Is it easy to buy a forclosure property? (Chicago, Naperville: short sales, foreclosures) - Chicago Suburbs - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

justnice · 03-05-2010, 07:59 PM

How easy or difficult is it to purchase a house under forclosure? Work with a realtor, make on offer, wait to find out if the offer was accepted or rejected?
Does the process take a long time? Thanks in advance.

ajolotl · 03-05-2010, 08:01 PM

In general, or specifically in one of the Chicago suburbs?

justnice · 03-05-2010, 08:02 PM

Suburbs like Naperville, Park Ridge, Orland Park, Lemont. Thanks

jamaicabound60565 · 03-05-2010, 11:07 PM

I just recently bought a foreclosure in oen of the areas you mentioned, it was my first home purchase so the whole process was new to me but things well faily smoothly.

Stay away from short sales, you'll wait months and never hear anything back or the place will get taken off the market for no apparent reason. Foreclosures providing its not a bidding war you will gernerally hear back in a couple days I think, I was told 24-48 hours and heard back in less than a day.

Expect a hitch or two along the way but I hear thats common with any sale. Foreclosures seem to have some extra rules and things that can get in the way. Your settlement statement and the banks must be signed the same day. Mine happened on a holiday weekend so I wound up having to go sign papers 4 times because they kept signing a day or two after me which wouldnt work because of some gov rules. Anyhow, my closing was on hold for a week or so things closed fine and that was the only bump in the road.

If you like pm me, I was very happy with my mortgage guy and my realtor and they made the process really easy, they work together often so they handled everything and it wasnt me running back and forth relaying messages from mortgage guy to realtor and vice versa.

Good luck

Melzie5 · 03-06-2010, 01:55 AM

Yea, it's not really foreclosures that cause the extended process, but the short sales that will give you grief. The only thing with foreclosures is that there could be some nasty hidden gems and the lawn is most likely shot. Just be sure to get a good home inspection. In those areas you might be looking at some homes that were unfinished, either new or an attempt to remodel, so make sure all the permits are legit especially if the remodel was done by the owners. The home inspection should clear all of those questions up for you, but there shouldn't be too many snags in purchasing other than that, short sales are much worse from a buyer's perspective. Good luck!

jamaicabound60565 · 03-06-2010, 08:52 AM

I had a comment and also a quick question if there's any realtors on here.

My comment was for the person who posed this question, if you don't have a family needing to move in right away dont be scared off by the condition of some homes. I saw some short sales nad foreclosures that wree really beat up and some pretty gross.

As long as you get an inspection and there's no mold, plumbing and electric is in order, etc dont be scared off. Alot of places are just cosmetic fixes a little new drywall, hit some walls with kills and repaint, flooring, etc.

My question is this. I have been told so mcuh different stuff by so many different realtors until I found the realtor I used but if your doing an FHA loan how strict is the inspection process? I had some people tell me if there's anything wrong even as minor as a broken screen your loan wont get approved until its fixed, I've also heard if theres not at least a fridge and stove they wont approve your loan. Then I've heard from others that there's nothing like this and they have sold homes to fha buyers with no floors in the homes.

Personallly on many issues I got mixed messages when taking to diff mortgage people and realtors. Anyone know the real scoop?

knitgirl · 03-06-2010, 10:02 AM

yes, FHA is strict, especially on stuff like peeling paint and GFI outlets in the bathrooms and kitchen. They also require a termite inspection, sometimes a roof inspection.

jamaicabound60565 · 03-06-2010, 11:05 AM

Thats kind of what I mean, I hear so many different things, my home had no gfi outlets in the kitchen or bathroom, furnace wasnt working, didnt have to have termite inspection, didnt have flooring in kitchen, cracked concrete walkway, etc.

This is all easy fixes I can do myself and I did fix all these things in less than a days worth of work and I wound up getting my loan without these things being an issue but I had heard some people say even soemthing as small as an outlet without a cover, non working stove, etc could blow the deal.

TempesT68 · 03-08-2010, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamaicabound60565

Thats kind of what I mean, I hear so many different things, my home had no gfi outlets in the kitchen or bathroom, furnace wasnt working, didnt have to have termite inspection, didnt have flooring in kitchen, cracked concrete walkway, etc.

This is all easy fixes I can do myself and I did fix all these things in less than a days worth of work and I wound up getting my loan without these things being an issue but I had heard some people say even soemthing as small as an outlet without a cover, non working stove, etc could blow the deal.

FHA is very anal with everything and pretty much strip search the house making sure everything is perfect. My old property i sold had an FHA buyer and with the inspection they were raising hell over an outlet cover that had a corner missing, with to the extent "warning! extreme heath risk, possible fatal issue!" on the inspection. Also going as far as the furnace and a/c needs to heat/cool a certain percentage per minute / hour to pass, regardless if it worked to the set temperatures, only if it did it in their regulation.
I simply replaced the 20 cent outlet cover and FHA let the rest go through, on a foreclosure i'm sure it would be very difficult to get an FHA loan.

Otherwise forclosures can be a great investment and now is the time to do so. Many loan companies may not touch one, but if you have established credit it may be feasible. Ideally it's best to purchase cash if you can.
Also as mentioned stay away from short sales. Once they are in full foreclosure and with the market piled with them, you can pick up a foreclosure for a song. Also keep in mind most likely it will be trashed inside / out, missing all appliances,..etc. If you are not afraid to get your hands dirty, (or hire someone else to) you'll be set to go!

GolfLover2 · 03-08-2010, 06:01 PM

They can be ... so it is especially important to have an agent working for you that is well-educated and has experience and expertise within the foreclosure market and area you are interested in. Expect that there will be issues to be resolved and have patience. If you do your homework and work with a foreclosure professional, you will lessen the possibility of frustration and increase your chances for success. Take the time ... do the preparation ... seek professionals to guide you.