Chicago Real Estate

Chicago IL – Buyers often get frustrated with the short sale process. “I made an offer on a short sale property six months ago. How come I haven’t received an answer yet?”, they ask us. It is fairly simple to determine if a short sale offer will be approved.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

You just need to know what the lender’s guidelines are for approval. Most lenders will first order an appraisal to determine the value of the home. They don’t want to sell the home for less than the appraised value. The appraiser will look at recently sold properties and how they compare to the subject property.

They will use that info to determine the Fair Market Value. They turn in their report to the lender. The lender uses the reported value to accept or deny an offer. If the offer is substantially lower than the appraisal, then they will reject the offer. However, they will usually accept offers within 5% of the appraised value. Obviously this varies according to the lender and the circumstances.

So, you want to know if your offer will be accepted by the short sale lender? Ask your agent to put together a CMA, also call a Comparable Market Analysis. This is your agent’s opinion of the value of the property. If your offer is within 5% of the agent’s opinion of value, then you have a good chance at the lender accepting it.

If your offer is below that 5% mark, then there is still a chance the lender will accept it. However, the odds decrease substantially. If you want a second opinion on the value, then order an appraisal. You can send your appraisal to the short sale lender.

It will be hard for the short sale lender to argue with an appraiser’s opinion of value for a property. An appraisal that backs up your offer price will go a long way towards getting your offer accepted. Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny.

Send me an e-mail at myrealtorphil@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (312) 953-6725.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Remember to visit my Chicago short sale blog frequently at www.Chicago-ShortSaleBlog.com

Thanks for reading this, Phil Buoscio.

Phil is a Real Estate Agent at Better Living Realty – Buoscio Brokerage, Inc..

Phone: (312) 953-6725. myrealtorphil@gmail.com.

View My homes for sale at www.BetterLivingRealty.com.

Phil Buoscio specializes in loan modifications and short sales in Chicago Illinois. Chicago Loan Modification Help. Chicago Short Sales. Chicago Short Sale Realtor. Chicagoland Short Sale Realtor. Chicago IL Short Sales. Chicago Realtor. We do business in Pilsen. McKinley Park. Bridgeport. Wicker Park. West Town. Ukranian Village. Lincoln Park. Near North. River North. East Village. Logan Square. Uptown. Edison Park. Portage Park. Hermosa. Lincoln Park, South Loop, West Loop. Bronzeville. Hyde Park. Kenwood. Oak Park. Brookfield. Cicero. Berwyn. Evanston. LaGrange. LaGrange Park. Riverside. We sell condos, single family homes, lots, land, multi units, two flats, three flats.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are Buoscio’s personal views and do not reflect the views of Better Living Realty – Buoscio Brokerage, Inc.. This information is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Chicago IL – Many people think that you can’t remove a collection or blemish on your credit, if it is with the original creditor. “I originally borrowed the money from Easy Capital. I’m sure they have everything in my file. I can’t dispute with them”, they say. Actually you can and many people do it every day. Here is how it works.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

First off, their records are not perfect. Many companies move, their computers crash, data is wiped out, etc. The list goes on and on. The other advantage is that they have only 30 days to respond to a request.

Mail them a dispute letter. Make sure you send it certified mail, return receipt requested. If the creditor does not respond within 30 days, then you have good news. They are in violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. It will be very easy to convince them to remove the account from all your credit reports.

Here is another violation. Check your credit report right after the 30 days goes by. They are required to notify the credit bureau you are disputing that the account is “disputed.” If it hasn’t been marked “disputed”, then they violated both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If either one of these happens, then you have the option of suing the creditor in small claims court. You can win up to $1,000 for each violation. Usually a few days before the court date, the creditor will agree to settle with you.

You can drop the suit if they agree to remove the negative information from all the credit bureaus. They will usually agree to that. After all, it’s a lot cheaper than a lawsuit.

Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny.

Send me an e-mail at myrealtorphil@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (312) 953-6725.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Remember to visit my short sale blog for great news and stories about short selling:  www.Chicago-ShortSaleBlog.com

Thanks for reading this, Phil Buoscio.

Phil is a Real Estate Agent at Better Living Realty – Buoscio Brokerage, Inc..

Phone: (312) 953-6725. myrealtorphil@gmail.com.

View My homes for sale at www.BetterLivingRealty.com.

Phil Buoscio, is a broker with Better Living Realty he leads the sales team “Phil Buoscio Team” and specializes in short sales in Chicago Illinois. Chicago Loan Modification Help can be referred to you. We don’t do loan modifications ourselves but we work with those who do.

We know Chicago Short Sales. I am a Chicago Short Sale Realtor. Chicago Short Sale Realtor. Chicago IL Short Sales. Chicago Realtor. We do business in Pilsen. McKinley Park. Bridgeport. Wicker Park. West Town. Ukranian Village. Lincoln Park. Near North. River North. East Village. Logan Square. Uptown. Edison Park. Portage Park. Hermosa. Lincoln Park, South Loop, West Loop. Bronzeville. Hyde Park. Kenwood. Oak Park. Brookfield. Cicero. Berwyn. Evanston. LaGrange. LaGrange Park. Riverside. We sell condos, single family homes, lots, land, multi units, two flats, three flats.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Ok… It’s settling in. We have all heard the reports that unemployment might… just MIGHT get back down to 8.5% before the 2014 Presidential elections. Wow.. that’s grim.
And when someone asks me when housing is turning around… the prevailing truth there for them … without me answering is that it’s gonna be awhile.

The truth, I think is, and this is the cumulative effect of too much NPR, reading too many of the banking periodicals like DS News, and spending way too much time on Chicago’s Agent Metrix program doing cool charts and graphs and trying to look like I know it all… is that… we don’t know.

But one think I think I do know is that unemployment is going to have to get better to push housing up. So that’s my time frame. So those of you who have to MOVE and have NEGATIVE EQUITY have choices to make. Do you rent and try to break even or cash flow or lose 5k a year in negative cash flow… ???

To discuss your options call me. I have some ideas.
Now for the real good news… July’s numbers…right out of Washington last week with my ALL CAPS COMMENTS>

Washington, August 24, 2010 THE PLACE OF ALL TRUTH

Existing-home sales were sharply lower in July following expiration of the home buyer tax credit but home prices continued to gain, according to the National Association of Realtors®. THEY ONLY GAINED .7 PERCENT SO THAT’ PHRASE “Continued to gain” IS PROPOGANDA. THE POINT IS THAT 30 PERCENT FEWER BUYERS ARE SHOWING UP TO SEE PROPERTY RIGHT NOW. THAT SUCKS.

Existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 27.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million units in July from a downwardly revised 5.26 million in June, and are 25.5 percent below the 5.14 million-unit level in July 2009.

Sales are at the lowest level since the total existing-home sales series launched in 1999, and single family sales – accounting for the bulk of transactions – are at the lowest level since May of 1995. THIS PROBALY MEANS IT”S AS BAD AS IT WILL GET>>> BUT IT IS NOT GETTING BETTER SOON. WE ARE AT BOTTOM BUT HERE FOR AWHILE>

Ok.. so if you want to short sell, buy, or sell.. or just talk real estate sporty talk that’s my thing…

Send me an e-mail at myrealtorphil@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how each process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (312) 953-6725.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Chicago Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Phil Buoscio.

Phil is a Real Estate Agent at Better Living Realty – Buoscio Brokerage, Inc..

Phone: (312) 953-6725. myrealtorphil@gmail.com.

Chicago IL – Many people are embarrassed that they are short selling their house. They feel like they are somehow being dishonest or shady. Neither one of those is true. A lot of the people short selling today never had a blemish in their credit. They lived perfect, responsible financial lives. Then the real estate market crashed and left them owing way more than their home was worth.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

For years everyone had told them that couldn’t happen. Many of those people also lost their job for the first time in their life. You must remember, you are not alone. We are seeing as many short sales in the upper income brackets as the lower income brackets.

I will not be judgmental when you short sell with me. I deal with people from all walks of life. Some are high income. Others bought less expensive homes. Either way, it doesn’t matter to me. I see a short sale as a smart financial decision.

So I won’t be judging you. Instead, I’ll be congratulating you. Who wants to be burdened with a huge debt for the rest of your life? Not me. And neither should you. Here is why a short sale is a smart financial decision.

Let us say that you are upside down on a house by $100,000. (If you owe less than that, don’t laugh. Many people are upside down by that amount and more.) Repaying $100,000 over 30 years, will cost you $215,000. That is the $100,000 originally owed, along with $115,000 in interest payments.

What if instead of doing that, you put that money towards retirement? You could earn 5% interest on that money. $215,000 at 5% is $10,750 a year. Would that be helpful in retirement? That is one small reason I recommend short sales to my customers. You can get the upside down debt forgiven in a short sale. I’ll show you how to short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny.

Send me an e-mail at myrealtorphil@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (312) 953-6725.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Remember to visit my Chicago short sale blog frequently for updated news and articles www.Chicago-ShortSaleBlog.com

Thanks for reading this, Phil Buoscio.

Phil is a Real Estate Agent at Better Living Realty – Buoscio Brokerage, Inc..

Phone: (312) 953-6725. myrealtorphil@gmail.com.

View My homes for sale at www.BetterLivingRealty.com.

Phil Buoscio specializes in loan modifications and short sales in Chicago Illinois. Chicago Loan Modification Help. Chicago Short Sales. Chicago Short Sale Realtor. Chicagoland Short Sale Realtor. Chicago IL Short Sales. Chicago Realtor. Bridgeport Short Sales. Pilsen Short Sales. McKinley Park Short Sales. West Town Short Sales. Wicker Park Short Sales. Ukrainian Village Short Sales. Bucktown Short Sales. South Loop Short Sales. Lincoln Park Short Sales.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Chicago IL – Many agents run into problems with short sales that have more than one mortgage. For example, we had a short sale with a first mortgage, a second mortgage, and a third lien. The third lien was an old credit card judgment. It had to be paid off to sell the house. Here is what happened.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

The first mortgage was only willing to pay $3,000 to any second mortgages or liens. The second mortgage wanted $4,500. The credit card judgment wanted $5,000. How were we going to get the extra money for them?

I had to escalate the file with the first mortgage. I told them that they had two options. Option one: Pay the first and second mortgage and net X. Option two: Foreclose and net X minus $15,000. I have a calculator that puts all these numbers together. In addition, I have the proof to back it up.

Here is an example of that proof. There was recent short sale where the first mortgage stubbornly refused to give enough money to the second mortgage. As a result, they lost around $45,000.

I found out about this house because I met the first buyers at an Open House. They were trying to buy a short sale and were offering $272,000. The first mortgage was RBC, owed $337,500. The 2nd was Bank of America, owed 70k. The listing agent submitted the short sale offer to both companies. RBC said they would only pay $1,000 to the second mortgage. The second mortgage wanted more.

The short sale dragged out for months. Finally the buyer paying $272,000 walked. The listing agent put the house back on the market. The housing market had declined. Now the only offers she could get were around $230,000. The house ended up selling for $229,000.

RBC was greedy and wouldn’t offer enough money to BOA. As a result, they lost around $45,000. Was that a smart business decision? I don’t think so. Now, back to my short sale story.

I sent this and several other similar examples to the people at the first mortgage. They agreed to pay the second mortgage $3,000 and completely pay off the credit card judgment. The buyer agreed to pay the extra money the second mortgage wanted.

So we got the short sale closed. The seller was able to wipe out over $70,000 in upside down debt and move on with her life. Do you want to short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny? I can help you do that.

Send me an e-mail at myrealtorphil@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at (312) 953-6725.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Remember to visit my short sale blog for updates and news on short sales www.Chicago-ShortSaleBlog.com

Thanks for reading this, Phil Buoscio.

Phil is a Real Estate Agent at Better Living Realty – Buoscio Brokerage, Inc..

Phone: (312) 953-6725. myrealtorphil@gmail.com.

View My homes for sale at www.BetterLivingRealty.com.

Phil Buoscio specializes in loan modifications and short sales in Chicago Illinois. Chicago Loan Modification Help. Chicago Short Sales. Chicago Short Sale Realtor. Chicagoland Short Sale Realtor. Chicago IL Short Sales. Chicago Realtor.  Bridgeport Short Sales. Pilsen Short Sales. McKinley Park Short Sales. West Town Short Sales. Wicker Park Short Sales. Ukrainian Village Short Sales. Bucktown Short Sales. South Loop Short Sales. Lincoln Park Short Sales.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Chicago IL – You can dispute negative items on your credit. In some cases, the negative item can go away in 30-60 days. This doesn’t always happen, but it’s nice when it does. This may seem overwhelming at first. But stick with it and you’ll see that it does work. With a little persistence, most items can be removed permanently.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

You are considered innocent until proven guilty. That means it is the credit bureaus job to determine if a negative item should stay on your report. Many people have inaccurate information on their reports.

Federal law says that you can dispute anything in your report. We recommend you send a detailed letter by certified mail to the credit bureau. Yes, you can dispute online, but we don’t recommend that. Why? There is no paper trail.

Your letter should have detailed info on your dispute. Put in your name and address. In addition, identify each item you are disputing. Say why you are disputing it and ask them to remove it from your report. File copies of the letter, envelope, and certified mail receipt. You can even mail return receipt requested. Then you have proof they received your letter.

The bureaus have 30 days after they receive a dispute to investigate it. If they can’t verify the negative item, then they must remove it from your record. Credit bureaus issue a lot of requests for verification to lenders every day. The people at the lenders get backed up.

Files get misplaced. Banks and lenders are sold, merged, or go bankrupt. (Everything gets misplaced then) As you can see, not all disputes get a reply. This works to your benefit. If the credit bureau doesn’t get a response, then they have to remove the item.

Everything negative on your report can be disputed, even info that is correct. Do not give too much information to the bureau. We recommend that you mark the item you are disputing. Then state why you are disputing it. Nothing more is needed. If you give them lots of info, they may use that info to verify they item.

One more tip: After mailing a dispute letter, let the issue sit for 45-60 days before disputing it again. If you contact the credit bureau again in the 30 day window, they can automatically extend it for 30 days from that date. That gives the bureau more time to verify the item.

Here are a few reasons you can dispute a negative item.

1. Not my account.

2. Wrong Credit Limit.

3. Wrong Account Number.

4. Wrong date of last activity.

5. The Judge gave the account to my ex in the divorce. Be sure to send them a copy of the divorce decree.

6. I paid on time that month.

This all means that you can get your life back to normal after a short sale. You can get rid of the debt, repair your credit, and get your life back to normal. Do you want to short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny? I can help you do that.

Call me at (312) 953-6725 for a free consultation. When you call, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can e-mail me at myrealtorphil@gmail.com.

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thinking about a loan modification? Our Chicago Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your lender. Click here to request a copy.

Thanks for reading this, Phil Buoscio.

Phil is a Real Estate Agent at Better Living Realty – Buoscio Brokerage, Inc..

Phone: (312) 953-6725. myrealtorphil@gmail.com.

View My homes for sale at www.BetterLivingRealty.com.

Phil Buoscio specializes in loan modifications and short sales in Chicago Illinois. Chicago Loan Modification Help. Chicago Short Sales. Chicago Short Sale Realtor. Chicagoland Short Sale Realtor. Chicago IL Short Sales. Chicago Realtor.

Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

My predictions on price: The median or median existing-home price last month was $182,600, up 0.7 percent from a year ago.

You can credit Obama for this and his tax credit.
We all homebuyer tax credits for keeping home values stable for the past 18 months.
Now despite heavy job losses home values are now back in line relative to income, count on stability in the median–so don’t expect any measurable change in prices going forward.

I think we are at bottom on price on retail homes.

Wholesale: non financeable homes ( cash only) deals are another story. A house with no toilets still has further to go.

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July is applets to be a good month in housing – but it wasn’t.

Housing prices have been relatively stable for most of the last 12 months nationally with Chicago faring a little worse– But even before the 27 percent July drop in sales, analysts were expecting prices to fall another 5 or 10 percent this winter.

What this means is that the winter drop is going to be more severe – and that buyers who have waited this long should consider the end of the fall is near.

July sales were down 27.2 percent and thats no small bean count– thats a dramatic national plunge! 27 percent off from June.
It was the bottom in ten years- the lowest existing-home sales, which include houses, condos, co-ops and town houses, since 1999! For home sales :single-family homes, it was the lowest rate since 1995!