Judy Orr - SW & near West Chicago suburbs

Today there are 319 Oak Lawn homes for sale ranging in price from $84,900 for a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom ranch style home up to $649,900 for a 6 bedroom, 5 1/2 bathroom 2-story style home. And there's everything in between.

That is a lot of property to choose from and you can see that price ranges in Oak Lawn real estate start low enough for first-time home buyers and offer more expensive, upscale homes. I have written of some great foreclosure deals I've been running into lately in the village.

I currently have a beautiful 2-story Oak Lawn home located on a triple lot priced at $240,000 at 9549 S. Oak Park Ave. There is a virtual tour link on the listing so be sure to view it.

I live in Oak Lawn, Illinois and am an experienced Oak Lawn REALTOR. If you'd like to view any Oak Lawn real estate give me a call at 708-536-8200 or Contact Me.

It's interesting how many people do not understand our current market in this recession.  When updating my Orland Park home sellers I send them an updated version of the following Orland Park Real Estate Supply and Demand Chart.  This particular chart is for Orland Park homes for sale for the past six months.

Seeing data like this really makes your jaw drop.  Look at the large amount of inventory compared to homes under contract and homes that have sold and closed.  This shows why it is so important to price your Orland Park home properly. 

Imagine being a buyer hit with all of this inventory.  They have a lot of choices and are only going to choose the cream of the crop.  That translates to the property that offers the most for the money.  If your home is not at the lower rung of its market value, you won't have a good chance of getting your home sold. 

On a bright spot, homes under contract are at a 6 month high in March of '09 and homes sold and closed are pretty good, too, falling only behind November's figures.  Hopefully, this lopsided market will start to stabilize at some point, but this proves just how far we have to go.  These are facts put together by Market Dynamics using MLS data.  And this shows how few buyers are out there right now.

If you're looking for an experienced Orland Park REALTOR give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200.  Classic Realty Group is located at 15545 S. 71st Ct. in Orland Park, IL  60462.  We are local REALTORS and we know this great village. 

Search the Orland Park MLS or fill out my Automated Home Finder Form to get new listings sent directly to your e-mail.

I recently wrote another article on this subject here regarding a different Oak Lawn condo for sale. That listing was listed with no mention of the in-unit laundry room it offered. And it was a nice sized laundry room that an owner could use a full-sized washer and dryer in. But the listing agent did not show that this laundry room existed. That is a huge thing!

In-unit laundry rooms bring more money to sellers. They are more desirable by buyers and can sell a property quicker. This unit was priced well, but if the laundry room had been listed it would have been shown to many more buyers and could have garnered more and higher offers. It is under contract but I bet the potential buyer got a terrific deal.

Today, I saw an even better deal (a steal) that was listed incorrectly

I don't want to go into too much detail as I did write up an offer for my buyer. This was a great unit that was priced almost 50% less than what I believe a true market value would be. I had previewed it the other day because it stated that there was no garage.

This is a style of condo building in the area that has 4 units per building and 4 garages. However, the MLS print-out said "no garage." I couldn't understand it because it did say "in-unit laundry" room/hook-up. Knowing these units, I am aware that the laundry rooms are located in the garage.

I called the listing office (they do not answer the phones, ever) and left two messages. They never called me back.

I couldn't get the key to work in any of the garages

I had previewed this property and even though I saw that there wasn't a garage per the MLS listing, my curiosity got the best of me and I tried the keys in each of the 4 garages downstairs. None of them opened.

Today, when I was with my buyers, I handed the key over to one of them and he was able to open the door. Lo and behold, there was the laundry room in the garage, that is heated with an automatic door opener. I'm just hoping other agents don't know better to check the garage or are having trouble getting in, too.

This is the best deal I've seen out there. I hope my buyers get it. If they weren't interested I would be making phone calls trying to find someone else to bid on it or might even bid on it myself, although I just recently purchased a condo in Scottsdale, AZ.

So if you're looking for property for sale in Oak Lawn, IL call me at 708-536-8200 or use the "Email me" link to the right. Search the Oak Lawn MLS to see everything that is currently available for sale.

I was showing Oak Lawn condos for sale to a family recently and stumbled across a steal! We were surprised to see that the Oak Lawn condominium had a large in-unit laundry room, as it wasn't listed on the MLS print-out. It was priced OK without it, but it was a steal with this feature! This agent made a huge mistake that will cost his seller money.

This was a bank owned foreclosure and although I anticipated other offers, I figured by omitting the in-unit laundry, maybe not too many other bids would come in, if any. But after we sent in our offer, we were informed there was another. Then I received a call that there were now multiple offers.

My seller was not emotional and when the bank came back with a counter-offer, my seller went up only $5,000 from his already low cash offer, knowing there were other offers on the table. I then received a phone call telling me that a mistake was made when entering the listing and pets were not allowed. I believe this 2nd error caused the other offer(s) to pull out, because now the bank came back with a better counter-offer. My seller came up another $5,000 and stayed firm. We were told the bank accepted the offer.

This listing agent didn't do his sellers a favor

This is a well established brokerage and I'm surprised at the mistakes I saw on this one listing. I know it's basically a one-man/family brokerage and he uses assistants, possibly younger family members. Someone did a sloppy job putting this in the MLS. Great for buyers, not so great for the seller.

When I put in a listing I ask my sellers to read it over as it's difficult proofreading your own handiwork. I can understand that no one at a bank would take the time to read over this listing, but in this case someone else in the brokerage office should have double-checked it. I'm certainly not going to point out their error as I'm working for my buyers.

This offer was so good a seller could flip this condo

As far as I could see, only cosmetic work needs to be done and with the price accepted, the most recent lowest priced condo similar to this one that had sold and closed sold for $50,000 more! This is such a good deal it's something I would consider investing in.

But the buyer's attorney is nixing the deal

If anyone has done a short sale, foreclosure or relo company transaction, you know there is a lengthy addendum that needs to be accepted and signed before the contract is fully accepted. The buyer's attorney stated that this was the worst addendum he has ever seen and afforded his buyer no rights. I mentioned this to the listing agent's assistant and she said she's seen much worse addendums than this one.

Of course, it does give the bank protection from anything that can arise, but some of the things my buyer stated (that his attorney supposedly told him) were not how the listing agent and I were reading off the addendum. This is a long-time attorney/friend of the family and there's no way I'm going to convince these buyers to get a second opinion. So they will most likely walk away from this excellent deal and never find anything close to it.

I have handled the sales of many short sale, relo and foreclosure properties and if the buyer wants the property, they sign the addendums. I've never had any problems because of them.

If you'd like to have a chance at this great Oak Lawn condo for sale, give me a call

It is a shame for anyone to walk away from this great value. My husband and I just purchased a Scottsdale AZ condo for sale and are not in the position to buy right now, or I'd be next in line if my current buyer walks, which I have every indication he will.

So if you're considering purchasing a 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath condominium in Oak Lawn, IL with a formal dining room, eat-in kitchen and an in-unit laundry room that will sell for around $50,000 less than similar Oak Lawn condos, call me at 708-536-8200 or use the "Email me" link to the right.

Search Homes and Condos in Chicago and all suburbs of Northern Illinois

Now you can see how many active listings are in Tinley Park at any given time without having to do a search. Today, there are 192 Tinley Park homes for sale. Prices start at $149,900 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath split level styled home and go up to $1,200,000 for a 6 bedroom, 6 bath custom built 2-story home with a 4 car garage.

There are many price ranges for first-time buyers and up. Styles in Tinley Park start with ranch style homes all on one level to cape cods, split levels, raised ranches and 2-stories. There is something for everyone in Tinley Park, IL.

Of course, you can create an Advanced Tinley Park MLS search to get your specific price range and any specific amenities you're interested in.

If you're interested in Tinley Park homes for sale give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or use the Contact Form. Judy has been selling Tinley Park real estate for 26 years and has the experience you need in making such an important financial decision.