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I’m sure there are lots of reasons why Plainfield and Naperville homeowners find it more appealing to try to sell their homes for sale by owner, and I’m sure the 4-7% commission that a Plainfield or Naperville Realtor would charge them for their service tops the list… but did you know that according to NAR, homes for sale by owner sell for 32% less than homes listed with a Realtor, on average?

Wow, even if you figure in a 5% commission from a Plainfield Realtor, homeowners are still losing about 27% of their homes equity anually by chosing to eliminate the professional services of an Illinois Realtor. Yikes, 27% is a lot of money on a $250,000 house! 

The median FSBO selling price in 2006 was $187,200, compared with $247,000 for agent-assisted transactions and in a faster amount of time.  That pretty much makes hiring a Realtor look like a pretty sweet bargain!

Here are some of the reasons For Sale By Owner homes sell for less money, in a longer amount of time:

• Sellers do not know the true value of their home.
  
• Limited exposure to Internet and tech-savvy buyers.
• Inexperience with negotiating the terms of a contract.
• Limited access to the price of competing home values.
• Limited access to closed home price comparables.
• Most buyers use a Realtor represent them when purchasing real estate and FSBO’s are often over-looked because the limited amount of information available about the homes statistics.

If you are on the fence about whether or not to hire a Realtor to represent you in the sale of your home, interview a few Plainfield or Naperville real estate agents and then decide if you have the time, effort, and energy to provide the same level of service for yourself than your Plainfield or Naperville Realtor will provide for you!

If you are a Plainfield or Naperville homeowner thinking about “For Sale By Owner” or have a property you are currently marketing on your own, it would be my pleasure to answer any questions you may have about the process.  Just give me a call at 630-673-6233.

Read also:

What Kind of Improvements Do I Need To Make My Plainfield or Naperville Home Sell?
Plainfield Home Values and How They Comparea Against the Housing Bubble
Testing the Market With A High Asking Price

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My husband and I moved here to Plainfield, IL almost 9 years ago.  There wasn’t much out here way back then, but over the years I’ve watched 2 lane dirt roads transform into virtual highways, and strip malls appear out of thin air!

I’ll admit, back in 1999 it was a bit of a culture shock to leave the only place I had ever called “home".  I grew up in Addison, IL exactly 25 minutes west of Chicago.  It wasn’t a metropolis, but compared to Plainfield circa 1999, it sure felt like it.  Now, 9 years later, Plainfield has become a settled and established community much to the likes of the neighboring cities of Naperville, Bolingbrook, Joliet and Aurora. 

Speaking from experience, the Plainfield elementary school my children attend has the most amazing staff. Not only do we have one of the greatest principals in the district, our teachers are some of the most involved and dedicated teachers I have ever met.  The parents who volunteer to run our school’s PTO never seem to run out of energy and are constantly working on ways to improve the educational experience for all of the students. We actually love our elementary school so much that when it was time for a bigger house we didn’t move far… we moved a whopping 7 blocks away! 

Shopping and dining are two of my favorite things to do here... (much to my husband’s dismay!) I actually love the Louis Joliet Mall because we have 4 kids, and it’s all on one level.  I don’t have to manuever two levels with a stroller!  It seems silly but believe me, it’s worth it every time you hear a little voice say, “I have to go potty! Nowwww!”

The best part is I am only about 5 minutes from both highways, I-55 and I-80.  I can be on Lakeshore Dr. in 40 minutes on the weekend and to the Brookfield Zoo in just under 30… and that’s without speeding :)  There’s also a Metra train station in Joliet that isn’t too far away. 

I really love my house, my new friends, and everything about living here in Plainfield.  We really made a great choice when we decided to raise our family here and this is the place my kids will always know as “home", and that makes me happy!

Read also: What Makes a House A Home?

Do you want to make Plainfield home for you and your family?  I know this town inside and out, and I can help you find the perfect home!  Call me at 630-673-6233.

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As you may have noticed I recently transferred real estate offices.  I joined RE/Max Professionals South in Plainfield, IL this week, and I know that it was not only the best choice for me, but also for my clients.

RE/Max is the industry leader in real estate and they also hold the market share in the Plainfield, Naperville and Shorewood, IL.  I chose RE/Max because of the brand recognition, and technology and support that they offer to their agents.  I was not only impressed with the office, but also by the brokers and staff the operate the office.  Rich Conte, Lisa Mulcahy, and Dan Persico welcomed me with open arms.  They were not only professional, but fun to be around.  I believe that energy is contagious and I wanted to be part of this from the second I set foot in the office on Renwick Rd.

There are 3 offices affiliated with our brokers: RE/Max Professionals Select in Naperville, IL, RE/Max Professionals South in Plainfield, IL, and RE/Max Pinnacle in Shorewood, IL. 

RE/Max not only offers the exposure that my clients expect, they also offers the professional service my clients deserve.  I have met many agents in the field over the years and I have always had a great experiences with all of the RE/Max agents in Plainfield that I have worked with in past transactions.

This is a smart move for me, and I know that my clients will continue to benefit from my relationship with RE/Max Professionals South for years to come! 

Now you can find me at:

RE/Max Professionals South
24014 W. Renwick Rd.
Plainfield, IL 60544
815-609-0100 Office
630-673-6233 Direct

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When you are in the market for a new Plainfield or Naperville home, don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from the owning a piece of the American Dream! Here are some answers to these common questions.  “Who does what… and when?”

• Your Plainfield or Naperville Realtor® will probably ask you to contact a mortgage lender or broker to get pre-approved.  This is important because the lender/broker will help determine the price range you can  afford based on your income.  A pre-approval letter will help validate your offer when you are ready to make one.  Contacting  an attorney and home inspector even before you are ready to make an offer will save you time later.

• You’ve taken a tour of several homes Plainfield and Naperville with your Realtor® and you’ve found your dream home.  Now it’s time to make an offer!

• After your offer is accepted, you’ll need to contact both your attorney and the home inspector to over-see the transaction.  The cost of the services of both professionals is anywhere from $250-$400 for an attorney and $250-$350 for a licensed home inspector.  The cost of the attorney can be included in the closing costs, but the home inspector will need to be paid for at the time that the services are rendered.

• After the attorney and and lender have the signed contract in hand, they will both “get to work” on your file.  The attorney will review the contract within the time allowed on the contract for attorney review (usually 5 days) and the lender will begin the process that leads up to underwriting your loan and have it approved on or before the loan commitment date.

• A copy of the home inspection report will be supplied to both you and your attorney, and any repairs or requests will be negotiated by the attorney’s on both sides of the transaction.  Necessary repairs will either be made or compensated for, or the buyer will have recourse to back out of the transaction provided that the inspection took place within the time-frame alloted by the contract.  It is then at the buyers discretion whether or not to proceed with the transaction, if the seller refuses to make any necessary
  repairs.

• A loan commitment must be provided by the date in the contract.  Providing timely financial information to your lender will ensure the execution of  a timely approval process in accordance with the contract for purchase.

• Once you have your loan commitment… Pack your bags!  It should be smooth sailing from here.  It looks like you’ve got yourself a new home!
  

I have worked with countless buyers over the last few years and this post answers the timeless questions regarding the responsibilities and obligations of both the buyers and sellers in any given transaction.  I love working with buyers because the excitement that comes from owning a new home is contageous!  Buyers looking for new home have an energy that can’t be beat.

If you’re looking for a new home in Plainfield or Naperville, IL I can help you find it!  Call me at 630-673-6233 to reserve you time with me to preview properties this weekend.

Read also: How to pay your Plainfield or Naperville House off Sooner!

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If you’ve been considering a purchasing a new construction home in Plainfield or Naperville it probably never even crossed your mind to use a Realtor, but using a Plainfield or Naperville Realtor to represent you will not only save you thousands of dollars, they will protect your best interest and work on your behalf.

When you buy a house from a builder and work with the sales agents in the office to write your contract, it’s important to keep in mind that they are not representing you in the transaction.  They are working for the builder and their obligation is to the builder.

This Spring I had the privilege of representing Wendy and Darrell Pratt on their new home purchase in the Regency Oaks subdivision by Kimball Hill Homes in Bartlett.  They had considered several areas and types of homes before their search finally brought them to Regency Oaks.  As they finalized their decision to build their new home in the subdivision, I contacted the builder for their requirements for beginning construction.  One of the requirements was 5% earnest money to be held by the builder until the house was completed. I had also noticed there were extreme incentives being offered by the builder to have buyers close by March 14th for all newly constructed inventory homes… hmmm.  The 14th of the month seemed like such a strange day of the month to close by.  I started to feel like something wasn’t quite right, so I decided to do a little cyber-sluething.

With the news of so many local builders filing for bankruptcy over the last few months I had my reasons to be concerned about having my clients lay down such a large amount of cash to be held in earnest by the builder.

A quick Google search confirmed my suspicions about an impending bankruptcy. 

My concern for my clients was that if they began the process of building with Kimball Hill Homes and the builder then filed for a Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 debt elimination, that my clients earnest money would be at lost and their home would never be completed. 

My point is that if Wendy and Darrell had walked into the sales office with the intent to purchase and build a home and write the contract with out buyers representation, they would never have been informed by the sales team of the very real possibility of a bankruptcy or that their earnest money could potentially be at stake. 

I questioned the sales office about the implications of a potential bankruptcy and they assured me that any bankruptcy would most likely be a Chapter 11 debt repayment plan, but I need more definitive answer than “most likely".  They needed to close these transactions prior the March 15th deadline for securing their debts to their investors in an attempt to avoid that situation. I even tried to amend the contract so that my office could hold the earnest money in escrow as a means to protect it, but Kimball Hill Homes would not allow for any modifications to any of their contracts.

Kimball Hill Homes was able to meet the March 15th deadline, but the extension expired on April 10th and the builder ultimately ended up filing for a Chapter 11 repayment plan on April 23rd. 

Well, all is well that ends well.  Wendy and Darrell still really loved the location and the neighborhood so they decided to take the builder up on their extreme incentives and purchase a beautiful brand new inventory home.  We closed on their new house on March 14th, 2008.

Going into it, no one knew how it was going to play out.  It was my job as their Realtor to inform them of the risk involved in the transaction, and it was then up to them to decide whether or not the risk fell within their comfort zone. 

Ultimately because the model that they wanted was available as an inventory home the Pratt’s were still able to get the house that they wanted without suffering any of the risk! 

You need to work with a Realtor that is always one step ahead of the game in a market like this.  We didn’t have to worry about things like this when the real estate market was booming 5 years ago, but unfortunately these issues are still part of the aftermath of the housing bubble. 

If you have questions about new home builders in the area or about using a Realtor for a new construction purchases, I’d be happy to answer them for you.  If you are one of the many buyers that has been affected by a recent builder bankruptcy, please leave a comment and tell us about it.