Julie's Blog

The following properties have closed in the Heritage Meadows subdivision in Plainfield, IL:

• 12238 White Oak Dr. closed on 11/12/08 for $217,500
• 24309 Apple Tree closed on 9/22/08 for $265,000

If you want to know what your home in the Heritage Meadows 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 to find out if you qualify for either of these programs.

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

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

The most recent home sale closings in the Wesmere Subdivision in Plainfield are:

• 1702 Whispering Oaks Dr. closed on 1/29/09 for $120,000
• 2121 Willow Lakes Dr. closed on 9/12/08 for $173,000
• 2049 Winding Lakes Dr. closed on 10/31/08 for $180,000
• 5808 Lake Pointe Dr. closed on 1/16/09 for $190,000
• 1905 Prairie Ridge Dr. closed on 2/20/09 for $203,000
• 2200 Brindlewood Dr. closed on 3/3/09 for $206,000
• 1881 Westmore Grove Dr. closed on 12/19/08 for $208,000
• 5310 Floralwood Ct. closed on 12/15/08 for $211,000
• 1907 Spring Ridge Dr. closed on 1/30/09 for $215,000
• 5208 Brindlewood Dr. closed on 9/25/08 for $222,750
• 5406 Maple Glen Ct. closed on 9/10/08 for $228,000
• 5301 N Brier Glen Dr. closed on 10/17/08 for $255,000
• 1920 Chestnut Grove Dr. closed on 9/29/08 for $255,000
• 1714 Sierra Highlands Dr. closed on 9/19/08 for $257,000
• 1700 Grand Highlands Dr. closed on 12/05/08 for $259,000
• 1605 Grand Highlands Dr. closed on 10/03/08 for $266,500

If you want to know what your home in the Wesmere 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 to find out if you qualify for either of these programs.

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

Clearwater Springs and Aspen Falls most recent closings in Plainfield:

• 6983 Paradise Cir. closed on 10/14/2008 for $174,989
• 2709 Abode Dr. closed on 11/24/2008 for $211,000
• 6800 Bazz Dr. closed on 2/24/2009 for $260,000

During this time 16 neighborhood listings expired without selling.  Keep watching for more updates on neighborhood closings and market prices.  Do you want to know what your home is worth?  Click on the tab at the top of this page and submit your information.

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

There were 16 closings on Plainfield town homes from February 8th through March 8th, 2009.

They range in price from $90,000 all the way up to $305,000.  The property that sold for $90,000 was a foreclosure in the Carillon subdivision near I-55 and Weber Rd.  The property that sold for $305,000 was in the Creekside Crossing subdivision near Drauden and Indian Boundary Rds.

In addition to the one foreclosure closing, 2 additional properties closed as short sales, which brings the total amount of distressed property sales for the last month to 18.7% in Plainfield.

For an updated list of property closings in Plainfield, or for a complimentary Comparative Market Analysis, please contact me either by phone or by e-mail.  If you or someone you know are having trouble making your mortgage payments, I may be able to help.  Loan modifications and short sales are available to qualified homeowners.

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

This post was inspired by the worst real estate agent I've come across in the trenches... okay, "the worst" can be subjective to a particular situation, but believe me when I say, he shouldn't be in a customer service related field!

If you want to earn a reputation as the worst real estate agent in the area, it's not hard to do.  Just follow these 5 simple rules:

1. Do not return phone calls, EVER.  This is very important because you need to establish a complete and total lack of respect for the other parties involved in your transaction.
2. Do not get required documents returned to the proper parties on time.  Avoid, delay, and postpone all reasonable deadlines to ensure the most volatile atmosphere among all parties.
3. Make the other agent do all the leg work.  Have them really earn that commission check by getting them to pick up your slack in any conceivable area of the transaction.  If they want to get paid, they will surely go the extra mile by picking up where you leave off. 
   
4. Defer blame and accountability to the other side of the transaction when your buyer/seller realize that things aren't going smoothly.  Be sure to not sound defensive, but instead mimic their anger at any hiccups in the process. This will make you sound more convincing.
5. Repeat.

I am a nice person, and I'm a damn good real estate agent.  This week however, I lost my cool with the above mentioned agent.  He did all of these things and then some.  My clients really wanted this rental property and I have to tell you, it was a fight to get it for them even though they had impeccable credit and good income.  It was because I cared about my clients and getting them into this house that I did everything I could to make it happen including spending 2 hours in the car delivering contracts and getting signatures, because of course he couldn't be bothered.

I ratted him out to his broker.  I feel guilty, but only a little bit, (and only 'cause I'm a nice gal.)  He was a jerk, and I told him that to his face.  (okay, it was really his ear since I said it over the phone.)  He didn't respond.  Really.  He said "okay".  Then he moved on like nothing had happened.  His arrogant tone made me realize my rant fell on deaf ears. 

That's okay.  I'm pretty sure he won't be in business next year, and I think that will be fine by everyone that has been involved in this transaction!

I laugh every time I see this commercial because of the way this guy insinuates that my life must be boring.  He must not know I have 4 kids and that I work from home, armed with a laptop and cell phone in my gun sling.  I admire his enthusiasm though.

The Slap Chop seems like the answer to all life's troubles... and of course the solution to the perfect non-boring tuna!

I'm sure you've seen this commercial, but in case you haven't, here it is:

In the past 30 days, 53 single family properties have closed in Plainfield, ranging in price from $114,000 to $644,000.

Out of the 53 closings that took place, 20 homes, or 37.8%, were listed as short sales on the MLS.  Not surprising, the main bulk of the short sales took place on the lower price range homes under $200K.

Of the homes that closed in Plainfield over the last 30 days, not included in the 37.8% were the actual bank-owned homes.  The MLS does not require special notation on homes that were bank-owned or REO's, and that information is most often determined by reading the agent remarks section of the listing. 

In my opinion real estate seems to picking up, though many buyers are still on the fence about whether this is the really the right time to buy a house in Plainfield.  I think anyone who buys a home in 2009 and even 2010 will be getting a great deal on a house. Waiting too long could cost you a little bit in the short term, but the signs the real estate market is beginning to improve in Plainfield will very obvious.

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

The governments plan to help homeowners in foreclosure may leave you looking for answers as the specifics of the plan are hard to sift through.  Loan modifications through the private sector may be a better a better solution for homeowners in Plainfield and the surrounding communities.

I have been working with Dan Garcia over the last 4 years in the foreclosure arena.  Dan performs both loan modifications and short sales for homeowners in foreclosure.

The answer to turning this economy around is the ability to help the real estate market recovery from foreclosures.  In my opinion, there are two ways to do this:

1. Clearing short sale properties from the market to keep them from competing with the regular real estate market by selling them quickly.
2. Find a way for homeowners to renegotiate their debt with their lender to stay in their home.

My two step approach to solving your real estate foreclosure situation involves examining the possibility of modifying your original loan, and in the event that the lender is not willing to negotiate the debt, moving on with the process of selling the home through a short sale.

Through examining the possibility of modifying your loan, you know definitively whether there is any possibility of keeping your home or whether you need to sell. It allows you to proceed with confidence onto the short sale swiftly and prepare the home for sale.

If you want to know more about loan modifications or short sales, call me at 630-673-6233. 

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

Want to know more about Plainfield, IL?  Read all about living in Plainfield at www.LivingInPlainfield.com!

Valentines Day is traditionally known as the day of  LOVE… but did you know that:

• Valentines Day is the day when birds traditionally chose their mates.
• In Medieval times women ate exotic foods on Valentines Day in hopes of dreaming of their future husband.
• Approximately 1 billion Valentines Day cards are exchanged every year all over the world, making it the second largest card sending occasion next to Christmas!
• 60% of America’s roses are produced in California. 
• Nearly 110 million roses are purchased for Valentine’s Day within a 3 day period.
• Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent on the telephone on Valentine’s Day in 1876.
• Chocolate is a popular gift on Valentine’s Day because it was once thought to be a cure for the broken-hearted in addition to an aphrodisiac.
  
• On Valentine’s Day many believe in order to find out how many children a woman will have, she should cut an apple in half.  However many seeds she finds in the apple is how many children she will bear.

I hope you found these fun facts about Valentine’s Day as interesting as I did!  Have a great Valentines Day Plainfield!!!

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