Real Estate info- buying, selling and everything in between: April 2009

In March the guidelines were released that explained in detail what President Obama's initiative means to folks who need the assistance.

This program is designed to help homeowners stay in their home through refinancing or loan modifications as opposed to being forced into a short sale situation or worse...foreclosure.

How to qualify:

You need to owe between 80%-105% of your mortgage.

Your loan must be backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, many people have no idea.  If you don't you can 1-800-7FANNIE or 1-800-FREDDIE to find out.

You must have a conforming loan.  This can mean different things around the country but around here it means a loan under  $417,000

for full details visit www.makinghomeaffordable.gov

Email us for a list of approved local lenders to help get you rolling. 

For the most current local Real Estate Info for the  O'Fallon IL area visit us at

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Got your attention?

Much has been written and discussed about this issue. For that reason I shall keep this short and sweet.

As most of you know property/Real Estate taxes in O'Fallon IL (actually all of  St. Clair County IL) are a bit convoluted.  We constantly get email and phone calls with questions requesting assistance in appealing property taxes.  So let's take a look first at why/if you might have a legitimate appeal. Below are the two most common issues we have been seeing.

•1.)    Is the assessor's value higher than the actual market value of your home?  Or, does the county think your home is worth more than you could sell it for?  If you don't know just ask here.

•2.)    Is the assessed value higher than those of similar homes in the neighborhood or area?  Or, is your neighbor 3 doors down with the exact same house paying more/ less than you?  Yes, this does in fact happen.  Once again if you don't know just ask here.

Next we will look into what to do if the answer to either one of the above questions happens to be YES. 

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW APRIL 7!

First quarter Real Estate Market Conditions Update for O'Fallon IL 2009.

50 homes closed in the first quarter of 2009 in O'Fallon IL. Of these 41 were pre-owned or re-sale homes and 9 of them were new construction.

Re-sale (41) homes averaged a $159,468 sales price and were on the market an average of 122 days. New Construction (9) homes had an average sales price of $239,412 and were on the market an average of 153 days.

A look back over the last 4 years paints the picture:

The good news:

There is a fantastic inventory (266) of homes in all price ranges.  Interest rates are at historic lows, and home prices are very competitive.  Home loan applications are up and the prime months are right around the corner.