• Address: Orland Park, IL 60467 (map)
• Date Posted: 09/22/09

Illinois Short Sale Expert, Illinois Short Sale Agent, Illinois Short Sales, Stop Foreclosure

Illinois Short Sale Expert, Illinois Short Sales, Stop Foreclosure, Learn About Short Sales

Are You Looking For A Short Sale Expert In Your Area

Hi, my name is Raymond Kennedy from RE/MAX TEAM 2000 a local Short Sale Expert. I am a full time Real Estate agent from one of the most accomplished and successful RE/MAX offices in the area. It is important to me that you receive the highest level of service and feel confident and comfortable with the decision on who you have representing you in a Short Sale transaction. There is no question that we are in difficult times and there are many hardworking and responsible homeowners who have suffered from our unfortunate economic decline and in many cases just bad luck. I work with these homeowners everyday to help them determine what their options are. I have team of professionals prepared to help you in multiple scenarios including experienced Short Sale attorneys to give you legal advice and help you understand your options better.

While I am a Short Sale expert I do review all your options so you are well informed and confident in your final decision. After our initial consultation is finished you may find out their is a better option. Many professionals who claim to be experts or specialists in Short Sales are only interested in one thing, that is the Short Sale because that is how they make money. It is important that you understand your options clearly so you don't make a uninformed decision that can effect you negatively for years to come.

What is a Short Sale?

A short sale occurs when the proceeds or a real estate sale fall short of the balance that is owed on the property. This process does need to be approved by the mortgage lender or bank of the borrower. Typically the mortgage lender or bank will agree to discount a loan balance due to a financial and/or economic hardship.

Example Of A Short Sale Scenario?

Your lender/bank agrees to be paid less than the amount owed on a successfull sale of your home. As an example, let say you owe your bank or lender $250,000 on your property. You go out and find a buyer that is only willing to pay $230,000 on the property due to recent depreciation of values in your market. Because of financial hardhip you don’t have $20,000 plus costs to pay at closing. If the lender agrees to take the $230,000 plus the seller costs than that would essentially be a Short Sale transaction.

Why Use A Realtor For This Type Of Transaction?

1. A Realtor is the only professional that can represent you legally in the marketing and selling of Real Estate. Your only other option is to attempt to sell "For Sale Buy Owner". Traditionally homeowners who choose the option of "For Sale By Owner" are attempting to do this to save money on commission. In the case of a Short Sale, you as the homeowner are not paying the commission, legal fees, title or any other standard sellers cost. This is not a gimmick, the typical costs of a seller are paid by the lender as part of the loss so you walk away free and clear.


2. Realtors are licensed by the state and are bound by ethics and law. If we act in an unethical manner our license could be in jeaopardy. The reason this is important to you is that there are many fly by night mitigation companies & loan modification companies using this market as a way to prosper financially. They all started to appear when this market took a down turn and will dissappear when the market returns back to what we consider normal. Many of them are comprised with a combination of previous lenders, Realtors, attorneys and other professionals who saw an opportunity to take advantage of the distressed homeonwers situation. This would raise the question if I was a consumer on why these professionals who once were held under the scope of the state would move to the direction of a mitigation company and/or loan modification company in which they would not need license of any type. Many of them may claim they are compliant with Illinois law but yet they are not held to the strict standards that a Real Estate professional is. I was here before this market changed for the worse, I am here now helping homeowners and I will be here when we return back to a more prosperous market helping homeowners. This is the type of experience and stability you need from a professional representing you in a transaction that requires special knowledge.

3. National Association of Realtors is one of the strongest groups with a lot of governmental influence and have been responsible for many of the positive drives to move this economy forward. One of which was the original $7500 first time home buyer tax rebate (which would have to be paid back over 15 years). This recently transfered over to an $8000 true credit which does not have ot be paid if you meet some basic stipulations. NAR has been working to try and streamline the process of Short Sales to, loan modifications to help homeowners prevent foreclosure. This is important to note because as a consumer you would probably want a professional helping you that has an interest in working to make our market better opposed to the many companies that are using this economy to prosper for themselves.

4. Overtime and with experience I have acquired many professionals including real esate attorneys to add to my team. Like me, these professionals were here before the down turn of the market, they are here now and will be here when the market returns. You transaction will be handled professionally and competently .


5. There are many professionals especially attorneys that would like for you to believe that they are the only ones that can help you. In all honesty you can choose whoever you feel comfortable with. You can use a mitigation company/loan modification company, attorney or a real estate professional. There is no law or rule that says only attorneys can assist you in a Short Sale, or only a mitigation company can assist you or only a Realtor can assist you. In fact, the only truth to all this is that the one professional you do need is the Realtor for the marketing and selling of the property because no other professionals legally can participate in this.


6. Negotiating is key in a Short Sale. If you don't have a good negotiator than you are likely going to get your offer rejected by the bank. I am trained and accomplished at negotiating on behalf of my clients. This is something I do everyday and I do it well. I understand the inner workings of the banks and what they are looking for which in turn allows me to negotiate successfully with them.


7. Use a Realtor that knows what a BPO (Broker Price Opinion) is and how to do one correctly. These are basically an evaluation and inspection of your property to determine market value, repaired value and as-is value for your property. These are typically ordered by the bank for your home to determine if the offer price on your home is within their acceptable loss. This is key in whether the lender will consider the offer and may result in an acceptance or rejection depending on what this comes in as. By using an attorney or mitigation company you are losing this very important part of the process and it may result in a foreclosure. The only two professionals allowed to value a property for a bank is an Appraisal and/or a BPO from a certifed and trained Realtor. I am a member of the NABPOP (National Association Of Broker Price Opinion Professionals) which means, I have been trained and educated extensively on how to peform these. I also am contracted by various lenders and services to do BPO's on their properties so I have extensive experience with this subject. Having this knowledge and expertise can make the difference between a Forclosure and a Short Sale.


8. Another reason is that you know your dealing with a human being, not a corporation. If you hire a large mitigation company or attorney office you will likely get recordings and be bounced around to various professionals who aren't fully understanding your situation or just don't care. You may not get responses or explanations on what to expect. As a Realtor I understand that communication with you is so very important as this is such a foreign concept and transaction. You will be fully educated on the process, what to expect including timeframes, expectations and many other factors. Communication is also key between the person negotiating the files and the agent representing the buyer for the property. One of the most common reasons Short Sales don't got to closing is because the negotiatior does not communicate effectively and the buyer walks. About a week ago I called the negotiatior on a Short Sale that was listed with another agent. I am representing the buyer on this property, not the seller. In this case an attorney was negotiating the Short Sale. It was interesting because he told me there was a contract on the property. He than further told me that he hasn't heard from the buyer in about 4 months so he wasn't sure if the contract was still valid. I couldn't figure out what could have kept this negotiator/attorney so busy that he couldn't have called the buyers agent to update or get some feedback from them on the status of the buyers. I tell you this because you need to know there is much more to successfully executing a Short Sale outside the typical marketing, getting a contract, negotiating/mitigating and processing the information. Without proper communication you will lose your buyer and all that work would have been for nothing. Sometimes a quick phone call to let them know you don't have any information can go along way for building a buyers confidence because they know your working on it.

If your looking for a true Certified Short Sale Expert than I can help you. Do your research and feel free to contact me for any questions you might have. I look forward to hearing from you.

You can also visit this website for more information.

Raymond Kennedy - Certified Short Sale Expert - RE/MAX TEAM 2000 - (708) 364-5523 -info@SayRay.net

Illinois Short Sales, Illinois Short Sale, Stop Foreclosure In Illinois, Illinois Loan Modifications, Learn All Your Options, Illinois Short Sale Expert, Illinois Short Sale Specialist, Illinois Short Sale Agent, Illinois Short Sale Realtor, Mitigation Companies, Illinois Short Sale Attorney, No Bankruptcy, Short Sale My Home, Short Sales in Illinois, Foreclosure Expert, Learn All My Options, Foreclosure Options, Obama Stimulus Package, What Is A Short Sale, How To Stop Foreclosure On My Home.