Buyers know they have the upper hand in negotiating in this real estate market, and they are using that power to get the best deal on a new home in Illinois. But what can you do as a seller to get the best price for your home in shortest amount of time?

There are a couple of things to understand about the market that can help you equalize the playing field with qualified buyers when it comes to negotiating a sales contract:

• Price your home between the highest and lowest priced comparable home on the MLS. You never want to be the highest priced home on the market.

• Keep close tabs on what the competition is doing. New listings, price adjustments, and price reductions will affect your position on the MLS so it's really important to know where you rank among the competition.

• Instead of lowering your asking price to create new interest in your property, considering offering the buyer a 2-night stay at the Wisconsin Dells or at a hotel in downtown Chicago. Even offering an Illinois home warranty can be enticing for many nervous first time homebuyers.

• If parts of your home need cosmetic updating consider offering an allowance for things such as carpet, paint or new appliances. Allowances are great ways to leverage the contract negotiation back in the sellers favor, at no up front cost to you for repairs.

• Don't leave any unfinished projects for your buyer to have to finish. Buyers detract $$$ every time they lay eyes on one of your ambitious unfinished weekend projects. It doesn't only cost you money on the final sale price it costs you precious market time.

I can help you get the most for your Illinois property, but I can't do it alone.  I'll need your help to get the SOLD sign in your yard!  By working closely with sellers and keeping a close on the competition you can get the best price for your home in the shortest amount of time... even in a down market.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Will or DuPage County, let's talk!  Call me at 630-673-6233.  I always answer my phone!

HUD TO ALLOW DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO CONTINUE

• Allow down payment assistance for a mortgage where the mortgagor has a credit score equivalent to a FICO score of 680 or greater.

• Allows down payment assistance where the mortgagor has a credit score equivalent to a FICO score of 620 to 679 and the mortgage insurance premium charged would be based upon the score and risk involved.

For credit repair go to: www.htdimortgage.net/zagreb

While I'm not a lawyer or a mortgage broker, I have done a little research on the topic of Illinois foreclosure and short sales for my clients over the last several days.  I must admit that I was a little surprised by the range of answers that I found on the Internet in regard to alternatives to foreclosure.

That being the case I decided to go straight to the source at MyFico.com.  Basically, A Plainfield short sale and a foreclosure will both damage your credit score to nearly the same extent, about 100-200 points. The difference is really in the recovery time; the time in which your credit score actually begins to improve.

That sounds like pretty crappy news, huh?  Yeah, I was pretty surprised by that realization too, but after a little more digging both, a foreclosure and short sale in and of themselves, are much better alternatives to compounding those situations with a bankruptcy. 

Even with a foreclosure or a short sale it will be about 2 years before you start to see your credit score improve and both will appear on your credit for 7 years.  According to MyFico.com a short sale won't necessarily be any better than an actual foreclosure if you are over 90-120 days before you are able to negotiate a short sale to the closing table.  On the other hand if you can get everything wrapped up before the 120 day mark you can avoid additional hits to your credit.

The bad news?  Both foreclosures and short sales show up as over 120 days late.  The good news? Their impact on your credit begins to diminish after 2 years, and many people can qualify for a reasonable interest rate after 2 years with a short sale; and 3-5 years after a foreclosure.  Depending on your long term game plan, you would need to decide how long you are willing to wait before you were able to purchase another home.

A bankruptcy compounds credit problems because even credit and credit cards that were previously current become affected as non-performing accounts.  I believe it is reasonably safe to say, based on that information, that a bankruptcy compounded with a foreclosure will have a more derogatory affect on your credit than a foreclosure or short sale alone... although I just want to mention again that I am not an attorney. :)

I personally think that a short sale is still better than a foreclosure, and that a foreclosure should be avoided at all costs.  Still, I guess it all depends on your long term plans.

If you are considering a short sale, I do have a team of professional negotiators working through an attorney's office to assist me in selling your home.  You can reach me at 630-673-6233 or at JT4NZ @ msn.com. 

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Will County and DuPage County area homeowners who are interested in resolving their foreclosure situationthrough a short sale now have a better option when they chose me to represent them in the sale of their home.  I work with an attorney who has a team of 25 foreclosure specialists ready to assist you with the process of selling your home for less than what is owed by your lender at no out of pocket costs to you.

I have come across a lot of pre-foreclosure listings on the MLS recently that will require a short sale with their lender in order to avoid a foreclosure. I've talked to a lot of agents in the process of showing many of these listings, and there is a pretty wide range of how Plainfield real estate agents are handling these short sales.

While I have performed short sales for some of my own listings in the past, I have to say that it is a tedious and time consuming process that I never care to do again.  But that's not the only reason I don't like performing short sales.  I don't do them anymore because I'm a Realtor, not a loss mitigator or a debt negotiator.

Will and DuPage homeowners in foreclosure now have a better option and more hope of sucessfully having their short sale approved by their lender. 

Why Lenders Would Rather Negotiate With a Short Sale Specialist/Attorney Instead of a Realtor:

• Many short sale specialists/attorney's have established relationships with a lot of the lenders and can quickly and effectively supply all required documentation and information required to proceed with negotiations. 

• Since the real estate market is so pre-foreclosure and bank owned driven in the Will and DuPage County area, many Realtors are performing short sales out of sheer necessity, but since many Realtors were never trained to perform short sales, the lives of the loss mitigators who are handling these files are overwhelmed with packages that are incomplete or missing information.  Loss mitigators work on files that they know they can close, if your short sale package is missing any information it will sit on the "dead" pile for weeks or months before it is even looked at, if ever.

• Due to the level of inexperience with short sales by so many Realtors, loss mitigators have come to dread files in which they know they will be negotiating with a Realtor, to the point of being difficult and uncooperative in some situations.  If an attorney is handling the documentation, the loss mitigator knows that all of the documentation will be thorough and complete.

I'm not saying that there aren't agents out there who sucessfully perform short sales, but if they are trying to manage more than 2 or 3 short sales at once, they won't be left with much time to actually market your home for sale, or be available to answer your questions or phone calls.   Each short sale involves anywhere from 40-55 hours of work to complete depending on the lender.

What will you get when you list your home in foreclosure with me?

• A professionally negotiated short sale with experienced short sale specialists at no cost to you.

• Legal advice from a real estate attorney.

• Convenient option of Power of Attorney to avoid having to attend the closing.

• Experienced negotiators that are familiar with special circumstances such as 2nd mortgages, liens, and IRS situations.

• A professionally marketed property complete with a full MLS description, photos, advertising, virtual tour, and Internet presence.

Below is a list of FAQ's regarding short sales provided by the law firms

foreclosure specialists:

Q:     The benefits of a short sale?
A:     You can sell the house and walk away.  Credit typically indicates "settled debt".  The foreclosure gets dismissed.  No deficiency judgment.  No bankruptcy. 

Q:     Will I owe the bank any money?
A:     The bank releases and typically writes off the deficiency.

Q:     Will I owe any income taxes on the deficiency?
A:     No, on December 20, 2007 President Bush signed into law the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 ensuring that any deficiency   written off as part of a short sale will not be taxed.

Q:     What about my closing costs?  Will I need to bring any money to closing?
A:     No.  All of your closing costs, the real estate commission, any back taxes owed, attorney fees, title company charges, etc., will be allowed by the lender and subtracted from the sale price.

Q:     What if I sign a contract to sell my house and the bank doesn't approve the sale?  Will the buyer be mad?
A:     The buyer has been informed and understands that that this is a short sale and that your obligations are contingent upon your bank's approval.  It is the real estate agent's job to price the property to sell and then meet the banks appraiser at the property.

Q:     I owe $600,000 to the bank the but the house will probably sell for $300,000.  Will the bank accept such a huge loss?
A:     It typically has nothing to do with the loan payoff.  It is based on the value of the real estate based upon a bank appraisal of the property.

Q:     I have a second mortgage on the this house for $50,000.  How is this going to be handled?
A:     The property is in foreclosure.  The second mortgage holder knows that the first mortgage is in foreclosure because they were served summons and complaint.  Therefore, the second mortgage holder will release their lien, but they will need to be paid something.  Therefore, when an offer comes in, the Buyers agent will be called and notified that the buyer will need to bring money to closing to release the second mortgage.  This will be addressed in the contract addendum.

Q:     I owe the IRS money and I think they put a lien on my real estate.  How is this handled?
A:     Our foreclosure specialists usually get these released without paying the IRS any money.  They will do a preliminary title search on the property to determine what is present and what needs to be dealt with prior to the Contract for Purchase and Sale, or what needs to be dealt with during the contract phase.

Q:     Does the attorney handling the short sale represent me or the bank?
A:     The attorney's office represents the seller, and they welcome your questions.  They can be contacted at the office or by cell phone.

Q:     Where will the closing take place?
A:     There are closing locations throughout the state of Illinois.

Q:     I am not going to sell this house for under $300,000!
A:     The Realtor will obtain authority to reduce the price each week in order to tell the property quickly.  No matter what the property sells for, the seller will not be receiving any proceeds from the sale.

Q:     What do you need from me?
A:     Financials I.E. last years tax returns, bank statements, check/pay stubs, W-2's and a hardship letter.

If you have any additional questions regarding a short sale, or listing your home in foreclosure for sale, please contact me directly at 630-673-6233 or e-mail me at JT4NZ @ msn.com.   I look forward to working with you.