First-Time Homebuyer's Guide | AOL Real Estate

 

Mike Valdez fits the profile of a savvy first-time homebuyer perfectly. A 34-year-old financial analyst from New Rochelle, N.Y., he and his family had grown sick of living the renter's life. So two years ago he decided to test the market and find a townhouse for his growing family. But despite his financial aptitude, he quickly ran into a setback.
"We found a place we liked and ran the numbers," he says, but the young couple soon discovered that they had underestimated the burden of their college debt. They were forced to back out.

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Foreclosure free ride: 3 years, no payments

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Delinquent borrowers facing foreclosure are learning that they can stay in their homes for years, as long as they're willing to put up a fight.

Among the tactics: Challenging the bank's actions, waiting to file paperwork right up until the deadline, requesting the lender dig up original paperwork or, in some extreme cases, declaring bankruptcy.

Nationwide, the average time it takes to process a foreclosure -- from the first missed payment to the final foreclosure auction -- has climbed to 674 days from 253 days just four years ago, according to LPS Applied Analytics.

Click here for the rest of -Les Christie CNN story

Homes for SALE DOWNERS GROVE-Neal Paskvan

How to Figure the Fuzzy Math of Internet Home Values

How to Read Zillow, Trulia and Other Online Home Price Websites - WSJ.com

Jason Gonsalves worked hard to turn his 6,500-square-foot stucco-and-stone home in the suburbs of Sacramento into the ultimate grown-up party pad, complete with game room, custom wine cellar and an infinity-edge pool overlooking Folsom Lake. When interest rates fell recently, Mr. Gonsalves, who runs a lobbying firm, looked into refinancing his $750,000 mortgage. That's when he got startling news—the home had dropped more than $200,000 in value while he was renovating. Or at least, that's what one real-estate website told him. Another valued the house at only…

Read the Full Story Here

The Baird Warner Charity Gala Wine Tasting Event

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Open House update 7-24-11 Over 1,700 Open Houses In Chicago Land

Over 1,700 Open Houses In Chicago Land ... Check them out on line First..
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Open House Search 7-24-11

A Tip on Keeping Cool

Something to check before you call the AC repair man

If you feel your AC is not really keeping up inside, with the hot outside, you may want to check your whole-house humidifier and make sure it is unplugged! Putting humidly into the air wile the AC is working to remove it is, well, not cool. Sometimes the humidity controls upstairs get stuck and don't really shut the humidifier down.

Neal Is a Full Time Broker Helping Home Buyers and Sellers Move ON and Move Up

Chicago Open House Search for July 10 2011

Over 2100 Open Houses to visit this Sunday In the Chicago Area | Check Online First | Save on Gas

Open House Search July 10 2011- Baird Warner

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Neal    630-964-1855

Dads Day This Sunday

Not Much to report as far as Open Houses... This Weekend..Hug Your Grampa and Granma..Dad and Mom too.... For updates check into the Downers Grove Patch
 Downers Grove Patch

Fact is.. You May Need to Sell Your House Twice

Appraisals: Why You Must Now Sell Your House Twice

by Neal Paskvan on May 24, 2011 ·

Bottom Line

Every house now has to be sold twice: FIRST, to a potential purchaser and THEN AGAIN to the bank appraiser. And, it seems that the second sale may be the more difficult of the two. Sit with a local Real Estate Professional and make sure you put together a plan for both sales.

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Banks have become very conservative when lending mortgage money today. With the current foreclosure challenges in the country, we can’t really blame them. The requirements now necessary to qualify for mortgages have gotten much more stringent and it seems will get even more stringent as we move forward. The banks want to make sure the prospective buyer has the ability to repay the loan. However, this does not just involve the borrower buying the property.
The second way a bank can protect their investment in the mortgage is to make sure that the collateral backing that mortgage is secure. That is where the appraisal comes in. The bank wants to make sure that, should the buyer not be able to make their payments, the house they will be forced to take back will sell for an amount at least equal to the balance left on the mortgage. For that reason, the banks seem to be getting more conservative with appraisals also.
This past week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Homes Sales Report. In that report, they said:

“11 percent of Realtors® report a contract was cancelled in April from an appraisal coming in below the price negotiated between a buyer and seller, 10 percent had a contract delayed, and 14 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower sales price as a result of a low appraisal.”

One out of four real estate transactions was either cancelled (11%) or renegotiated to a lower sales price (14%)

Contact me if you would like an Update   630-964-1855 or E-mail at neal.paskvan@bairdwarner.com


Research  Provided By Keeping Current Matters   http://kcmblog.com/2011/05/24/appraisals-why-you-must-now-sell-your-house-twice/