, you can get it from the Cook County Assessor's site. It will give you a history of every recording made against a property since 1985. To check for prior sales, select any document type that has the word DEED in it; EX: Warranty Deed, Trust Deed, etc. The site will tell you the document number, date of sale, date of recording, grantor, grantee and sales price. The site allows you to select any document referenced and dump it into a document container (fancy name for shopping cart). You can then pay a fee to have the actual document mailed to you.
Cook County Treasurer
http://www.cookcountytreasurer.com
Want to know how much a properties taxes are? Is your owner current with their taxes? This site will tell you.
Digital Media Services - Flood Maps Online
http://www.floodmaps.com
Pay per site for flood map searches. Passwords required.
FFIEC's Census Tract search page
http://www.ffiec.gov/geocode/default.htm
Best site on the web for getting Census Tract numbers and MSA numbers.
Home Price Check
http://www.domania.com/homepricecheck/index.jsp?null
Free website for recorder office info. Also you can search for recent sales in your subject properties market area. Good way to verify FSBO's.
HUD Condo Project Approval List
https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm
Make sure your condo is in a HUD approved complex before your borrower goes FHA. This site provides approved Condo numbers from HUD.
Illinois Coalition of Appraisal Professionals
http://www.icapweb.org
This site has current industry news and the only statewide online appraisers directory in Illinois
Lake County (Indiana) Assessor
http://in-lake-assessor.governmaxa.com/propertymax/rover30.asp
Search assessor property records by address. Site provides lot size, GLA, PIN #, owners name, age and assessor's market value.
Pretrieve Public Record Search Engine
http://www.pretrieve.com/
This site allows you to search tons of linked sites for a personal search or more importantly to use for a property search. It even gives you recent comps. Go to advance search to perform a property search.
Sidwell Maps Online
http://www.sidwellmaps.com
Pay per site. You will need passwords to access the info, which includes plat maps of all Chicago counties. Good site for getting PIN numbers, legal descriptions and of course lot sizes.
White Pages
http://www.whitepages.com/10583/?source=GO000005&KW=white_pages
Great site for tracking down phone numbers!
Will County Plat Maps
http://www.willcountysoa.com/willco.htm
Great website for free Plat maps for all of Will County
Zillow.com
www.zillow.com
Free instant valuations. Use it as a secondary source for comp data.
Appraisal Organizations Top
American Society of Appraisers - ASA
http://www.appraisers.org
American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers - ASFMRA
http://www.asfmra.org
Appraisal Institute - Chicago Chapter Website
http://www.ccai.org
Appraisal Institute - National Website
http://www.appraisalinstitute.org
Appraisal Institute – Heart of Illinois Chapter Website
http://www.hoiappraisers.org
Illinois Coalition of Appraisal Professionals
http://www.icapweb.org
National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers – Chicago Chapter Website
http://www.chicagonaifa.com/
National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers – National Website
http://www.naifa.com
National Association of Master Appraisers - NAMA
http://www.masterappraisers.org
Appraisal Regulations and Regulatory Agencies  Top
Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials - AARO
http://www.aaro.net
Code of Federal Regulations
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html
Division of Professional Regulation - Appraisal Division
http://www.obre.state.il.us/REALEST/APPRAISAL.HTM
The Appraisal Foundation
http://www.appraisalfoundation.org
TITLE XI of the Financial Institutions Recovery, Reform and Enforcement Act of 1989 as amended
http://www.appraisalfoundation.org/html/PDF-Images/TITLEXI.pdf
Appraisal Resource Related Websites Top
Governmental Agencies and Entities – National Top

General

Fannie Mae
http://www.fanniemae.com/
Freddie Mac
http://www.freddiemac.com/
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)
http://www.ncua.gov/
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/

Federal Departments and Agencies

Appraisal Subcommittee Website - National Registry
http://www.asc.gov/
Environmental Protection Agency - EPA
http://www.energystar.gov/
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
http://www.fdic.gov/
Federal Reserve Bank (FRB)
http://www.federalreserve.gov/
Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of Chicago
http://www.chicagofed.org/
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)
http://www.ncua.gov/
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
http://www.occ.treas.gov/
Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)
http://www.ots.treas.gov/
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
http://www.bea.doc.gov/
Estimates a broad range of economic variables such as income, gross domestic product, retail sales and residential construction.
U.S. Bureau of Labor
http://stats.bls.gov/
Offers a variety of national surveys to gather data on employment, unemployment, productivity, prices and earnings.
U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
Provides a wealth of social, demographic and economic information.
U.S. Department of Commerce
http://www.osec.doc.gov/eda/
Economic Development Administration.
U.S. Department of Labor
http://www.dol.gov/
Site provides direct access to databases of the DOL and of other government agencies that contain labor, employment, and economic data.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/

HUD

HUD - FHA Appraisers Homepage
http://www.hud.gov/groups/appraisers.cfm
HUD - FHA Connection Homepage
https://entp.hud.gov/clas/
HUD Atlanta Homeownership Center - HOC
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/talk/addr_atl.cfm
This is the HUD office that oversees appraisal requirements for the Chicagoland market.
HUD CLIPS
http://www.hudclips.org/cgi/index.cgi
Huds client information and policy system.
HUD Condo Project Approval List
https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm
HUD FHA Approved Appraiser List
https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/apprlook.cfm
HUD Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/faqs/faqsmenu.cfm
HUD Homepage
http://www.hud.gov/
HUD Mortgagee Letters
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mltrmenu.cfm
HUD PUD Approval List
https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/subdivlook.cfm
HUD Real Estate Assessment Center - REAC
http://www.hud.gov/offices/reac/index.cfm
Governmental Agencies and Entities – Local Top

County Assessors, Treasurers & Miscellaneous Websites

Adams County
http://www.emapsplus.com/ILAdams/maps/
Provides property data search by name, PIN# or property address.
Boone County
http://booneilpropertymax.governmaxa.com/propertymax/rover30.asp
Provides property data search by name, PIN# or property address...Plus a whole lot more stuff.
Cook County Assessor
http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/
Great site. This site has pictures of every residential property in Cook County.
Cook County Assessor - Virtual Assessment Search
http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/ccao/gis.html
This is an alternative property search page on the assessors site that is even better then the basic property search page. It is called a Virtual Assessment Search. When the page opens, click on the first "CLICK HERE" on the lower left side to jump to parcel search page. You can search by PIN", address or address range. A search results page comes up showing you your property. You now have two choices...click on the PIN # to get a Property Details page which shows you a picture of the building and all the property info...INCLUDING AGE! or, you could have clicked on the word MAP on the search results page to see a small area plat map identifying your properties site on the block. This page is cool because it lets you do a basic comp search for other similar properties.
Cook County Recorder of Deeds
http://www.ccrd.info/
This sites search feature enables you to locate any documents on record with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Once you locate the desired document(s), you can purchase copies of the documents.
Cook County Treasurer
http://www.cookcountytreasurer.com
DeKalb County
http://www.dekalbcounty.org/
General information page.
DeKalb County Information Management - GIS Website
http://www.dekalbcounty.org/GIS/GISWebDisclaimer.html
View and query various maps and County data.
DuPage County Treasurer
http://www.dupageco.org/treasurer/index.html
DuPage County Zoning - Unincorporated
http://ec.dupageco.org/dec/cfm/zoning.cfm
Enter the property tax ID number to get zoning info
Henry County Assessor
http://www.henrycty.com/assessor/search.asp
Search assessor property records by PIN#, property address, or owners name.
Kane County Treasurer
http://www.co.kane.il.us/treasurer/
Site provides info on property tax bills. Also has an icon on the tax page that provides an aerial photo with plat overlay. Unfortunately, no site measurements are provided.
Kankakee County Treasurer
http://treasurer.k3county.net/
Search by address and PIN # for tax info and sales information.
Kendall County Property Search
http://www.co.kendall.il.us/cidnet/public.htm
Search County treasurer and assessor property records by PIN# or owners name.
Lake County (Illinois) Assessor
http://www.co.lake.il.us/assessor/assessments/default.asp
Lake County (Illinois) Plat Maps