September 27th Foreclosure Report

(click above for larger view)

In the week ending on Sept. 27th. there were 13 bank owned single family homes sold and just 3 that entered (re-entered) the real estate market in northwest suburbs of Chicago.

Mortgage Applications on the Rise

Mortgage Bankers Association reports that the number of mortgage applications last week was almost 13% higher than a week before. Most of that increase were filings for government-insured loans like FHA. In general, government-insured mortgages made up 45.7% of all purchase applications last week - the highest proportion since November 1990.

Government sponsored loans are especially attractive to first time homebuyers who are rushing to take advantage of the last weeks of homebuyer tax credit that runs through November 30th.

Weekely Foreclosure Report

(click for larger view)

Last week the foreclosure activity was high. 4 single family houses went under contract (sold) and 6 more entered the market. The following houses were listed in MLS since September 13th:

What's next for Randhurst?

Once one of the larges shopping malls in the world and a true pride of Chicago suburbs – Randhurst Center, has been reduced to a few stand alone stores and a humungous hole in the ground. The crews just completed the demolition of the 1960’s marvel of commercial architecture. Left alone is the main gate which now leads nowhere… New Randhurst Village - a new lifestyle center incorporating retail, hospitality and residential components is scheduled to open in 2011.

COPS action in Arlington Heights

Most people consider Arlington Heights to be a middle class, safe neighborhood. That wasn't the case on September 17th, when an armed and dangerous fugitive managed to escape while being transported to a courtroom. The fugitive is a 39-year old man suspected for bank robbery. He took guns from the escorting officers, switched clothes, hijacked a car at a gunpoint and hid himself in the apartment complex by Algonquin and Goebbert Rd in southwest Arlington Heights. All schools in the area are under lockdown.

This is a developing story. More details soon! You can also check out my twitter feed.

photo courtesy of WGN News

September 12th Weekely Foreclosure Report

Is spite of the shorter business week, the foreclosure activity was high after Labor Day. 8 single family houses went under contract (sold) and 11 more entered the market. The following houses were listed in MLS since September 7th (click for larger view)

These homes are priced 50% to 70% below similar properties sold in the last 3 years. Some of them can be purchased now with just 3.5% down payment and even if your credit score is below "prime" score. Please contact me for more details.

Stay tuned to my next week's report that will be in your mailbox on Saturday, September 18th. In the meantime, you can read more on my Chicago Suburbs Foreclosures website or if you have any questions, please contact me at pkedzior@sbcglobal.net

Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller's vs. National Association of Realtors

In the recent days two home sales reports were published that in my opinion totally contradict each other. The first report comes from the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller's U.S. National Home Price Index which in the second quarter of 2009 recorded the first rise in home values since 2006. The other report is from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) that reported that one-third of all home sales over the past few months were either a foreclosure or a short sale. How can you reconcile those two reports? A third of all homes sold on a fire sale maks the property values climbing?

The other side of short sales

Home values are plummeting and for some selling the property for less than owed to the lender may be the only option to avoid foreclosure. Many banks agree to write off large portions of the original mortgage enabling the new owner to take possession of it.

In some cases, closing doesn’t end the seller’s liability. Some reports indicate that the distressed seller is receiving a “bill” for the unpaid amount on his loan that he may have mistakenly believed was forgiven. While the mortgage (or the security interest in the property) was released, perhaps the unpaid balance on the note (the loan) was not. The short sale seller might not have gotten a copy of his note marked “paid in full” or some other document indicating that the balance on the loan has been forgiven by the lender. So maybe agreeing to the low ball offer presented by the first available buyer wasn’t such a good deal after all? Maybe another buyer would had been willing to purchase the property at a higher price thus reducing any deficiency he might owe to his lender? These transactions can become very fuzzy very quickly especially in situations where there is an “investor” or “intermediary” in the middle.

It is very important to be clear as to the fact, that deficiency judgments are a real possibility when a lender may seek the distressed seller to cover for the unpaid amount on his loan.