Evanston IL Real Estate

Halloween is just Around the Corner (edit/delete)

Evanston Halloween Events:

• Trick or Treat Hours on October 31, 2008 is 4 to 7 p.m

• Spooky Daze at Fleetwood-Jourdaine Center 1655 Foster Street  Friday October 27 from 6-8:30 pm for children 4-12 includes costume parade games, clowns, magic show, refreshments. Everything Free.

• Bug-a-Boo Walk at Ladd Arboretum Oct. 27 at the Ecology Center from 4- 6:40 pm

• Robert Crown Center Halloween Skate Party Tuesday October 30 from 6-7:15 pm

• Project Pumpkin at Northwestern’s Norris University Center for children ages 4 to 12. Contact Alondra Canizal @ a-canizal@northwestern.edu for dates.

As a “Short Sale” Specialist I  find it  important to discuss how the real estate market is being influenced by the number of “Short Sales” and “Foreclosures” in Evanston. The statistics I am about to report are only accurate to a point. Part of the problem is real estate agents are not disclosing their listings as “Short Sales” in the MLS even though the Real Estate Board has now improved the data entry on  both “Short Sales” and “Bank Owned” properties. With that in mind, here are the third quarter results on”Short Sales” and”Bank Owned” properties in Evanston.

Currently, there are 23 “Short Sales” Listings  and  4 “Bank Owned” Listings in Evanston. This represents 7%-9% of all “Active Listings” in Evanston, IL

During the past nine months, 8 “Short Sales”  and 4 “Bank Owned”  have closed in Evanston, Il. This represents 4% of all closed homes in Evanston.

We are now in the final quarter for 2008 and I think many realtors would say they hope to get through with this year and into next year. Here is where Evanston stands for the first three quarters of 2008.

What pops out in the statistics are the sales volume figures for single family homes and Attached Homes. Single Family sales are slightly off by 14% while Sales figures for Attached homes is off by 40%.

In 2007, 322 single family homes sold in Evanston.  In 2008, Evanston sold  276 single family homes.

In 2007,  581 Attached homes sold in Evanston.  In 2008, 350 Attached homes have sold.
Both Single family and Attached homes sales volume figures are down. Total Sales volume for single family homes is down 16% and 44% for attached homes from the previous year.

One final interesting fact about Evanston is the average sale price is down but is not as bad as other area’s are reporting. The average single family home in 2008 is $628,581 down from $655,251 in 2007. This represents a decline of just 4%.

The average price of an attached home in 2008 is $300,315 down from $321,764 in 2007. This represents a decline of 7%.

I often like to respond to people who have visited my blog and are looking for answers to real estate questions.  Recently, I noticed some ask ” How is a Short Sale Different from a Normal Sale?” Here is my answer to this person:

SHORT SALES TAKE MORE TIME:

The process of buying a short sale takes more time to sell. Typically, a short sale can take between 3-6 months for the bank to approve a short sale.

SOLD “AS- IS” CONDITION:

When buying a short sale you are buying the home in “AS-IS” condition.  It is the responsibility of the buyer to do a home inspection prior to writing an offer because the bank will not allow any sales contigency that would require or reduce the  purchase price in the initial offer.

 TRANSFER OF INITIAL EARNEST MONEY:

The offer must include an initial earnest money and balance of earnest money but typically no money is required from the buyer until the offer has been approved by the bank

FINANCING:

Buying a short sale property requires the buyer to either show proof of funds if a cash offer or be pre-approved for a loan which is subject only to an appraisal. Once the lien holder has approved the short sale the buyer must be prepared to close within 15 days from the date of the approval.

OFFER CAN BE WITHDRAWN AT ANYTIME:

The buyer has the opportunity to withdraw their offer at anytime during the process. This allows the buyer to continue to look for other property on the market while still negotiating an offer with the bank.

THE BANK RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CONTINUE MARKETING THE PROPERTY:

Because it takes so long to negotiate a short sale the bank reserves the right to continue marketing the property until it closes. Typically there are multiple buyers ( primary and back up buyers) in and out of the buying process and the bank wants to net the highest dollar to minimize their loss.

For more information on Short sales please visit my 800 number:

1-888-307-7311

Understanding short sales:  Extension 8

Pre- Foreclosure Specialist: Extension 11

“Understanding Short Sales and Foreclosures”

 As a realtor in the business with over 10 years experience I have never experienced a real estate market like today and realize that if I want to be in this business I better get some knowledge about short sales and foreclosures. Like most people in this industry, I first took a class on short sales and started learning by doing. Over the past year, I have represented sellers in Short Sales and have represented Banks in Foreclosures and also do what is called Broker Price Opinions (BPO’s) for banks. I think I can safely say, I am consumed with helping people what ever side I am on because I see this part of the business will be here for a while. For those of you new to Short Sales  and Foreclosures I want to take time out to give definitions to both.

Short Sale Defined. The term “ Short Sale” is used in the real estate business to describe a situation where there is more debt owing against a property than the property is worth. In other words, the owner can’t sell the property unless the creditor (“Third Party”) agrees to accept payment that is less or (“short”) for the amounts actually owed to those Third Parties. These third parties are usually mortgage lenders, mortgage insurers, investors, or federal, state, local taxing authorities just to name a few.

Foreclosure.  The term “Foreclosure” is used to describe a situation where the lender has taken back the property at a sheriff sale and the property is considered “Bank Owned”.

Buying or Selling Short requires at least this basic understanding. Until then, if you have any questions or need further assistance I can be reached at:

Jack Lewitz, “By Referral Only” Realtor

Short  Sale Specialist

1-847-674-6710

I am compelled to write about the 700 billion dollar bailout plan. Here is my problem, nobody is talking about helping the homeowner who is about to lose his home. Mr Paulson states, this bailout is not the same bailout which took place for the Savings and Loan Industry. During the Savings and Loan crisis, the treasury owned the real estate as collateral. Mr Paulson says the bailout today will not involve ownership of real estate as collateral. I say thats crazy….If the government is going to bailout bad mortgage securities and not attach a value to them then I think there is something fundamentally wrong with the plan.  I say these loans are worth nothing if you do not use the real estate as collateral.

So, here is my solution to the financial mess and it should not cost $700 billion dollars.

Banks should clasify their bank portfolio of loans into three groups.

Group 1 should be those loans who should be restructured for people who want to keep their home and have the ability to pay a new mortgage.

Group 2 should be  loans where people have no interest in home ownership today but do not want a bad credit on their records. These homeowners have other buyers “Short Sales” interested in buying the property at a discount.

Group 3 should be those loans already foreclosed by the bank.

In each group the mortgage security is backed by the market value of the asset which is the real estate. The treasury should help those who want to restructure their loan. should assist in the sale of the asset to a new buyer “short sale”. and finally should have the ability to own title to the asset in the form of home ownership when the home has been foreclosed and wait until the market corrects itself. In each situation I bet the bailout would be less than what the government is proposing. It is my opinion that, once these bad loans get off the books of the banks confidence will come back to the market. Banks will be able to borrow money and lend money under new regulation standards which are needed in the banking industry. Your comment are always welcome..

                                                                         1-888-307-7311 

FREE INFORMATION 24 Hours a Day/7 Days a Week. Just Dial the 800 number and enter the extension next to the listing and listen to the recorded message on each listing listed below. Enjoy…

Estate Sale!!

 1-888-307-7311 Ext. 15

Short Sale!!

1-888-307-7311 Ext 18

Short Sale!

1-888-307-7311 Ext 12

Estate Sale!!

 1-888-307-7311 Ext 19

 Today was a nice sunny day and I decided to go “Touring” properties for sale in Evanston. Here is what I say today:

Price Range:

$217,000- For a little over $200,000 you can buy a 5 room, 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo located on the 3rd floor of a Vintage building in South Evanston. This sunny unit had a lot of space and charm with decorative fireplace in the living room, bay windows, formal dining room, heated indoor garage.

$399,000-For just under $400,000 you can buy a 7 room, 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath Georgian. This home had beautiful hardwood floor, new bay window in living room, formal dining room, lovely backyard garden, finished basement with play room, laundry and storage.

$475,000- Just reduced below $500,000 you can buy a 9 room, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath recently remodeled  (90% New Construction) frame home. Great open floor plan with new kitchen, dining room, great room overlooking back yard. Upstairs has Master bedroom and bath suite.

$559,000- Will buy you a 9 room, 4 bedroom, 3. 5 bath duplex townhouse with no assessments. This home has 4 level of living space. First floor Living room, Kitchen, Family Room, Master Bedroom and Bath on 2nd level with 2 other bedrooms, 3rd level has 4th bedroom, and finished basement.

$700,000- Will buy you a 9 room, 5 bedroom, 3 bath Co-op in a 1927 Vintage Landmark building which is walking distance to the lakefront. Details include vaulted ceilings, arched room entrances, marble fireplace, plaster cornices and delicate grill work. A truely unique property with word class charm.

$789,000- For just under $800,000 you can buy a Victorian (Italianate) home  and coach house. The main house has 7 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths with wrap around front porch, 12 ft ceilings, country style kitchen, cast iron fireplace. The coach house has been gutted and restored and is currently used as an office.

$1,035,000- Will buy you a 10 room, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath Colonial home on an extra large 65 X 190 lot in NW Evanston.

$2,400,00-   Will buy you a 10 room, 4 bedroom, 5.5 bath Lannon Stone home with one of the best views of the lake. This home was totally re-designed in 2004 with new Kitchen, heating/cooling, windows, electrical and plumbing. Location, Location, Location. is the reason for the price of this home…

The past couple of days has been spent meeting with people who want to promote themselves or their business. I thought about this for a while and decided to ask those people living in Evanston for some help. You must ask your self two questions:

“Who Do You Trust”, and “Who Would You Recommend to Others”

These people must be able to provide a service to people, be someone you trust, would want to promote their business, and who would be willing to offer services at a discount to others. I want to create a list of names to give to others who I care about. The type of business I am interested in can be: Accountants, Attorneys, Banks, Baby Sitters, Dog Groomers, Day Care for babys, elders, and pets, Lawn care, florist, handy man, electrician, plumber, painter, auto mechanic, favorite restaurant, book store, retail business. As you can see the list can go on for ever. Let’s see where this goes….