Monday, December 29, 2008

House closing in Old Town of Western Springs

4218 Grand Avenue in Old Town of Western Springs

Center entrance colonial with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, finished basement and a screen porch on a 50 x 150 lot. Walk to town and train. Built in 1966 this home had a new roof and more. Originally listed for $699,000 and lowered to $679,000 it closed on December 29th, 2008 for $640,000. It was on the market for 141 days.

Call today for a home appraisal.....Linda Hanley Kelly, Charles Rutenberg Realty, 708-334-5356

Saturday, December 20, 2008

House sale closed in Forest Hills of Western Springs

5340 Wolf Road, Western Springs

Originally listed for $489,900 and recently reduced to $399,000. This home closed in December, 2008 for $375,000. Features 6 bedrooms, 2 baths, family room, attached 1 car garage on a 60 x 187 lot. Home was in nice condition. It offered alot of space for the final sale price. The home was on a slab. Beautiful yard with an underground sprinkler. Market time=169 days.

Call me today to start looking for a new home in 2009. Prices are great and rates are low!!!
Linda Hanley Kelly, Charles Rutenberg Realty, 708-334-5356

Friday, December 19, 2008

House closing in Forest Hills of Western Springs


5120 Woodland Avenue, Western Springs, Illinois
Beautifully renovated ranch on a 50 x 187 lot. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths-finished basement. This home was on the market for 35 days. Listed for $549,900 and sold for $512,000 Closing was on December 19th, 2008.
This year the homes have been selling faster if they are priced right and renovated!!! Call me for a consultation before you list your home. Linda Hanley Kelly, Charles Rutenberg Realty, 708-334-5356

Monday, December 15, 2008

An Explanation of a short sale in real estate

Short Sale Essentials
Published on Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 7:51 PM Last Update: 2 day(s) ago by Martin Cohen
Tags: REO Short Sale
A Short Sale is a carefully agreed upon sale of a property where a lender is willing to accept less than the amount owed on it because the borrower, due to an acceptable hardship, is unable to make payments. For homeowners, there are only 23 universally “acceptable hardships” that cause “unexpected” financial crisis in their lives.
The lender accepts an offer to purchase from a 3rd party buyer, thus relieving the original owner from encumbrances and potential, future liabilities.
Home lenders are willing to take less for the home than is owed on it and less than it’s worth in today’s declining market. Why? Because lenders will lose more if the property goes into foreclosure, and so will the homeowner.
There are three stages in the foreclosure process. They are pre-foreclosure, foreclosure and post– foreclosure. The pre-foreclosure stage is the only one where everyone comes out a winner. In the foreclosure stage, the homeowner’s FICO credit score can be reduced by 250-280 points and it will take 3-5 years before a lender will offer a sensible interest rate to make it possible to buy another home.
In the “pre-foreclosure redemption status” stage, with the help of a Realtor® , trained to negotiate a "short sale" with the lender, the FICO credit score will only take an 80-100 point "hit", and the homeowner will be able to buy another home with a good rate in 18 months to 2 years or less.
Other advantages of the "short sale" option in the pre-foreclosure stage include the possibility of leasing back the home from a third party investor/buyer, no defficiency judgement, no repair costs, no money to closing, stopping nagging collectors, avoid bankruptcy, a smoother transition to get out from under and get on with life.
As a trained Realtor® you will be able to explain the other pre-foreclosure options you have to assit you a distressed Seller in making a decision that's in their best interest. With over 1 million properties expected to be in foreclosure this year, the difference in losses to be sustained by lenders between a negotiated short sale and a fully executed foreclosure is estimated to be in excess of $50 Billion.
The costs to the Lender for commissions, closing costs, basic repairs, property maintenance, insurance, taxes, homeowner association dues, eviction and court costs, attorney fees, and much more averages about $400 a day for an average priced home. Over the 11+ months that the Lender has to carry the property and their hard costs can add up to over $130,000.
When you subtract these costs from the reduced sale’s price dictated by the depressed market and then take that sum away from the over-extended loan balance, the lender’s loss is substantially greater than a quick short sale. Time certainly is money!
It should come as no surprise to Sellers that they’re behind in their payments or can’t afford to continue making payments on their home because of a recent rate adjustment or for whatever other reason that has put their life in crisis. Sellers should not ignore the notice or telephone call that reminds them of their obligation. They should call their lender immediately so they won’t accelerate the process of foreclosure.
Remember, the lender does not want the property. Realtors® play the most important role in helping distressed Sellers reorganize their obligation to make their home more affordable, or get them out from under. by creating a WIN-WIN-WIN situation.

With all the talk about short sales this article does a good job of summing it up. Linda Hanley Kelly, Broker, Charles Rutenberg Realty, 708-334-5356

Home closed in Springdale of Western Springs


301 53rd Street in Springdale of Western Springs
For those of you who do not know where Springdale is, it is the neighborhood between Wolf Road and Gilbert Avenue. It is South of 47th Street and North of 55th Street.
This home was on the market for 115 days. It was originally listed for $474,900 and lowered to $449,900. It sold for $425,000. It was a well maintained brick ranch with 3 bedroom, 2 baths, an enclosed porch with a 2 car attached garage. Lot size 65x125. If you are planning a move, give me a call....Linda Hanley Kelly,Charles Rutenberg Realty, 708-334-5356. Over 30 years as a full-time agent in this area. Closed on December 15, 2008.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

House sale in Field Park of Western Springs


4242 Franklin Avenue in Field Park of Western Springs
This home was on the market for 218 days. It was originally listed for $995,000.00. It had been lowered to $899,900 when it got an offer. It closed on December 12, 2008 for $845,000. This home was built in 2004 and has 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, a finished 3rd floor and an unfinished basement. The lot size is 50 x 131. It is conveniently located. It is walking distance to Field Park grade school and McClure Jr. High. You can also walk to the town and train from this lovely home.
If you are thinking of selling call me for my opinion of the value of your home. Over 30 years as a realtor and resident of Western Springs I would love to meet you! Linda Hanley Kelly, Charles Rutenberg Realty, 708-334-5356

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Home sale closed in Ridge Acres of Western Springs


4635 Johnson Avenue in Western Springs
Originally listed for $599,900 this home was on the market for 162 days. It was listed at $519,900 when it went under contract and closed for $515,000. This home has 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, family room and a one car attached garage. Lot size 50 x 131. This home was built in 1948 and had been recently updated.
With 2009 just around the corner call me today for a free home appraisal. Linda Hanley Kelly, Charles Rutenberg Realty, 708-334-5356