Schaumburg Short Sales - Schaumburg Real Estate

The most common question I receive nowadays is what is a Short Sale? There are many Schaumburg short sales homes for sale. The long and the short (no pun intended) of a short sale is that they are a huge pain in the neck. The easiest way to break down a short sale is let’s say you owe me $100. You say Aaron I want to give $50 instead of $100 and it will take me six months decided and I may come back and say no.

Basically a short sale is when the bank is taking less than what is owed on a home. That is the good part. The true problem comes in to play when you submit your offer. You have absolutely no idea what amount of money the bank is looking for. You would assume that the bank would like to get the homes off of the books as soon as possible. The truth is that Johnny pencil pusher sitting behind the desk at the bank could care less about the deal at all. There is no rhyme or reason when it comes to negotiating a short sale. You very likely will not hear back from any for at least 4 months (I’ve seen some that have take 13 months, and some that have never received a counter offer).  There is also a chance that even if your offer is submitted at list price the bank will say they want more. 

So the moral of the story on short sales is that they make no logical sense and it’s almost impossible to pinpoint what if anything will happen. I highly recommend short sales for investor in the Schaumburg Real Estate market. If you are a regular buyer with any time frame or emotional attachment I recommend going for a regular Schaumburg home for sale.

Let’s say you are one of the brave ones that wants to give a short sale a try here are a few thing to look for.

1.)   The listing agent has experience with short sales

2.)   They have a professional negotiator working with the bank

3.)   How many loans are on the home. It’s much more difficult if there is more than one bank.

4.)   Which bank has the loan? Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America are VERY hard to work with.

5.)   How far along is the short sale process

6.)   Are there any liens or taxes owed on the home?

Short Sales are a great way to good an amazing value on a home but, also a great way to spin your wheels and go nowhere fast. If you do decide to buy a Schaumburg Short Sale home prepare yourself for the ride. Happy home hunting!!!

What is Shadow Inventory and How Does it Effect the Real Estate Market

The term "Shadow Inventory" may be new to you, but you will hear it more and more over the next several months and years.  This term refers to the homes that are not on the market yet, but are destined to be for sale next year or the year after.  These are homes that banks will be foreclosing and placing for sale in the future. 

This "Shadow Inventory" is also a prime reason that many buyers are holding off, not buying at this time. Since homes that are yet to be placed for sale are a major factor affecting our real estate woes, it seems prospective home buyers should be aware of all the facts... Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors says "To be sure, the housing market is faring better in several metro areas, particularly those with decent job growth such as parts of Illinois and Washington, D.C., though it could be "choppy at times."

You probably already know where I am going with this... By parts of Illinois, he means "THE CHICAGO AND SCHAUMBURG REAL ESTATE MARKET"!

For the last 24 months I have been hearing so much about the next wave of foreclosures coming on the market and there have been quite a few that have come up. Yes foreclosure homes are a great value but are the always worth the headache? There are many things you should know before purchasing a foreclosed home.

1.)   You are purchasing the home as is where is. Which means all liens and problems with the home can become your responsibility.

2.)   They may need some work. Very few foreclosed homes are in great shape. Typically you will need about 10% of the purchase price to do repairs on the home.

3.)    The home may not be in as a great shape when you close as when you first saw it. The home will remain vacant and who knows what can happen to a vacant home in 90 days.

4.)    You are dealing with a corporation not a regular seller. Everything about the deal is about money there is no emotion and the bank will walk if the deal is not perfect.

5.)    Financing may be an issue. Fha loans require a certain in-habitability standard. If they home is not inhabitable for example: mold or no furnace, odds are you cannot get financing.

So before you purchase a foreclosed Schaumburg home, make sure you know exactly what you are getting into. Feel free to search all foreclosed homes on my website at http://www.aaronwittenstein.com/mx/Foreclosure/index.cfm?