I remember the day that Orlando and Aminah were married. I have always admired them because they are young, hardworking, educated, and they don’t care what the Joneses do because they are focused on their plan. Buying a home and creating sweat equity for themselves was also a part of the plan.

We have been in a contract on three different properties in Bronzeville and we went to the closing table once. Every property came with its own set of issues not to mention city liens that the City of Chicago wasn’t willing to subordinate first lien position on which is why we didn’t close.

No matter what the obstacle my clients never gave up on their vision. Ironically with every property there came huge price reductions. The first property they were willing to spend $255k, the second property $202k, and finally the one they bought was $162k and the sellers paid 6% towards their closing cost. That is a major savings.  My clients will have to wait several months before they can move in due to the renovations but they will make it through that hurdle as well.

The current market will make the next set of millionaires. You don’t want to kick yourself in the butt because you set on the fence.

Some people believe that long gone are the days where you can walk into a property and have equity. Never make an assumption. I have a client that is 24 years old and last week she closed on a spacious single family home that comes with 40k in equity.

11229 S. Parnell in the Roseland area was an REO property that underwent numerous price reductions. I believe a lot of buyers viewed the third bedroom as being small. My client and I viewed it as the perfect home office with plenty of windows to bring in natural sun light.

It takes vision to succeed in the world of foreclosures, short sales, auctions and REO properties. I’m proud of my client because she took a calculated risk which will provide a beautiful home for her and her son. In addition it’s an excellent start to a college fund. Imagine if we all bought our first property at age 24 that came with equity.

All it takes is one property for you to start in the right direction. Now is an excellent time to buy. Call us at 773.454.0274

Coffee or Not, the Bronzeville Coffee house has become my favorite spot to meet with clients and discuss the abundance of REO properties in the area which if managed properly can turn into gold mines. Why? The Bronzeville Coffee House you ask. Well it’s located in the heart of some of the most sought after Single Family Homes, Multi Unit Buildings, and Condo’s. I’ve never had a problem with parking, and the muffins and smoothies are delicious.

I don’t really go for the coffee but, I do buy something because I use their storefront as a regular meeting spot to discuss and show (Free Wi-Fi) what’s HOT-Foreclosures. I love the facts that with a little sweat equity my buyers are making out like bandits. They say it’s a depreciating market but my buyers are amassing a 100k (+) in equity once they complete the renovations on the numerous properties they are acquiring.

Next week we will close on yet another 203(k) loan where my first-time home buyers will have a 135k in equity after they convert a foreclosed three unit brownstone into their single family dream home. Talk about happy clients.

Looking to Buy or Sell in the Bronzeville, North Kenwood, Oakland, Grand Boulevard, Woodlawn, or Hyde Park area my team is here waiting to serve you. Now is an excellent time to buy.

Stop complaining and get up off your butt and create a real estate legacy. For the past two days I’ve attended NAR EAH (Employer Assisted Housing) program. I’ve identified yet another niche in real estate that can lead to an endless supply of buyer leads. What a great idea to work with employers in the communities that you service to help them retain and aide their employees with home buyer incentive programs. There is generally more money available for under served communities which are plagued by foreclosures.

Last week I had the pleasure of closing a new construction condo with a fresh out of college single parent. My client is resourceful and wanted every first time homebuyer incentive available. I negotiate numerous upgrades that the developer provided at no additional cost. But the greatest benefit was the $23,000 in forgivable subsidies that my client received. First Chicago Public Schools gave $3,000 that will be forgiven in five years and the City of Chicago gave $20,000 that will be forgiven over four years. After attending NAR event I now know that some buyers are receiving up to $75,000 in buyer incentives. Instead of reading headlines on how bad the real estate market is, I plan on researching how much money is out there for my buyers seeing that you’re too busy complaining about the market. For those who practice real estate in Illinois our incentives are underutilized.

For more information copy and paste the link below:

http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/housing_opportunity/programs/home_from_work/take_a_home_from_work_class

Marki D. Lemons

National Trainer, Certified Residential Broker

CRB, CRS, CNE, QSC, SRES, ABR, ABRM, CRMS, MBA

Rubloff Residential Properties

773-454-0274 Cell

888-205-4615 Voice and Fax

www.markilemons.com

www.shortsaleresultsnow.com