If your Plainfield IL home is in foreclosure… don’t leave!!!  You may have up to a year (or longer) from the time you miss your first payment before you need to leave your home.  Illinois is a judicial state in which the lender must actually use the court system to sue you to take back their collateral. The process takes between 5-18 months depending on the lender.

Here’s why you don’t want to abandon your property after you’ve only missed 1 or 2 payments:

• The lenders are overwhelmed with foreclosures right now.  They don’t know what to do with the inventory of homes they are taking back from the borrowers.  Lenders like Bank of America (which took over all of Countrywide’s loans in an aquisition) and Wells Fargo have so many loans in default that many are taking longer than usual to process which means you have more time in the house before the house is sold at auction.
• The lender can file a deficiency judgment against you. The difference between what you owe and what the house sold for either through a short sale or at the auction.  The longer the house is vacant, the higher the likelihood it can become damaged from things like vandalism and broken water pipes.  If the lender loses part of the value it could have claimed through a sale, they may decide to hold you liable through filing a deficiency judgment.
• You aren’t paying the mortgage.  While this sounds like a completely wrong reason for staying in your home, you should be taking this opportunity to save all the money you can for when you do need to move. Most likely you will need to have an increased (often double) security deposit on any rental you’re going to move into.
• You can always do a short sale!  Selling your home for less that what you owe, with the lenders permission, is the best win-win solution to the problem of the foreclosure.  You are and the lender are both informed of what is going on behind the scenes.  The lender is aware of the condition of the property, as well a your intent.  You are aware of the banks time-line and you can steer the final outcome of the conditions of the sale in your favor in many cases.  Credit recovery with a short sale happens much more quickly than with a foreclosure.
• Homes that are occupied and taken care of always sell for more than vacant homes.

I can help you maximize your options in taking control of your foreclosure situation.  If you, or someone you know, are in foreclosure… call me at 630-673-6233 to discuss ways to direct the process in your favor.  I have references available upon request from sellers I’ve helped in foreclosure that I’d be happy to share at our first meeting.

Julie Ferenzi | Realtor®
Plainfield IL Homes for Sale
630-673-6233