Selling it II

Yes, it’s what you think it is…a listing photo.
To add insult to injury, the agent remarks say,
THIS ONE WON’T LAST LONG SO COME OUT, SHOW, AND SELL.
Market time is 136 days, and counting.
Sellers, if you list your home with a Realtor, insist on reviewing the marketing materials after the listing goes into the MLS. [...]

HUD listings provide transparency

HUD homes are foreclosed FHA loans. Over the years when foreclosures were rare, HUD homes weren’t much of a bargain. Even today, HUD foreclosures are not too common. One reason is that FHA mortgages did not fall prey to the subprime lender fiasco, since FHA has strict guidelines.
Second, during the past few years the volume [...]

Selling it

I’m a visual type of guy, and presentation is important to me. So when I see a home that appears to be sinking into the ground (it is not), I wonder…how could the listing agent allow this picture to appear in the MLS?
I bet the client is thinking, “I could do better.” And he’s right!

1124 Leith Avenue, Waukegan

 This 4-bedroom, 1 bath, Cape Cod was recently purchased for $98,512. It has central air, a 2 car garage and a fenced back yard that backs up to a school. Built in 1954.
The buyer put $5,800 into the property in repairs and improvements and has it rented for $1,200 per month!!!
My client was very [...]

53 S. Lewis, Waukegan

My client closed on this purchase last week. It’s a 4-bedroom, one bath home with two-car garage. Price was $85,000 or $65.74 per sq. ft. Built in 1923, the home needs surprisingly little work. (That pine tree has to go!)
This was a good deal; the previous owner paid $145,000 in 2003.
I’ve invited my client to post [...]

612 Chestnut, Waukegan

A two-bedroom, one bath home built in 1918, it is just too old and decrepit to be an attractive investment. It is seriously overpriced today at $119,000. But I can’t imagine any price that would make this a good buy. More photos here.

323 S. Lake, Mundelein

Worth a look, right? The previous owner took a 2004 mortgage for $150,000; property went to auction in 2007. It’s a 2-3 bedroom, 2-bath brick ranch with full basement and single-car garage.
Purchased at auction by a Colorado investment company, I suspect it was bought sight-unseen. View these photos and tell me if you agree. I’d estimate [...]

Before: 210 Washington Park, Waukegan

It’s hard to sell a black house! My client picked this up for $65,500 ($68.02 per sq. ft.) and closed today. It’s a one-story structure with two bedrooms, two baths, a huge deck and two-car garage.
Of course it needs work. The photo above, and other photos you can view here, are all “before” pictures. I’ll [...]

Lake County Assessments

The Lake County Assessor has a very informative web site that gets better every day; you can search by address or Parcel Identification Number (PIN).
The site is not limited to assessment information; you can find square footage, sales information, even year-built. More and more records include a property photo.
 Here’s the link. I have also added this [...]

Analyzing your potential investment

Many sophisticated investment analysis programs are available, but sometimes that is overkill.
We have an Excel spreadsheet available for download that will help you analyze your investment. It is easy to work with, can be reused again and again, and it’s free!
Click to download.