About Plainfield's Caton Ridge

Highest and Best may be.... Best from the start.
Attention buyers ~ it may not be a buyers market after all. In some specific price ranges and types of sales, sellers have the upper hand. In southwest Plainfield, IL there are plenty of foreclosed and short sale homes in fair condition listed for under $140,000. These are homes that once sold for over $225,000 in many cases. I have seen homes with 30 plus REALTOR cards on the counter top indicating 30 plus showings. I've been told there are no more showings after 10 days on the market because there were too many offers. Even for homes imperfect homes at slightly higher prices there can be fierce competition amongst buyers.

Last week I wrote 2 offers for foreclosed homes. The first home was listed at $129,900 and my buyer's offer was $125,000 with $4000 in closing costs. Within 4 days, the bank counteroffered $128,000 with the closing costs. My buyer accepted that day and the listing agent was notified. 7 days later there was no signed contract by the bank. At the end of the day, I received an email stating that the home was now in a multiple offer situation. The listing agent had included "No sale transaction is accepted until seller signs written contracts" and "Counter offer acceptance is subject to senior management approval, mortgage insurance and /or investor approval", giving the bank the ability to accept my buyer's offer but still proceed slowly enough until a 2nd offer was presented. In most negotiations, the offer agreed to via email would have been honored and the 2nd offer would have been submitted too late.

On the second offer, my buyer offered $125,000 on a home listed at $139,900. Buyer decided to go back and forth in $1500-2000 increments until the bank's offer was $131,000. Buyers' final counter offer was $130,000. All of this was accomplished over the course of 4 days. We then waited for 4 days before the listing agent notified us that there was another offer and seller was requesting highest and best offer. One day later, the seller rejected my buyer's offer in favor of the other offer.

In both cases, the negotiations moved quickly until the very end when the banks took extra days to respond to allow additional offers to come in. These were both very frustrating situations as it became apparent that the banks don't have to play by the same rules as everyone else. 2 attorneys I spoke to both reiterated that banks make their own rules and that there is really nothing that can be done.

Except I think to have the buyer bring the highest and best offer from the very start and get the offer either accepted or rejected at the very start. Is possibly paying 2% more for a home worth paying in order to avoid the risk of losing the home to another buyer? I think so. Hopefully, my buyer will, too, the next time I write an offer on a bank owned home.

On Aug 31, my short sale listing in Plainfield IL closed. What seemed to be a long process with many hurdles finally came to an end. In this case, the process took a bit longer because there was a private mortgage insurance company that also needed to approve the short sale. In addition, the bank's negotiator was somewhat unorganized -- let an approval letter and BPO expire -- not good.

The seller owed $260,000, and the short sale was approved for $190,000. It took 120 days from receipt of contract to close.

The success also came from everyone being patient and working together. The buyer's agent was very understanding and great to work with, the buyers were extremely patient -- even had a wedding in between -- the attorneys were the glue that held everything together.

Yes, short sales are a lot of work but in the end, are very rewarding -- with one less foreclosure on the market and to hear the grateful words of seller -- out weighs all the work.

More posts on Short Sales:

Fannie Mae Guidelines favor Short Sales

Short Sale - Do you Qualify?

Short Sales...Not for the Impatient.

Buyers/Buyer's Agents ~ Don't be scared off by Short Sales....

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Maria Mastrolonardo is a Realtor Associate with RE/MAX of Naperville and has been assisting home-buyers and home-sellers since 1997. Maria can be reached at (630) 248-6077 or email: mmastrolonardo@gmail.com

Servicing the towns of: Naperville, Aurora, Lisle, Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Warrenville, Wheaton, Woodridge or other surrounding areas.

There are 30 real estate listings (as of 03/26/09), in Caton Ridge, Plainfield IL ranging in price from $139,000 to $283,900. Visit Plainfield real estate site and view all real estate listings in Plainfield, Illinois including residential and commercial real estate in Plainfield, Illinois.

Plainfield IL Real Estate

The most recent real estate closings in the Caton Ridge Subdivision in Plainfield are:

• 6512 Cascade Ridge Dr. closed on 11/5/08 at $194,000
• 2217 Country Ridge Dr. closed on 12/3/08 at $215,000
• 2215 Cedar Ridge Dr. closed on 10/3/08 at $218,000
• 6501 Breckenridge Dr. closed on 2/27/09 at $252,450

If you want to know what your home in the Caton Ridge subdivision is worth, or have a property in another subdivision in Plainfield, contact me at the tab on the top of this page or call me at 630-673-6233. It would be my pleasure to help you with any of your real estate questions.

Are you behind in your mortgage payments? You may qualify for a loan modification or short sale. Call me at 630-673-6233 to find out if you qualify for either of these programs.

Julie Ferenzi | Realtor®
Plainfield Real Estate
630-673-6233