Home Sales

Time to be a landlord?

It seams that people will always need a reason to move. Lets be honest, you buy a home and most of the time you think to yourself that you will only need to be there for about 3-5 years. This is very typical for a lot of people who I have sold to over the last 8 years. Now the 3-5 years has passed and these home owners are expanding their families, renting storage space, living in clutter or are just plain ready to go to a different neighborhood that is either more exciting or maybe quieter.

These people decide it is time to sell and enlist the help of their favorite Realtor (hopefully me). The issue that people are running into is that the market has dropped since they had bought and they just can not afford to sell a lot of the times. So what are the options? Bring cash to closing, do a short sale (if they have had a hardship), or become landlords. Believe it or not, the landlord option has become quite the popular option. Not everyone can afford to purchase the next home, but while they become landlords, they also become tenants. Not a bad deal if you ask me. You still have the privilege of ownership, and you get the extra space you need.

Are there some things to be careful of? Of course. Read this article on this exact subject.

Once you have decided to take this route, there are plenty of things to consider. My first suggestion is that you call your favorite Realtor (hopefully me again) and get some advice and some help finding the perfect renter. Lets be honest, I deal with properties every day and within the last few years, I have helped plenty of home owners find great tenants. If I can do it for them, I can do it for you.

Give me a call and I would love to help you figure out if being a landlord is in your future.

You can contact me at either, lnevin@koenigstrey.com or they can call me at 773-809-5536.

Best Wishes,

Len Nevin

Home Sales

FHA LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAM FOR UNDERWATER HOMEOWNERS

Looks like they are going to give this whole “Stabilizing the Home Values” thing another shot. This time they are targeting responsible homeowners. Looks like the cry of “Where is my bailout” from responsible people might have been heard. Past programs have done little to balance things out, so this is another attempt to stabilize. I for one will applaud this if the lenders are cooperative. There is another program that appears similar to this one called the HAMP program. This one required borrowers to have to claim a hardship and was looked to be more of a program to help people avoid foreclosure.

I haven’t had enough time to read into all the details of the program yet, but click here and you can form your own opinion.

As always, if you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell Real Estate, do them a favor and have them contact me at either, lnevin@koenigstrey.com or they can call me at 773-809-5536.

Best Wishes,

Len Nevin

Home Sales

How do you deal with negative equity?

I recently read this article that talks about a Florida man who is $200k under water on his home and how he has no options because he is paying his mortgage on time and can afford it:

http://rismedia.com/lowes/8355/9137

Kinda brings up the whole…. where is my bailout questions doesn’t it? The truth of the matter is that this guy is not alone. There are hundreds if not thousands of people in the same exact situation. To be honest, I am one of them. I am about 30-40k under water at this point. For most who are in their dream homes, I would say it is not a problem. For those who are needing to make a move up and need room because of a growing family…. it is a different story. I talk to people in my exact situation every day and they ask me what can be done. Unfortunately, the answer is usually nothing. For one client, the answer was for him to rent out his place and eat about $500 per month. For a closing that I had on Friday, the answer was to bring 48k to closing.

The solutions to this problem will be different for everyone. If you are in this situation, please contact me so we can discuss your options. If there is a way, I will find it.

As always, if you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell Real Estate, do them a favor and have them contact me at either, lnevin@koenigstrey.com or they can call me at 773-809-5536.

Enjoy,

Len Nevin

Home Sales

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!

I think that sometimes people forget how good we have it in this country and it is good to remember WHY we have it so good. Make sure to thank those who currently wear the Uniform of our country and especially those who have worn the uniform. Those today are only continuing the great work of people like both of my Grandpas who served in WW2.

If you are traveling at all this weekend, hopefully the following article can be of some help to you. It has some good tips to make sure you have safe travels and enjoy this great holiday!

http://rismedia.com/lowes/8355/8653

Enjoy your holiday and as always, if you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell Real Estate, do them a favor and have them contact me at either, lnevin@koenigstrey.com or they can call me at 773-809-5536.

Enjoy,

Len Nevin

Home Sales

Federal Housing Administration to Accept DocuSign for Real Estate Contracts Nationwide

For years the amount of paperwork that goes into a Real Estate transaction has been enough to take down the average tree. When you figure that just at the closing table the lenders package is not only delivered to the closing, it is signed by the buyer, faxed back to the lender and sometimes faxed back to the closing table once it is finalized. Most of these documents are about 100 pages or more. Most agents already use systems that are ready to go for a paperless transaction. I looks like it is just a matter of time before we see the end of the paper transaction. To read more on this topic, follow the link below:

http://rismedia.com/2010-04-11/federal-housing-administration-to-accept-docusign-for-real-estate-contracts-nationwide/

As always, if you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell Real Estate, do them a favor and have them contact me at either, lnevin@ksgmac.com or they can call me at 773-809-5536.

Enjoy,

Len Nevin

Home Sales

Median Prices up, sales down…. what does it all mean?

I just read an article on Rismedia that references different statistics for the Chicago area. One notable thing is that the median price of homes is up, while the amount of transactions is down. What does all that mean? To me, it means that people are no longer only looking to buy short sales and foreclosures. It means that more than just investors are in the market. It means that families are moving up and getting larger homes to accommodate their growing families. These are all good signs in my opinion….all signs that we are slowly returning to a normal housing market. And please don’t think that when I say normal that I am talking about what we saw in the late Nineties and early this decade. I am talking about a strong healthy housing market where people don’t look at their homes as a vehicle for getting rich. A market where people look at homes as homes. We are talking about long term investments and stability for families so that five years after a family moves in, they are not forced out by crazy loans and skyrocketing costs.

Bring on the white picket fences!!!!

To read that article I am referencing, click below:
C.A.R. Reports February 2010 Median Price Increased 14.1 Percent; Home Sales Decreased 11.7 Percent | RISMedia http://bit.ly/dhKOGj

As always, if you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell Real Estate, do them a favor and have them contact me at either, lnevin@ksgmac.com or they can call me at 773-809-5536.

Enjoy,

Len Nevin

Home Sales

Koenig & Strey Market Watch

Home Sales

I Love my Job!!!

Yesterday I finished another long journey with a seller who was in need of selling his place. Due to financial trials as a result of our economy, the only way that this person could get out of this property was to sell it as a short sale. After 10 months, three offers and multiple price drops to get it to where it could sell, we finally closed on the property. I was reminded of how important this transaction was to this person when I received a very nice email last night thanking myself and the attorneys involved in the transaction of how grateful he was. 

It is not every day that you truly get to help people out. While I have been helping people buy and sell real estate since 2001, I never have truly felt that I have been making a huge impact on people and truly giving them the gift of easing a burden until recent years. The American Dream has always included owning a home, but in recent years, home ownership has become a burden for those who have had financial hardship. It is truly my pleasure to be able to help those people be able to sell their homes and minimize their expenses and giving them new hope of a better tomorrow where they can be able to purchase a home again in the future. 

Everyone deserves a second chance at the American Dream and I am glad that I am in a position to be able to help people take that first step. If anyone that you know is in need of assistance in selling their home for financial reasons, please do them a favor and have them call me. There are options for people, they just need to realize that they don't have to be afraid to ask for help. 

Here to help,

Len Nevin
773-809-5536
lnevin@ksgmac.com

Home Sales

Has Spring Sprung?

With less than two weeks remaining until the coveted official beginning to the running season at the Shamrock Shuffle, one has to ask themselves…. is spring here? I for one am thinking yes. For one, the Real Estate market has definitely picked up. In fact, the company I work for (Koenig & Strey) is up 67% in sales from a year ago. That is a HUGE increase in numbers. I personally have written more business YTD compared to a year ago. With the Tax Credit winding down and people now knowing if it will be renewed one more time, I am getting a feeling that our spring is going to bet even busier yet. The job report gave us good news for the first time in a while last week as well.

With all of these signs of good news and a fresh start, I definitely have a feeling that this spring will be a good one!!!

As always, if you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell Real Estate, do them a favor and have them contact me at either, lnevin@ksgmac.com or they can call me at 773-809-5536.

Enjoy,

Len Nevin

Home Sales

13 small home improvements that pay back

http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=23279607

It’s always fun to see if there are little things that you can do around the house to trim on costs. I have done some of these things around the house and have seen improvements in my usage. The bills have not gone down as much as I would like, but that has more to do with the rate hikes and not the use of more energy efficient products.

These are also some great tips to go through if you are looking to spruce up your home as you get it ready to sell. Buyers love to know that the property has been updated and that they will not need to spend the money to have these installed. Talk about a great way to add value to your home.

As always, if you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell Real Estate, do them a favor and have them contact me at either, lnevin@ksgmac.com or they can call me at 773-809-5536.

Enjoy,

Len Nevin

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