Short Sale Haiku - Play-By-Play Illinois Short Sale

Real Estate Short Sale
Up And Down And All Around
End Becomes The Means.

REAL ESTATE SHORT SALE

Real estate agents - we either hate them, love them - or don't understand them. Short Sales are a necessary evil in todays market - another way to generate leads and close sales. But unlike a traditional sale - we often find ourselves deeply involved in someone elses financial matters. It means gathering very detailed info about how much homeowners make, what they owe and to whom. It means working with people at one of the toughest points in their lives. No matter what you think - there is no "One Size Fits All".

Homeowners - the short sale is seen as as a life raft.....a last ditch effort to stop the bleeding. Again - it's a necessary evil. It is usually just one domino in the financial picture - with other problems lurking beneath the surface. It seems the more of these I do - the more questions I get asked. The answer is always the same "It Depends". Depends on the lender, the homeowner, the loan, whether Pluto is rising...the list goes on.
If you've got the stomach for a roller coaster - perhaps you can survive a short sale. Whether you're a homeowner or a real estate agent - it won't be easy. Perhaps one of the most common questions I get asked is "How long will it take". Well.....it depends. Here's a timeline of a short sale I closed last week.

UP AND DOWN AND ALL AROUND

Feb 20th, 2008 - received a short sale lead, started contacting homeowner.
March 3, 2008 - Foreclosure Proceedings started at county.
March 17, 2008 - Preliminary Title Search done.
March 27, 2008 - Listed the home for sale at $149,900, Completed Short Sale Documents
March 28, 2008 - Short Sale package sent to negotiator.
March 31, 2008 - Additional Short Sale Docs. Sent to negotiator.
April 9, 2008 - Authorization to release info sent to lender
April 10, 2008 - Price reduced to $139,900
May 07, 2008 - Price reduced to $129,900
May 31, 2008 - Price reduced to $119,900
June 6, 2008 - Court date - lender receives foreclosure judgement for $168k .
June 09, 2008 - Price reduced to $99,900
June 13, 2008 - Multiple Offers Received
June 17, 2008 - Cash Offer Contract Accepted, contingent upon 3rd party approval (lender)
June 18, 2008 - Signed contract sent to negotiator.
June 19, 2008 - Negotiator prepares HUD with all closing cost figures
June 25, 2008 - Short sale Package sent to lender, waiting game begins.
July 7, 2008 - Loan Rep. Assigned by lender
July 7, 2008 - Approval postponed due to previous Loan Modification started.
July 15, 2008 - Appraisal Ordered by Lender.
July 19, 2008 - Appraiser visits property.
Aug 18, 2008 - Property Appraises at $99,900
Aug 18, 2008 - Conditional Approval of Short Sale Received from Lender
Sept 5, 2008 - Property closes & funds same day.

MEANS BECOMES THE END

For both homeowner and Realtor - closing is the goal. For the lender - it's all about numbers. As a general rule - it seems like lenders are looking for 80-85% of current market value. Again, it depends on the lender. In this scenario - after closing costs, commissions, etc. the lender ended up receiving a little over $83k - that's about 83% of market value (according to the appraisal). But compared to the judgement - the lender received only about 50% of the judgement they received/amount owed. From the very beginning - I thought that $99k might be a good motivating price. But there were no comps for this house. It was a 1 bedroom home, backing to the railroad tracks in a small town. If I had put the property on the market at $99k and sold it in a week - I'm not sure the lender would have accepted the deal. In this scenario I was at least able to show that we tried to sell it at a higher price.

Because I was using a third party negotiator in this transaction -these are the dates as best as I can reconstruct them from faxes, emails, contracts, etc. So many speedbumps appear in the process that you can't pin the blame on one person. It took over a month for the homeowner to agree to list the home for sale. It took nearly 3 months just to get an offer on the table - and that took multiple price reductions. It took just under 2 months to get an acceptance of a CASH DEAL from the lender.

Bottom Line - we got it done. Bring on the next one ;)

Bo Buchanan, Kettley Realtors 58 Chicago Rd, Oswego IL. 60543 (630) 846-4663
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Model Closeout at "The Townes"

This weekend I had the opportunity to tour "The Townes at Creekside" in Romeoville. This is a new construction community just off Weber Rd. that is in the final stages of completion. The Townnes is a Pasquinelli community of nearly 200 townhomes arranged around a central circular drive.

As with most builders, Pasquinelli is offering some great incentives if you use their preferred lender Washington Mutual. In some cases - the discount is over $30,000!!!

One of the great deals they have their is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom townhome with a basement.

There aren't a lot of upgrades in this unit but it's one of the few in the community with a basement. The regular price is $239,514 - but if you use their lender you can purchase it for $207,000. That's a savings of over $32,000 dollars!

If you'd like more information including floor plans and pricelists give me a call at 630-846-4663 or just drop me an email.

WebHomeOfTheWeek.com - Oswego Beauty!

If you're looking for a family friendlly neighborhood within walking distance to an awesome downtown area with great bike trails and amazing amenties - you've found it! Located in Hometown Oswego just blocks from downtown Oswego - this home has everything you're looking for!

Hometown is different than the neighborhoods you're used to seeing - it's a throwback to yesterday with white picket fences, large front porches and tree lined boulevards!

From the minute you step onto this open, inviting porch - you'll feel welcomed not into a house - but a home. With three bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms and a full finished basement - there's room for everyone to find a space of their own. The kitchen has an island, separate breakfast room - and a separate dining room.

For more pictures of this beautiful home, the neighborhood and downtown Oswego - read some of the other posts and visit http://www.217Presidential.com

104 Cedar, Sandwich- WebHomeOfTheWeek.com

The web home of the week this week is......104 Cedar St, Sandwich IL. Listed for just $70,000 - an unheard of price in Sandwich! Here's the catch - it's a wreck! That's right - this house is not for the timid....not for those purchasing with FHA. The roof is leaking, the property is overgrown, the garage is full of garbage - and it all needs work!

This property is only for the experienced rehabber or flipper. It is a bank owned property and the bank is looking for a quick sale. So - take a look, wear a mask (there is water and mold) - and bring us an offer! MLS#06978000 - email me for more photos!

5643 Schmidt, Yorkville- Web Home of the Week!

It's here, after a short hiatus - we have a new web home of the week! 5643 Schmidt is one of my new listings in the community of Farm Colony in Yorkville.



I'm not just blowing smoke when I say this house is AMAZING! The owners built this home themselves....and I'm not just talking about hiring a builder. They had the plans drawn up, did the general contracting themselves, put in the floors, picked out all the fixtures and much more. The owner is a contractor himself so you can rest assured the work is quality!


I could rant and rave about the quality, the detail and the sheer luxury - but I'll just give you the web address http://www.5643schmidt.com/. You can see tons of photos, a floor plan (coming soon) and a virtual tour. Listed at $829,900 - this house will blow you away!!!