Archive for the 'Illinois Articles' Category

Buying Round Lake repo homes for sale while prices are still affordable and while the inventory still provides plenty of choices is a smart decision, as foreclosure activity throughout Illinois is slowing down.

In May, the number of repo homes in Illinois fell by 14 percent to just over 4,000 units, and total foreclosure filings decreased by 20.2 percent to just over 15,000 in May. Nonetheless, investors and other buyers interested in repossession houses still have a lot of home buying opportunities in Illinois as there were nearly 24,000 units which entered bank listings in the first five (5) months this year.

Of the almost 80,000 residential units that became distressed from January to May, a big portion of these eventually became foreclosed and repossessed, adding more to the foreclosure inventory in the state.

One provider of foreclosure listings currently has 398 units of Round Lake repo homes for sale. Among these are a 1,472-square-foot single-family house priced at $160,943; a three-bedroom condo priced at $106,392; and a 1,854-square-foot single-family priced at $100,200. The lowest-priced is a two-bedroom house priced at $17,450 and the highest-priced is a four-bedroom single-family unit priced at $415,000.

There are also currently 247 previously owned homes up for sale, and the average listing price for all kinds of homes is $180,780, lower by one percent from the previous week. The median price for all homes sold during April was $157,000, which marked an increase of $1,000 from the median price recorded one year earlier.

The 20.2-percent month-over-month foreclosure slowdown in Illinois was more substantial than the slowdown nationwide, which was only 3.3 percent. This showed that Illinois is among the states recovering from the housing meltdown. Chicago, the largest city in the state and in the Midwest, also experienced fewer foreclosure postings in May.

Buyers looking at Chicago foreclosures are encouraged to also explore Round Lake repo homes for sale as they can still be snapped up at great prices.

A portion of the Woodstock Station housing development project in Illinois is facing public foreclosure home auctions. The undeveloped portion of the project has been foreclosed by the Barrington Bank.

The Woodstock Station project occupies about two city blocks. The site of the project was the former Woodstock Die Cast which became a part of a major Woodstock city redevelopment plan.

The project includes about 59 row houses or town houses, 60,000 square feet commercial center and nearly 200 condominium units. However, Barrington Bank decided to foreclose on the property before it was fully developed and placed it on foreclosure home auctions. During the foreclosure, 10 of the town houses were already constructed, of which 8 were finished and occupied.

The housing project was developed by Hummel Group’s Bob Hummel. The undeveloped portion that was foreclosed upon is scheduled to be auctioned off at the Sheriff’s Office in McHenry County.

According to industry experts, city officials want to see the whole site redeveloped as planned, adding that the local government has pledged to cooperate with whoever will buy the property for the immediate completion of the project.

Furthermore, the local officials have made a commitment to retain the architectural and development requirements of the project, regardless of who will buy it. The city of Woodstock was the previous owner of the property before Hummel took over for $500,000.

According to industry experts, a foreclosure judgment amounting to $4.725 million was issued early this year. Out of the total judgment, the principal amounted to $4.3 million, $329,000 for interest, $60,000 for taxes and $5,198 for late charges.

The property is bordered on the north by First Street, on the east portion by Clay Street, on the south by Newell Street and on the west by railroad tracks. But the area was known for its die casting business.

The city got hold of the foreclosed property through water liens after the die casting operation vacated the property. Before any development could be made on the property, the city had to do some land cleanup in compliance with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency policy. The city also decided to purchase three neighboring properties to include in the redevelopment project.

Industry experts said that the undeveloped portion of the project that has been placed on foreclosure home auctions is just waiting for its new owners to continue the development that has already been started.

An outreach program has been launched to help distressed homeowners in Chicago, Illinois avoid bank foreclosed homes. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced the outreach program which will provide guidance to homeowners in danger of foreclosures who want to apply for the Making Home Affordable Program.

The Obama Administration’s loan modification program aims to help distressed homeowners remain in their properties by altering their mortgages into affordable payment terms.

According to a press release from Governor Quinn’s office, Chicago distressed homeowners will have an opportunity to receive financial counseling for free at the Cicero Community Center on August 29.

The Keep Your Home program will be manned by real estate lawyers who will offer their services for free and housing counselors certified by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD). They will help review documents that will be submitted by distressed homeowners on site to evaluate if the borrowers qualify for reduce mortgage payments under the federal modification program.

Borrowers who may qualify to receive lower loan payments must be behind on their mortgage payments, primary owners of the one-to-four room property, should owe no more than or equal to $729,750 on single-family houses, have loans originated on or before December 31, 2008 and have an income enough to pay the monthly mortgages.

Homeowners who are interested to avail of the loan modification program are required to bring and submit several documents, including proof of income, pay stubs of the most recent mortgage payments, recent tax return, recent first and second loan statements, updated bank statements, credit cards, car loans or student loans, monthly payments on other debts such as property taxes, homeowner’s association fees, homeowners insurance, recent utility bill and for self-employed, a profit-loss state.

The Illinois Housing and Development Agency (IHDA) has partnered with the Chicago Community Trust, Attorney’s Title Guaranty Fund, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and West Suburban Communities to present the outreach program.

Early this year, Quinn signed the Homeowner Protection Act, a law that provides a 90-day grace period on foreclosures for distressed homeowners who avail of housing counseling. Homeowners who qualify for loan modification during the event will see their applications completed and sent immediately to loan servicers.

Homeowners can expect their mortgage payments to be lowered to not more than 31 percent of their gross monthly income.

The number of repo properties in Illinois surged to another record level in June as the area’s unemployment rate reached its peak in May after two decades. After witnessing a drop in the number of foreclosed homes in May, foreclosure rates swung back up last month.