Before bank owned properties and foreclosures became the buzz words for a generation, there were the myths and mystery surrounding them. Through spending the last 5 years involved in this aspect of real estate, I realize that not many people understand what really happens to a house in foreclosure. After reading this article if you have any additional questions about foreclosures or bank owned properties in Plainfield, Naperville, or anywhere in Illinois, feel free to contact me with questions.

Plainfield and Naperville Foreclosure and Short Sale FAQ’s:

• Illinois is a judicial state in which the homeowner must be sued by the lender in order to be granted repossession of the asset by a court of law. Until the auction has taken place and ownership has been transferred the owner is in possession of the home.

• Lis Pendens are the documents filed at the beginning of a foreclosure once a homeowner misses 2-3 payments with their lender.

• The foreclosure process takes about 4-9 months after the Lis Pendens has been filed for the the foreclosure to be complete.

• Foreclosure can be avoided only by selling the property either traditionally or through a short sale, bringing the loan current, or a loan modification.

• Once a payment has been missed a lender will not accept partial payments, and the debt often begins to snowball.

• A property becomes an REO or bank owned property when the minimum bid at the auction (made by the bank) to satisfy the loan at auction is not met.

• Abandoned properties that are in need of exterior maintenance such as lawn care, vandalism and graffiti can be addressed by contacting “neighborhood services” through the local municipalities.

• Short sales are sales that sell for less than what a homeowner currently owes, that are subject to the banks approval. While short sales are often fabulous deals, they often take weeks or months to complete.
  

Plainfield and Naperville Foreclosure Myths Revealed…

Myth: REO’s or bank owned properties are the best deal in real estate.

Truth: Pre-foreclosures or short sales will probably give you more bang for your buck. Pre-foreclosure simply means that the homeowner still controls the property, and a short sale means that the house is being sold for less than what the seller owes with the banks consent and approval. A short sale done right, gives the buyer the best opportunity to get a great deal… and the seller the best opportunity to avoid a foreclosure. Short sales take longer to approve than regular residential real estate, but sometimes they are worth the wait. Bank owned properties have often been damaged by disgruntled owners who were distraught about losing their home; pre-foreclosure properties on the other hand are often in move in condition because the owners are still living there, depending on where they are in the process.

Myth: If I’m in foreclosure I need to move out right away because I’m going to get evicted anyway.

Truth: Stop! Don’t move out! List your house for sale and attempt to sell your house by performing a short sale!!! While your waiting for the home to sell, start saving the money you would have spent and put it in the bank. You will need for the 1st and last months rent when you move out. Expect that the foreclosure will affect your credit for the next 2-7 years depending on whether or not you are able to avoid the foreclosure through a short sale. Save every penny you can during this time. Plus your home will probably sell faster if it isn’t vacant and abandoned. Homes that appear to be abandoned will often have the auction date accelerated by the lender.

Myth: My homeowners association is responsible for the exterior maintenance of vacant properties in my neighborhood.

Truth: Contact your cities ‘neighborhood services’ contact for properties that are in need of exterior maintenance such as lawn care or weed abatement. They can place a lien on the property, but you will have better luck contacting the “neighborhood services” contact for the city of Plainfield, or the city of Joliet. Homeowners associations will not maintain vacant properties, but can put the pressure on the lender if the property actually gets returned to the bank’s possession.

Myth: Banks will take anything to get rid of a property…

Truth: The banks will take anything that makes sense to their situation. If an offer does not meet their criteria for a specific property they will not entertain the offer. Most likely they will counter the offer, but take note: their counter is a good indication of what they are wiling to negotiate to!

Myth: If a house is vacant it means that the house has been foreclosed on and the bank owns the property.

Truth: A home is only bank owned if there are no bidders at the auction and it then becomes the repossessed collateral for the bank, in exchange for the debt owed by the previous owner. The deed is recorded at the county assessors office. Vacant homes can occur for any number of reasons, and most likely if it is not bank owned, it means that the owners abandoned the property during the process of foreclosure. Who controls the property is a determining factor regarding who is responsible for the property and all of it’s maintenance.

Do you have a question about foreclosure or bank owned properties that you want to see answered? Call me at 630-673-6233, or contact me using the button at the top of the page.

Ive been driving past the Ashford Place models that popped up on Caton Farm Rd. in Plainfield last year for a while now. Ive been meaning to stop in something always seemed to keep me getting in there.

A few weeks ago, my oldest son and I stopped in at the Ashford Place sales center and took a look around their two beautifully decorated models; the Halden and the Stanhope.

I immediately fell in love with Ashford Place's, Stanhope model. It was beautifully decorated in a pale aqua and cream color pallet. We have big family so its only natural for me to gravitate toward the biggest home they had to offer, but it was a beautiful and highly functional layout. I especially loved the extra large laundry room that was located right off the garage.

The front closet was big enough to store even the largest families collection of outerwear! Mittens, hats, scarves, and gloves... Oh, the possibilities! I seriously have never seen a "walk-in" front closet before. Yes, it was a walk-in closet big enough to make even the most well equipped master bedroom jealous!!!

There are 7 floor plans to choose from, and 2 models available to view. Base prices range from $262,600 to $321,100 and optional features and upgrades will add to the actual cost.

Ashford Place is also part of the Plainfield Consolidated 202 School District .

I stopped back at the sales office for a while and talked to Susan Lanucha who is the general sales manager at the office. We discussed the fact that, at the moment, there really arent very many new home builders still left in Plainfield. A lot of the land has already been built on and there isn't much open land left for development the way it was in the late 90's. She said that Smykal Associates have been building homes in Chicago and the suburbs for the past 136 years.

Thats a long time!

Now in its 5th generation, the Smykal family business has built over 17,000 homes in the Chicago land area. So many builders and developers are facing hard times right now along with the rest of the country. On the heels of the sub-prime lending fall-out, its nice to see a family owned business with such longevity.

If you are looking for a new construction home in Plainfield its not too late, and its still a great time to buy! Id love to have another excuse to get over to see them again. Call me at 630-673-6233 to set up a time to preview the models!

The Farmstone Ridge neighborhood is located just off of Naperville/Plainfield Rd. and 127th St. in Plainfield, IL. Each home was custom built on a premium lot by local area builders. Construction in Farmstone Ridge began in 2003, and the subdivision neighbors the private nearby gated Lakelands Community.

The students of Farmstone Ridge attend Liberty Elementary, John F. Kennedy Middle School, and Plainfield North High School, although Plainfield East High School will be opening as Plainfield's 4th high school this year. I've driven past the new school quite a few times over the last few weeks and it's coming along quite nicely!!!

When I was still working at Zen Salon in the plaza at the corner about 5 years ago, I met a lot of clients who lived in the neighborhood, which was nice because I know what a great neighborhood Farmstone Ridge really is. The ladies of the neighborhood get together quite often and I often wished I lived there so that I could be part of all of the festivities too!

The yearly assessment for Farmstone Ridge is $380 per year. As of today there are currently 5 homes actively listed for sale, and 4 properties have closed in the last 9 months. I usually only like to go 6 months out on comps, but in this sluggish real estate economy, we have to take what we can get!

Active Listings in Farmstone Ridge:

Closed Listing In Farmstone Ridge in the Last 9 Months:

Of the closed listings over the last 9 months, it should be noted that both 12751 Pintail Rd. and 12812 Stellar Ln. were bank owned or pre-foreclosure sales, which means that because of the urgency of liquidating the assets that the true value of the property was not captured in the sale of the property.

In this market, no community is immune to the effects that foreclosure brings to the table. While bank owned properties (REO's) usually do not affect the appraised value of regular residential property, short sales often times can, and do, bring down the closed comparable values for a neighborhood. This is due mainly to the fact that the bank never actually took repossession of the home and they are not truly considered "foreclosed" properties.

Despite all that has happened in the housing market over the last 2 years, Plainfield home values are still holding strong, not only against major cities all across the United States, but against neighboring communities in the northwest suburbs. Since 2005 Plainfield has still seen a 2% appreciation in real estate which is almost unheard of in real estate today!

Farmstone Ridge is just minutes from some really great shopping and dining. I know I help the Target at the corner of Rt. 59 and 127th street in business, and our favorite family restaurant is Red Robin right across the street! (Seriously, those are some really tasty burgers!)

As I mentioned before I used to be a stylist at the Zen Salon in the plaza at that intersection and a former client of mine who actually lives in Farmstone Ridge, owns the Dinners by Design franchise in Plainfield, just a few doors down from the salon! If you've never tried Dinners by Design I highly recommend it. Think of it as making 2 weeks of dinners in advance and not having to rush home to cook! This is priceless when the kids are in school and after school activities are at their peak...

Anyway, I think Farmstone Ridge in Plainfield is a great place to live, and I'd eagerly take a client there to show them any of the homes available for sale. Heck, I'd want to live there myself if I didn't already have a home of my own :) Want to check it out the houses for sale? Call me. I want to see them too!

The Lakelands in Plainfield is located near Naperville-Plainfield Rd and 135th St. in Plainfield, IL. These custom built homes have been built on premium lakefront lots, where homeowners can enjoy resort style living all year round. The private lake in the gated Plainfield community also includes a private clubhouse.

Many homeowners in the neighborhood own boats for fishing and water skiing. It's hard to imagine this little resort like community in the middle of the bustling Chicago suburb called Plainfield, but I promise... it's real! I drool every time I drive past it. The neighborhood is so unique it's almost majestic. I spent most of my summers on Diamond Lake in White Cloud, Michigan. I know how much fun swimming and boating are in can only imagine what it's like to own a piece of this prime Plainfield real estate and live there year round!

There are currently 9 homes for sale in The Lakelands in Plainfield, and 5 homes have sold in there in last 12 months. Asking prices in the Lakelands right now are ranging from $599,900 to $945,000. The closed sale prices of homes in the neighborhood range in price from $580,000 to $864,500.

Most of the homes for sale in the Lakelands feature custom builder amenities such as: gated entrance, walk-out basements, fireplaces, gourmet kitchens, wood floors, and master suites, and as I mentioned before... lakefront lots!

Bases on the available MLS data for the Lakelands, the yearly association fees for the neighborhood range from $1000 yearly to $1500 yearly. I imagine the association fees are based on lot location and fluctuate on a home by home basis.

If you are looking for a home in the $600,000 to $700,000 price range, The Lakelands in Plainfield has the most to offer and enjoy for your investment. Call me to set up a private showing of the homes available in the Lakelands right now at 630-673-6233.

If you're a homeowner in the Lakelands that is thinking about selling your property, call me for you complimentary market analysis.