Ron Donavon, wrote an amazing article on the costs that are/may be associated with purchasing a bank owned property. Please read it here.  The cliff not version of his article is as follows.

1. Home inspection is $250-$300 radon inspection is ~$180 more ( this is not requird but strongly encouraged)
2. City and villages are instituting mandatory inspections at the buyers expense  and fixes they determine must be fixed at buyers expense as well before certificate of occupancy( not all municipalities does this, have your agent check this out)
3. Air test for molds,  which normally costs 200 dollars

I would like to add a couple more costs that the buyers may need to be aware of when buying banked owned properties.

1. Some lenders will not pay for any costs that are typically occurred by seller,  such as survery,  pest inspections, and others,  read all documentation so you can make sure you know seller is willing to pay.
2. Some banks,(Fannie May for example), will accept No contingencies, that means home inspections, mortgage, attorney review.
3. The upside is most banks are allowing closing costs to be added to the closing which means you can offset some of these costs. 

Again Please contact your Trusted Real Estate Consultant, and I'm sure they can help you minimize the costs associated with buying Bank Owned Properties.

The Tax Credit has been extended for first time homebuyer till april 30th 2010.   the contract has to be signed up in april 30th and closed by july 1st.com. they also added $6500 for prospective buyers that owned and lived in their home 5 out of the last 8 years.  As soon as I get more information I will place it hear.

So, two agents in our office, spent considerable time building an amazing tool that will help us analyze what homes will sell for in Todays  market.   The tool backbone is built on the Case-Schiller index.   the Case-Schiller is a housing index that is widely recognized by professionals that work in the real estate world.

So Im a gadget guy and I love to play with new tools. so i spent last night (till about 1am) playing with this tool.   What i found was amazing,   one example is a property that I helped a family member purchase three years, they bought for over $350,000. This tool tells me they couldnt sell for more than $280,000.   I find this to be amazingly true, watching homes in this neighborhood sell for way under $300,000. It amazes me to still see homes asking for over $450,000 and on the market for 365+ days.

This is just an example of a neighborhood I watch,I believe you will find this to be true everyone in the chicagoland area. 

Tell me your thoughts, concerns, or disagreements

Just make a quick observational point for this weeks blog.  My observation is based on Dekalb, although i believe this observation to be true in any location in this market.

I have had a couple buyers looking for Deals in homes right now, so they are looking at short sales and REO homes right now.   When a home hits the right price,  you will get at least 2 offers on these homes, if not more.    now this doesn't mean the market is picking up, cause actually with 2 more years of ARMS coming due, it is unlikely that the direction market is going will change anytime soon.  What it does mean is that there is buyers out there and able and willing to buy. 

For buyers what does this mean;

• when the price is right you have to offer competitive.
• predict where homes need to be priced and make offers there before the price makes it competitive(most likely will need a real estate professional for this)
• be properly motivated and prepared.
• traditional sales home have to be just as competitive, look there as well

for sellers what does this mean;

• Price Sells!
• if you need to get something out of your home, probably not the right motivation to successfully sell home
• this is a have to sell market.

It is a great market to buy and sell! Come to dekalb and see

Also don't miss the Pumpkin Parade in sycamore this weekend. it is a great time, and you may see me helping cook pork chops!

Homeowners like to take their home off the market from the months of october to march.  The why's varies.  Dont want to worry about it for the holidays, we want a break, it wont sell during the winter months,  and many more.  Ok now I understand all the reasons why we want to take our homes off the market during these months.  all the reasons makes since and I completely respect each and every decisionm BUT I am going to take a different perspective on this.  

if you are currently not listed, you should not take your home off the market.  if you are contemplating listing your home you shouldnt wait till spring and here is why.

1) Prices are still dropping, so the longer you wait the less you will get for your home

2) Inventory in the winter months is less, which means less competition for your home

3) motivated buyers want to be in before the new year.

4) you want to be in your new place before the new year

In the end,  I know challenge you to keep your home available for sale during the winter months, you will get more and sell quicker if you do.