As an Agent - Make Sure you ID a Short Sale Situation Up-front. Listing Agents Aren't Revealing it. Protect Buyer Clients Who Have a Timeline

Many homes that are for sale in various neighborhoods in the Chicago area, are not occupied anymore - and a number of them are pre-foreclosure or foreclosure properties. Others - will be short sale situations.

Homes that are currently occupied may be listed for a figure where the seller will come up short after paying off the principal balance of their loan(s).

If the seller can't cover the shortfall - it will be a short sale situation - meaning that the lender will have to pick up some of the shortfall.

It is important to note that many agents are not advertising that their listed property will be a short sale in the remarks section of the MLS sheet - because they don't want to dissuade a buyer from writing an offer on the property.

Short sale situations can drag on for quite some time - and many buyers have certain time-lines. Negotiations with the lender about how much of the deficiency the lender will pick up can take time.

If a buyer client wants to get into a home in the next 60 days - it might not happen if they are buying into a short sale situation.

So - it is important that the agent representing the buyer find out as soon as possible from the other side what the seller's equity is (which can sometimes be gleaned from the tax record) at the moment - and if there will be a short sale situation - and if so - how much -- so that the buyer isn't blindsided with delays.

As a rule of thumb - the larger the deficiency - the longer the negotiation can take with the lender.

With any short sale situation - we give the buyer "an out" in the contract - if the seller's short sale negotiations with the lender are not concluded within X days.

Our buyer client can then seek a deal elsewhere.

Another Article About The Buyers's Market

I enjoy reading various articles that supposedly knowledgeable journalists write - because there are usually quite a number of mistakes or gross generalizations in every article that need to be picked apart...

We agree - buy smart & buy cheap and read Ilyce Glink's

"100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask."



We don't agree that you should conduct preliminary research online at Web sites like Zillow.com, Trulia.com and greatschools.net -- these are pretty awful sites in general.
Zillow is extremely inacurrate. Trulia only has a small subset of homes in the MLS (very small subset).

And you won't need cash for your closing costs if you purchase a home through us. We have the seller pay for all of your closing costs.

By the way - there are MUCH better databases on schools than greatschools.net
(Something we provide our clients with..)

Just want to get a handle on what is out there? Email us at info@relocationadvisorsgroup.com and we'll set you up on a familiarization feed - of exactly what you are looking for (please be as specific as you can) -- from the ENTIRE MLS - not just a small sub-set of it.

Should you think about becoming a client at some point - we'll sit down with you in a mutal Q&A session to really explore your needs in greater depth.

Have a nice day :-)

Hilarious Parody of the Typical Real Estate Salesperson

This is pretty funny.....A parody of the typical Real Estate "salesperson"

It was apparently paid for by the Virginia Assn of Realtors to help "train" agents in the state not to be so sleezy...

In contrast - as Exclusive Buyer Agents - act as your trusted advisor, advocate, and personal Real Estate coach - guaranteeing you unbiased home showing and no dual agency conflicts of interest (since we are never on the seller's side and never list property for sale)

We tell you what is WRONG with a property - not "selling" you on it....so you don't have to worry that you are being "sold up a river"

I can't stand salespeople myself.....

That's why I do what I - consult - rather than "sell" a buyer something.

Unfortunately - many people fall for the slick sales type...

We don't SELL homes in the Chicago Illinois area - we help people buy them - with their eyes wide open...