Irina Allison, SouthWest Suburbs Real Estate

Seller drops the price to $129,900 on a solid brick bungalow at 721 Wilcox in Joliet! This is not your ordinary bungalow, it's wide and offers spacious living room, formal dining room and two nice size bedrooms. All original woodwork, built in cabinets, molding and original hardwood floors are in fantastic shape! Walk up attic! Open 25x27 basement! 1 car garage plus extra parking for 2 more vehicles. A lot of storage in this house! Fenced in yard with a professional landscaping touch!!!! 

Excellent value for a 2 bedroom home - great for a 1st time buyer or an investor! Make your appointment today to see this taken care of home with charm and character!

Click on the link below to access this listing:

 http://www.irinaallison.com/Joliet/Illinois/Homes/06885858/West_Joliet/Agent/Listing_1710818.html

Looking for a cozy 3 bedroom with a basement? Stop by at 1301 Agnes in Joliet. Seller has just reduced  the price to $146,900. Property is in a nice shape, vacant and easy to see! Some updates have been done, seller took a good care of this home!!!

Click on the link below to access more information and to view a few photos of this cozy step ranch:

http://www.irinaallison.com/Joliet/Illinois/Homes/Black_Road_Estates/Agent/Listing_1593757.html

 

 

 

Dear Homebuyer,

If you are looking for a home in Channahon, Minooka, New Lenox, Manhattan, don't forget to include Elwood in your home search. It's a nice quaint town that has excellent excess to I-80 and I-55! A lot of times Elwood goes overlooked by homebuyers as well as realtors who are not familular with the area. Drive through this town, you won't be dissapointed! Quaint little downtown! Beautiful scenary! And most importantly, Elwood is not overpopulated!

Check out my listing in Timber Creek of Elwood at 25018 Timber Drive! Where else can you find a home sitting on an acre, where you can add another garage, an outbuilding, put a pool or simply enjoy an acre of your land with a decent tax bill? Timber Creek is a neighborhood where all homes have character and are different from one another - there is space between properties which is so hard to find in new subdivisions!

Click on the link below to read the details about 25018 Timber Dr. in Timber Creeek of Elwood:

http://www.irinaallison.com/Elwood/Illinois/Homes/Elwood/Timber_Creek/Agent/Listing_1181398.html

Give me a call to see this home or contact your realtor for an appointment!

 

 

 

A “short sale” refers to a situation where the property owner does not have enough equity in the property and not enough cash or liquid assets to be able to sell the property, pay off liens and selling expenses (e.g., closing costs, property taxes, transfer taxes, real estate commissions) and provide a clear title to the purchaser. In other words, there is more owed on the home than what it will likely sell for on the market. A short sale can also occur to a seller who bought high and took out a lot of equity and might be forced to sell due to a divorce or job transfer.

If a homeowner facing foreclosure cannot negotiate with the lender to work out a repayment plan or loan modification, a short sale can be a viable option. Many consider a short sale better in the long run for the homeowner because it avoids foreclosure which will damage a person’s credit score and make it much harder to buy another home in the future.

According to Beth Llewellyn, CEO of the Partnership for Homeownership, a foreclosure will stay on the credit report for at least 10 years as it is a court action similar to bankruptcy. However, foreclosure can do even more damage to a credit report than bankruptcy. Ultimately you must prove to the lender that the foreclosure happened due to something beyond your control such as job loss or illness.

“It’s ideal if the homeowner who chooses to sell can work with a professional REALTOR® before they are delinquent three months,” says Llewellyn. “Within this short window of time, a REALTOR might assist in negotiations with the lender to place the property on the market and possibly save the buyer any equity left, as well as prevent a foreclosure on their credit file.”

• Beware of scams!!! Consumer groups have learned that advertisements that say “Cash for Houses/Any Situation” or “We Buy Houses for Cash” bait homeowners with the promise of rescuing them from imminent foreclosure. Unfortunately, the “rescue” often involves the borrower signing over title of the house to a different person or entity, thus, and the family ends up being evicted from their home. 
• It is important that sellers work with a licensed Illinois Realtor to sell their home. REALTORS are in the business of helping homeowners and have the expertise to guide them through a tough situation. A REALTOR has the expertise to develop a reliable Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) to determine the current fair market value of the home.
• Understand the tax implications of the decision to sell short and consult with a tax advisor. See Realtors Applaud Elimination of "Phantom Tax" further in this article. 

There will be paperwork and research required of you in this process. First you have to locate your mortgage documents to understand the terms of your loan. If you have authorized an attorney or REALTOR to act on you behalf in the sale of your home, the lender will need a letter of authorization. Other documentation required by the lender includes:

• Financial Disclosure Form    
• One-page “hardship letter” explaining how you got in this position
• Last two months pay stubs
• Copies of most recent two months personal checking account statements for each borrower on the loan
• Copy of signed last two years’ personal tax returns

Yes, the short sale will require time and consultation with the appropriate legal, tax and real estate professionals. It can take from two weeks to as long as 60 days to receive an approval of a short sale from a lender. But usually it’s a much better option than foreclosure given the impact to your credit history.

The National Association of REALTORS has been working for the past nine years to repeal the “phantom tax” law that forces individuals to pay income tax when a portion of their mortgage loan is forgiven after a short sale or as part of a foreclosure. The REALTOR-supported measure, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was signed into law by President Bush on December 20 and will ensure that any debt forgiven on disposition of a principal residence will not be taxed.

Sources: Partnership for HomeOwnership, Illinois Association of REALTORS®, National Association of REALTORS®, REALTOR® Will Weaver of the Floyd Wickman Team

I am very pleased to let you know that the House Bill 664 (P.A. 95-644) has just passed. It provides property relief for homeowners, seniors, veterans, the disabled, and the spouses of fallen police officers or rescue workers.

Highlights of House Bill 664 include:

• Increases the General Homestead Exemption by $500 (from $5,000 to $5,500) in tax year 2008 and another $500 (from $5,500 to $6,000) in tax year 2009 and thereafter.
• Increases the Senior Homestead Exemption from $3,500 to $4,000 in tax year 2008 and thereafter.
• Increases the income threshold for Circuit Breaker eligibility by $1,000 beginning with the grant year of 2008 and thereafter. This income threshold applies solely to the property tax grant and license plate fee portion of the Circuit Breaker program.
• Provides full Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption benefits for seniors with a household income of $50,000 or less in tax year 2007. It also increases the income eligibility limit to $55,000 for the 2008 tax year and thereafter.
• Creates the Returning Veteran's Homestead Exemption which allows a $5,000 homestead exemption for the year in which they return from active duty, and a Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption of between $2,500 and $5,000.
• It also creates a $2,000 Disabled Homestead Exemption and allows property tax abatements to the surviving spouses of fallen police officers and emergency workers.
  
  In order to educate the public, this legislation requires tax bills to include all information about tax exemptions, abatements or any other assistance programs designed to alleviate your property tax burden. If you have any further questions you can call  815/254-0000

Fed Lowers Benchmark Rate to 4.75 Percent, First Cut Since 2003
2007-09-18 14:15 (New York)


By Scott Lanman and Craig Torres
    Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve lowered its
benchmark interest rate by a half point to 4.75 percent, the
first cut in four years, hoping to keep the U.S. from sinking
into a recession sparked by spreading housing-market fallout.
    ``Developments in financial markets since the Committee's
last regular meeting have increased the uncertainty surrounding
the economic outlook,'' the Federal Open Market Committee said
in a statement after meeting today in Washington. ``The
Committee will continue to assess the effects of these and other
developments on economic prospects and will act as needed to
foster price stability and sustainable economic growth.''
    The larger-than-forecast reduction by Chairman Ben S.
Bernanke, facing his biggest test since succeeding Alan
Greenspan 19 months ago, suggests that officials see a serious
risk of an economic slump. The six-year expansion is threatened
by job losses and a worsening housing downturn.
    ``Economic growth was moderate during the first half of the
year, but the tightening of credit conditions has the potential
to intensify the housing correction, and to restrain economic
growth more generally,'' the FOMC said.
    Today's decision was unanimous. Core inflation has improved
``modestly'' this year, while some risks remain, the Fed said.
    ``Today's action is intended to help forestall some of the
adverse effects on the broader economy that might otherwise
arise from the disruptions in financial markets and to promote
moderate growth over time,'' the statement said.

                     Change in Direction

    The federal funds rate, which banks charge each other for
loans, had stood at 5.25 percent since June 2006. That's when
the Fed ended a two-year run of increases that lifted the rate
from a four-decade low of 1 percent.
    Most economists anticipated a quarter-point, and traders
pared bets on a bigger move in recent days as some Fed officials
signaled they would be reluctant to back a half-point cut.
    The Fed's Board of Governors also lowered the rate on
direct loans to banks by half a percentage point to 5.25
percent.
    The Fed first reduced the so-called discount rate by a half
point on Aug. 17 in a surprise move to restore confidence after
some companies found it hard to obtain funds as investors fled
riskier assets. The credit crunch was caused by losses in
securities tied to subprime mortgages.
    The half-point reduction in the federal funds target was
forecast by 23 of 134 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. One
hundred and five predicted a reduction of 25 basis points while
six forecast no change. A basis point is one-hundredth of a
percentage point.
    ``It's a good risk management move,'' Jan Hatzius, chief
U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, said
before the decision. ``If you do 50 and then subsequently find
out that 25 would have been sufficient, I don't think that much
is lost. The other way around, you do 25 and you find out you
should have done 50, that could be pretty bad.''
    Investors began anticipating a reduction on Aug. 9, a week
before the Fed made the initial discount-rate cut and said risks
to growth have ``increased appreciably.'' Two weeks later,
Bernanke said in a speech that the central bank would ``act as
needed to limit the adverse effects on the broader economy that
may arise from the disruptions in financial markets.''
    The decision comes two days before Bernanke faces lawmakers
in a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the mortgage-
market crisis. Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts
Democrat who heads the panel, on Sept. 7 called for a
``meaningful'' rate cut by the Fed.
    Policy makers were forced to shift their focus to growth
from inflation in August as rising defaults on subprime
mortgages rippled through global credit markets. Asset-backed
commercial paper contracted by the most in at least seven years
and Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage
company, was shut out of the market.
    Economic reports show that the deepening recession in
housing is taking a toll on other industries. The Labor
Department said Sept. 7 that employers cut 4,000 workers in
August. Job growth has been slowing since June, Atlanta Fed
President Dennis Lockhart acknowledged. August figures for
retail sales and industrial production were below economists'
forecasts.
    Officials including Fed Governor Frederic Mishkin and San
Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen highlighted the risks to
spending in speeches this month. Teams of Fed economists also
ran what-if scenarios to supplement the central forecast given
to the FOMC members today.
    Inflation has also receded. The Fed's preferred price
gauge, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 1.9 percent
from a year earlier in July, within the 1 percent to 2 percent
comfort range stated by several officials. The Labor Department
said today that producer prices fell 1.4 percent in August, more
than economists predicted.
    Financial markets have remained in flux. The benchmark
three-month borrowing rate between banks, known as Libor, has
climbed to 5.59 from 5.36 percent at the end of July, after
hitting 5.73 percent on Sept. 7. Fed officials ``clearly'' need
to pay attention to the Libor increase, Mishkin said Sept. 10.
    The yield on two-year U.S. Treasury notes has dropped about
1 percentage point in the past three months as investors began
to anticipate a series of rate cuts.
    ``They ought to be doing something strong and if anything
be leading the markets rather than lagging them,'' Alan Blinder,
a former Fed vice chairman who is now an economics professor at
Princeton University in New Jersey, said before today's
decision.

Note that this information is outdated.

Looking for privacy? You will definitely find it here in this unique log cabin style 2 story home on over 1/3 acre in New Lenox township! Located about 1.5 miles away from I-355 extention and I-80! Gorgeous private fenced in back yard with 22x15 patio and gazebo. This home also features vaulted ceiling and wood burning stove in the living room, formal dining room and family room, as well as a full basement. True quality hardwood floors throughout the house! All appliances stay including a reverse osmosis water treatment system. All new windows on the 1st floor. Low taxes! This home has a lot of character! Have you seen the virtual tour yet? Please enjoy winter and summer views to fully explore the unique features of this property. Area Expansion Facts: Planned to be completed in 2007, the I-355 expressway extension of the interstate highway system will meet with I-80 freeway in New Lenox. This interchange is expected to cause New Lenox to grow even more rapidly. Also, a shopping mall, scheduled to be completed in 2008, will be built on the north side of New Lenox. It is rumored that the new mall will be the second largest in the United States, first being the Mall of America.

When/Where: 2462 E Cass Ave., Joliet (Cherry Hill subdivision) - 11:30am - 2:00pm