Increadibly Cheap Bank Owned House

Just look at this price! Large house with 2 bathrooms and a basement, lots of parking space. Great deal on foreclosures in Maywood, IL

3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $27,500!

Nobody will believe you if you get this deal! ***PRICE***PRICE***PRICE***. So much potencial! This home is perfect for large families. Why pay rent if you can own a piece of American Dream? Remodeled in 2004/2005 this house features an oversized lot, long driveway, enclosed porch and full basement. All room and room sizes are approximate. Please verify for yourself when at property.

For more bank owned properties in Chicagoland, please visit our northwest Chicago foreclosures website .

218 S. Broker Ave., Itasca, Illinois

Bank foreclosure - solid construction - newer ranch (built 1965) with basement and second kitchen. One of best deals on foreclosures in Itasca

3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $170,500



Desirable All Brick Ranch located in a quiet residential area. Features include country kitchen and large rec room. This 3 bedroom and 2 full bath home is ready for you to move in and enjoy. The summer kitchen in the lower level is great for cooking on hot summer days. The fabulous 2 car garage is an added plus. Come see today! Large patio. Closed to park, shopping and METRA train station. Sold in "as is" condition. Bank owned.

For more bank owned properties in Chicagoland, please visit our Chicago suburbs foreclosures website .

Are Multiple Offers Back?

Are the old, good days back? The days of scarce “deals”, anxious buyers and multiple offers? Well, not really, at least not for the most homes on the market. There are however listings that are highly sought after. Almost all of them are bank-owned properties, oftentimes listed well bellow the comparable homes in the area. As we all know, the prevailing opinion among today’s home buyers, is that the real estate prices are so much deflated and sellers so anxious to get rid of their homes that basically any offer would "fly", will be considered, counter-offered and, finally – lead to a sale. As it turns, it’s not necessarily the case with the hottest listings on the market, especially - REO properties. These homes are hot bargains and buyers are very much aware of that. There are plenty of people on the lookout for them almost everywhere.

A few days ago I had a buyer who was interested in one particular condo subdivision. For over 2 months none of the homes there came even close to his target price. When finally a REO condo was listed, within 48 hours my client put an offer at about 20% below the list price. Next day we learned that there are 2 other offers on the table and that my client was not the highest bidder. We are now again on the lookout for a condo there. This time my client has learned his lesson and is prepared to make an offer that would be at, or very close to, the list price.

Times are changing and we will see more and more bargain hunters. These leveraged buyers are necessary to bring some stability to the real estate market and reduce inventories. The number of foreclosed houses and foreclosed condos is still on the rise. Foreclosed houses and condos represent at least a half of all sold properties this year. More bargain hunters are still needed!

Foreclosures - Blessing in Disguise?

Everyone knows how dramatically prices of homes have been falling in the last 2 years. Some estimates indicate that an average American home lost 25-30% of its peak value. The recent wave of foreclosures makes price declines even more acute. For home sellers, having a bank foreclosed property in the neighborhood is their worst nightmare since this type of homes sell from 20 to 40% below the area average.

On the other hand, in times of tight credit standards, more and more homes become available again to first time buyers who would not afford jumbo loans. Foreclosures play important role in the market correction and when it finally reaches the bottom, it will be much easier for a greater number families to afford their first home. Sure, thousands of other families will loose their homes by then, but greater affordability will result in even more people being able to buy real estate property.

Foreclosures have yet another positive effect on our industry - they make people excited - again! Everybody likes a good deal and foreclosed properties are exactly the type of deals some home buyers just can't refuse. In certain price ranges, foreclosed homes make up to 50% of all sales in the area. They act like a magnet for those buyers who were just sitting on the sidelines and waiting for better times to buy a home. In Illinois, foreclosures are on the rise. Recently, my office listed a foreclosed home in Glenview that once was appraised at $1,100,000 and now is listed at $639,900. That's more than $450,000 in depreciation! Please visit our website where you can see the list of foreclosed houses for sale in Cook County. All of you bargain hunters - get ready!

More time for home owners facing foreclosures in Illinois

Illinois governor Pat Quinn approved the legislation that grants additional 90 days to people facing foreclosures. The new law gives home owners the right to credit counseling and creation of a payment plan to get out of the foreclosure proceedings. Together with President Obama's Affordability and Stability Act of 2009, this move is meant to stop the rise of foreclosures that expert predict, could soon reach in Illnois the 100,000 mark.

Foreclosures hurt home sales in every area of Cook County. Almost every neighborhood has one. On the other hand, foreclosures in Arlington Heights is the hottest group of properties home buyers are after these days.

If you think U.S. economy sucks, think twice!

Spring is officially here and it brought new hope to a number of counties around the world, especially those hit hard by the current recession. Last winter was probably the most difficult to bear in Island. This small country between Europe and America has not only a very cold climate, but is also now in a middle of economic crises of catastrophic proportions. 

The failure of the country’s biggest banks in October 2008 eliminated more than two thirds off the value of the local currency last year and pushed inflation to almost 20 percent while sending unemployment to a record high.

 

 The outlook for the rest of this year is grim. Experts predict a 10.5 percent economic contraction (!!!) which in turn, may help contain the runway inflation.  You can learn more about economic troubles of Island on my favorite economic blog – Planet Money.

In this country we face a rising wave of foreclosures after a number of self-imposed foreclosure moratoriums ended last week. Buyers take advantage of extremely low prices not seen on real estate market for a decade or more. You can see a number of foreclosed houses, foreclosed condos and other bank owned properties in Cook County by visiting www.arlingtonheights-realestate.info

Walmartization of Real Estate

In the recent surge of bad economic news and bad corporate earning, Walmart emerges as one of very few companies to stay stable during the recession and even make some healthy profits. Obviously, price driven consumers see the value in $9.99 toasters and $8.99 pairs of jeans. Bargain hunters are also prevailing on the real estate market. The average home sales price in Chicago metro area dropped significantly in February 2009 with huge discounts put on bank owned properties. In Chicago suburbs deals likes a $20,000 condo or a $99,000 house is what really brings buyers to the market. Some properties even receive multiple offers and sell in less than 2 weeks. Is this a start of a long awaited recovery on real estate market? Quite likely so. Especially that the word of cheap deals on condos and incredible prices on both investment and live-in properties, travels fast and more and more people get interested in buying a home again. As for now, real estate agents will have to learn to live on a “minimum commission” level that most of these cheap deals offer.  After all, a typical payment from a $20K sale is almost on a “poverty” line. But what starts small, hopefully will end up large. Some day.