Illinois

4 bedroom home for sale in Stonefield of Batavia, IL

This 4 bedroom home for sale was built in 2000 by Red Bud Properties. It is located south of Fabyan Parkway and between Rt 31 and Western Ave. Close to shopping and the nearby the Fox River with an extensive bike trail system.

This 4 bedroom home for sale offers a 1st floor den with a vaulted ceiling.

This 4 bedroom home for sale also has a 3 car garage and a huge basement.

The family room in this Batavia home for sale also has a vaulted ceiling.

Batavia, IL is located approximately 30+ miles west of downtown Chicago along the beautiful Fox River. Situated between Geneva and North Aurora it has great access to I-88 and two commuter rail lines.

There is an extensive bike trail system running along the Fox River running north to south and trails running east to west as well.

Batavia was founded in 1833. The oldest (176 years old) town in Kane county Batavia is well known as the "Windmill City" for the windmills that were manufactured here many years ago. Today, Fermi Lab, a high energy physics lab sits adjacent to Batavia and offers many natural attractions as well as entertainment and educational activities.

The census of 2000 put the population at 23,866.

Batavia was the front lines of the Black Hawk War in which Abraham Lincoln was a citizen soldier, and Zachary Taylor and Jefferson Davis were officers. Although there is no direct evidence any of them were actually in Batavia, there are writings by Lincoln that reference "Head of the Big Woods", which was the original name of Batavia given by its original settler, Christopher Payne.

Singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon attended Batavia High School. Ken Anderson, a quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 80' and 90's grew up in Batavia as well as Dan Issel, a basketball player for the old ABA Kentucky Colonels.

Batavia is served by Batavia Community Unit School Distist 101 and highly regarded throughout the area.

Complete info on this 4 br home for sale

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Back in the day the best reads in the Chicago papers came on Thursdays or Fridays when Roger Ebert was presented with a really bad movie. One of the finest of film reviewers in America, Ebert was at his best (and funniest) when he had a chance to sharpen his pencil and scribble notes about the whys and wherefores of some particularly smelly film he had witnessed that week.

I thought of Roger earlier today as I read a review in the New York Times about Sandra Bullock's latest cinematic expression.

Since The Times doesn't give its readers a head start by using stars in reviews you have to muck through the prose to gain a sense of what the reviewer thinks. And even then sometimes you are left with a blank look, unaware of the plus or minus of a particular movie. Trust me, today's review of "The Blind Side" leaves no doubt.

While reviewer A.O. Scott doesn't seem to have an ink pot at his disposal that lends itself to the scalding words that Ebert might use, there is no doubt what his sentiments are after being subjected to the "two hour holiday greeting card" that he finds "The Blind Side" to be.

But what really struck me in his review was a single line that may have broader application when he said the movie was guilty of

shedding nuance and complication in favor of maximum uplift.

So it's a case of the energizer bunny being bright-eyed and bushy tailed over and over and over and over, pushing us and cajoling us to look on the bright side. No matter what.

Heck, it's something most of us are guilty of doing occasionally. Jeez, some might say the real estate industry as a whole suffered from the collective amnesia of pursuing "maximum uplift" all the way up to the start of our current economic downswing.

The question, though, is in the face of revised information, what is the next choice.

In the "The Blind Side" the movie's title was perfect because Bullock's character never moved out of the darkness of her blindness. She continuing to saunter forth, blithely and daftly. The good news is that such daftness is not permeating the Chicago real estate market as I see more and more of a shift away from the darkness.

In other words more and more realtors and their selling clients are taking constructive steps to, as Dr. Phil would admonish us, "get real."

An important question that has yet to be fully and completely answered relates to whether lenders are going to step up to the plate to constructively assist prospective buyers get funding to take advantage of the shift toward more realistic and pragmatic pricing.

Stay tuned.

FHA Appraisals and the Rules

Lately in my area there has been a tremendous amount of miscommunication and misinformation with FHA appraisals. It is so rampant in our area that I've decided to post the drama.

Schaumburg IL - Townhouse listing of mine does not appraise out and is $5000 under contract price. Seller does not want to sell at the appraisal price and the buyer doesn't want to pay the contract price. Deal dead which is easy enough. Buyer #2 comes along with their overzealous buyers agent, let's call her 'Gloria Go-Getter'. She's overcaffinated, overconfident, never listens to what is being said and is constantly on her 'crack berry' answering those important emails. Buzz, buzz, buzz, there she goes.

After negotiating this new offer at the appraisal price (I surprised her with that BTW) she said, sure I guess we'll use it. You guess? Sorry Gloria, the appraisal is good for 6 months on the property so yeah, we're gonna use it. Then the contract goes to the also overcaffinated loan officer, 'Busy Bruce', who begins the conversation with - "You don't know what you're talking about, I want a new appraisal done". So now we have Gloria Go-Getter and the loan officer telling me I am blocking the contract by not letting a new appraiser into my listing.

Now I'm thinking to myself, this can't be happening right? This FHA appraisal guideline is as old as dirt, how can they not know about it? Well it turns out that the loan officer wanted me to manipulate the FHA system that assigns the appraisals and case numbers. The loan officer is telling me that the appraisal no longer has a case number and they don't want to use it. Well I get the original appraisal from the original loan officer and indeed there's that case number and all the appropriate information necessary to make it valid. Hmmmm.

Did the buyers agent and the loan officer plan this? I think that having the appraisal already done was not in their collective game plan. I think what they expected was that the townhome would not appraise out and the price would be adjusted downward. Their only option was to fight the current appraisal. Problem is, we can't just get another new FHA appraisal on a property and I wasn't going to do anything funny with the FHA assignment system.

Besides, I've heard that the federal penitentiary accommodations would not be adequate enough for little 'ole me.

I've uncovered some interesting things from the FHA Help Line (FHA Connection) and they were very courteous and answered all my procedural questions. I wasn't loosing my mind and indeed the appraisal was still valid and in the system. Why all the drama? Was I just supposed to forget about the 1st appraisal? Why would I just ignore it?

What would the penalty be if I did turn a blind eye? So the deal finally closed and I can honestly say I'm not sure what this agent was trying to accomplish. All the way to the end, she was adamant that we didn't have to honor the appraisal.

I'm not gonna miss Gloria Go-Getter.

Gated Communities - Barrington Illinois - Tallgrass of Lake Barrington

There are 3 gated communities in Lake Barrington and one of the newest developments is Tallgrass. Located at the corner of Kelsey Road and River Road, it was recently published that the bank has filed a notice of default against 64 of the 71 home sites.

Here is the excerpt from the ChicagoRealEstateDaily online newspaper.

Harris Bank has filed foreclosure lawsuits on vacant lots in two developments in Lake Barrington controlled by luxury suburban residential developer Michael J. Graft Builder Inc. In one suit, filed Oct. 1 in Lake County Circuit Court, the bank is seeking to recover more than $5 million on 64 lots in Tallgrass, a 109-acre development in the northwest suburb. That case was filed after the bank also filed to foreclose on a loan secured by 28 sites in the Enclave of Heritage Estates, a 66-acre development planned for just 32 high-end homes. Michael J. Graft Jr., president and CEO of the Barrington-based homebuilder, did not return a call requesting comment.

This was set to be one of the nicest gated communities due to it's goal of keeping the area natural and enhancing the landscaping. If you live in Lake Barrington like I do you'll appreciate all the trees and open spaces, conservation and walking paths - Lake Barrington is a Tree City.

The question now is what will happen. There are a few residents in homes already built and currently 2 homes available for sale, both ranch homes. If the property goes into foreclosure, what will the bank decide to do with the 64 lots they will own? Will they look for an investor seeking to buy gated communities to develop, or will they choose to sell off each lot? In this market both of these options are likely to be a tough sell. Very few buyers are looking at either new construction or lots, although getting deals on property in gated communities will certainly have some appeal if the price is right.

If you are interested in buying in Lake Barrington and are looking for gated communities, email Corinne with your requirements, or call 847-363-3686.

You can Search all Barrington Properties on my blogs listing page.

For more specific information on Tallgrass visit my Tallgrass Web Page.

Request a list of current Foreclosures in Lake Barrington.

Information about other Gated Communities in Barrington. I will be writing about each of our gated communities here over the next few weeks and will provide links.

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Contact Corinne Guest Broker & Owner Royal Advocate Realty Licensed Realtor® in Illinois, for real estate in Barrington, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington, Barrington Hills, Inverness and Deer Park, as well as Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer and Long Grove in Lake County Illinois.

Call Corinne 847-363-3686 for assistance.

Copyright © 2009 By Corinne Guest, All Rights Reserved.

In Antioch, there are 260 single family homes for sale with an average list price of $324,952.

There are 40 single family homes under contract with an average list price of $206,484.

In the past 6 months, 150 single family homes have sold and closed with an average sold price of $197,930.

Specific details on single family homes for sale and sold in Antioch, can be found on my website at www.StarHomeFinders.com.

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