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Health & Fitness

Wilmette, Winnetka and Kenilworth Foreclosed Homes: Are They Worth the Trouble?

Wilmette foreclosed homes, Winnetka and Kenilworth homes that have been foreclosed...are they worth the trouble?

Wilmette Homes that are sold as “bank-owned” or foreclosures have peaked during this past year. In the last 12 months, 13 Wilmette homes were bank-owned and sold. Eleven homes were sold as short sales, down from 15 the year before.

Kenilworth homes foreclosed are very rare. Only one has sold in the last year. Winnekta homes that are sold as foreclosed are also fairly rare. Five homes in Winnetka have sold as foreclosures over the past 12 months. There have also been seven short sales sold in Winnetka.

Like many places across the country, foreclosed homes were extremely rare in Wilmette, Winnetka and Kenilworth before the 2008 market crash. Even now a foreclosed home attracts a lot of attention when it becomes available on the North Shore. The question that is very important for any potential buyer to get an answer to is: is this (foreclosed) home a good deal?

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In some cases, homes sold as foreclosures are not great deals. Banks sometimes have bad appraisals, where the appraiser overvalued the property for some reason. They can make a mistake or are not familiar with the area. In other situations, the bank is a local bank and the board is not in the mood to sell quickly and below market values. They sometimes take their sweet time pricing homes correctly. In these types of  situations, it can clearly be a mistake to purchase the house.

The other factor can be timing and hassle. The banks sometimes take forever to get a firm answer from the decision maker. Things can drag on and sometimes fall through, even after the home is under contract. This also can be very time-consuming and exhausting process, especially with some of the larger banks. However, many of the homes sold by banks can be very solid deals, especially if you can get a discount below the regular market rate. These homes are usually worth the time and effort to buy them.

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Homes that have been taken over by the bank are usually much easier to buy, than those that are being sold as a short sale. The short sale involves the person that still owns the property, as opposed to simply dealing with the bank directly on a bank owned-home. The deal can be just as good, or sometimes better, with a short sale. However, the time spent and potential for the deal to fall through is much greater. 

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