Bob Brandt

• 10 Facts You Should Know about Today's Illinois Real Estate Markets (Item #1019) - Inform your clients about 10 quick facts they should know about today's local markets.
• Are You Having Problems Paying Your Mortgage? Learn How to Avoid Foreclosure and Keep Your Home (Item #1013) - Understand risky mortgages that can lead to foreclosure, counseling resources for consumers and benefits of using a REALTOR®.
• Buying a Condominium? Do Your Homework First (Item #1011) - Highlights issues buyers should be familiar with before buying a condo including physical management, assessments, fees and condo association rules.
• Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Understanding the New Law Requiring Installation (Item #1005) - Explains the law's main requirements for homeowners, responsibilities of landlords and tenants and helpful resources.
• Cook County Predatory Lending Database Program Brochure, Fact Sheet , Spanish Brochure, Spanish Fact Sheet (Item #1016) - This summary of the Database Program effective July 1, 2008, to reduce predatory lending practices, includes an easy-to-read Q&A to help borrowers understand the terms and conditions of the loan they apply for.
• Don't Go It Alone: Choose a REALTOR® as Your Real Estate Partner (Item #1012) - A self-mailer for buyer/seller prospects that highlights the experience and expertise that comes with using a REALTOR®.
• Practical Guide for Landlords in Illinois: An Overview of Main Laws and Regulations (Item #1020) - Gives REALTORS® an overview of the major laws and regulations for residential rental property management and ownership in Illinois.
• Property Taxes in Cook County (Item #1015) - What is involved in the property taxation process as well as a Cook County homeowner's rights, assessment information, tax cyclesand exemptions.
• Property Taxes in Illinois (Item #1014) - What is involved in the property taxation process, plus an Illinois homeowner's rights, assessment information, tax cycles and exemptions.
• Shopping for a Mortgage? How to Avoid Predatory Lending (Item #1009) - Identifies the warning signs of predatory loans and what to ask when shopping for a loan.
• Special Service Areas: What You Should Know Before Buying a Home (Item #1004) - Outlines for new-home buyers the purposes, infrastructure costs, assessment collection methods associated with special taxing districts.
• Special Service Areas: What You Should Know as a Property Owner, Small Business Owner, Commercial Developer (Item #1018) - Key facts about the Special Service Area Law and what property owners should know about their rights when one is being proposed.
• Zoning: The Basics You Should Know (Item #1008) - Consumer information on zoning districts, demolition, rezoning, use restrictions and more.

How to Diagnose a Short Sale

To help sellers navigate the difficult world of distressed sales, you must be able to identify and evaluate all of

your client's options.

Lori Cox, ABR®, CRB, who instructed a full-day foreclosure seminar Wednesday in Orlando, said that sellers

generally have seven options:

1. Refinancing

2. Selling and bringing cash to closing to cover the loss.

3. A lender workout.

4. A deed in lieu of foreclosure.

5. A short sale

6. A foreclosure.

7. Simply walking away.

"Walking away is never the best option but it might be their only option," Cox said.

Which option is best for your client? To find out, "you have to be a diagnostician and you have to be a

technician," Cox said.

To diagnose the situation, work with sellers to answer the following questions:

Are they current on their payments?

payments behind are in the best position to negotiate with a lender.

Do they have savings to pay off the loss?

more than the house is worth-they'll be able to protect their credit if they can pay off the remainder of the

mortgage.

Are they facing a hardship?

hardship, the sale could be qualified for a short sale.

Being a technician, meanwhile, means helping sellers put together a short-sale package that'll pass lender

scrutiny. "They need more paperwork to get out of the loan than they needed to get into it, and you have to

prepare them for that," Cox said.

Legal advice should be obtained for several of these options and careful consideration should be given.

My own and many of my clients Schaumburg tax bills have gone down from the 2006 bill for the latest 2007 tax bill, due on November 3, 2008. Mine went down about 7%. The school districts came in much lower than last year, as well as several other municipal taxing bodies. Since it was a tri-ennial reassessment year, we were all expecting major increases. What a nice surprise and what a great Village to live in! Be sure to make sure you are getting the homeowners exemption, if you lived in the house on Jan 1st of that tax year. You may get a big refund if it was done wrong. I had a client of mine just get over $2000 back.

Before you decide you can not afford or find your dream home, you should have me look for specifically what will fulfill your home ownership fantasy. There are some great park locations in all price ranges. There are less expensive horse properties with acreage. There are airpark homes with runways and hangars for your airplanes at very reasonable prices in the Chicagoland area. There are great waterfront locations with vacation like views of the sunset. Sometimes you need to reach out and grab what you want. You owe it to yourself!
I can help you!