PETE CIACCIO - REALTOR

Extraordinary Home /Great Wooded Setting

• 3,025 sq. ft., 4 bath, 4 bdrm ranch "OPEN AND WELL LIT" - MLS® $589,900 - Almost totally upgraded

Oak Valley, Southeast Homer Glen 12829 W. Oak Ct. -  Exquisite 3,025 sq. ft. all brick, maintenance free, ranch home in the very scenic heavily wooded Oak Valley subdivision. The back yard features a paver patio, 3 decks, Koi pond , outdoor lighting and a gas grill. The entire lot is professionally landscaped with lawn and garden sprinklers. Pulling up the driveway you are welcomed by the leaded glass double entry doors. Inside the roomy foyer, you will notice the abundance of windows, open floor plan, vaulted & beamed ceilings and recessed lighting. Stepping into the Kitchen you will discover the top of the line appliances like Dacor, Subzero, Bosch, KitchenAid and a gorgeous center island with granite surface. The kitchen is open to a beautiful Sunroom with a wall of windows and 6 Velux skylights. A first floor laundry room here is a definite plus. Bedrooms are all nice sized with the Master having it own bath and a walkin closet. Relaxing in the Family Room will be a family favorite, enjoy the brick fireplace, the oak cocktail area or the novel “ streetside café” scene there.
On the lower level you will discover the 8’ deep basement has been beautifully finished with a inviting masonry wet bar, recreation area with pool table, a massive brick fireplace, a 100+ gal. heated spa, workroom and tons of storage space. No doubt you will be impressed with the quality of the upgrades and workmanship in this outstanding home. List of amenities goes on and on, come see for yourself. Rates a 10+ !

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3426 TOTAL SQ. FT. ON 2 LEVELS

• 3,426 sq. ft. commercial "CURRENT USE IS MEDICAL" - MLS® $449,000 - 2 YEAR OLD OFFICE CONDO

Southeast Homer Glen, Homer Glen  -  Wonderful 2 year old office condo. 1,713 sq. ft. on main level and another 1,713 sq. ft. on the finished lower level. Professionally done, the current build-out is for medical offices. Main level has 4 exam rooms, 2 nurses stations, reception area & 2 bathrooms. Lower level has 2 offices, 1 archive room, lunchroom / kitchenette & 1 bathroom. Modern brick professional building located in fast growing Homer Glen.

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Northeast Homer Glen, Homer Glen  -  The single story at 14828 W. 147 ST. has been SOLD.

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Orland Park, Cook County  -  Announcing a price reduction on 14025 Fermoy Ave., a 4,265 sq. ft., 5 bath, 6 bdrm 2 story "Open floor plan". Now MLS® $849,900 - PRICED BELOW MARKET.

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Lots of updates

• 2 bath, 3 bdrm bi-level "All appliances stay" - MLS® $198,000 - Great Price!

Oak Forest, Cook County  -  Terrific 3 bedroom, 2 full bath bi-level in a peaceful Oak Forest neighborhood. Upper level has 3 nice size bedrooms, two of which have new Hunter ceiling fans, and a completely remodeled bath. Main level has a spacious living room with newer carpet, a totally remodeled kitchen with access to a lovely deck and a fenced in yard for the kids. All this plus a finished basement. Must see ! Don’t wait til its gone.

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A reprint of an interesting article of which I was a contributor. As it appeared in the Chicago Tribune on June 13, 2008:

THE LOCAL SCENE BY MARY ELLEN PODMOLIK

          June 13, 2008

Well aware of the real estate's industry's plight, prospective home buyers frequently are asking their agents just how far below a listing price they can bid.

The resounding answer from local real estate professionals might surprise some. Despite a stalled housing market and suffering area home values, lowball offers continue to draw frowns and counter-offers, or downright rejections, from sellers.

There's no doubt that single-family home prices have declined here and elsewhere. The carefully watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices last month showed that in metropolitan Chicago, prices of existing single-family homes fell 10 percent between the first quarter of 2007 and this year's first three months.

But that doesn't mean that area sellers are ready to give away their abodes and here's why: Not everyone is desperate to sell their house and since the beginning of the year, many homeowners have taken the advice of agents they're working with and have become more reasonable when they set a listing price. Once they figure out the rock-bottom sum they need from the house, they aren't willing to go much lower.

"The sellers are offended," said Pete Ciaccio, of Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell in Homer Glen. "Their property has been on the market for a while. They've made a number of price reductions in most cases. They're down to their lowest point.

"Unfortunately, some buyers are still going from house to house to house, trying that lowball. And they are going nowhere. You can spot them. They tell [agents] they've been with a couple other Realtors. If they tell you they've been looking for a year and have made other offers, they're looking for that pie in the sky."

"We call a low offer a lowball but some of them are just plain stupid," said John Santo, vice president and managing broker of Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate in Libertyville. "There's probably a one in a 100 chance that you're going to get a lowball offer to fly."

Real estate agents say most homes are selling for at least 90 percent of the last listing price.

Even short-sale properties, homes sold by owners for less than the amount owed on a mortgage, are being sold for about 80 percent of the listing prices.

Buyers keen on making the very lowest offer that might be accepted have to do their homework.

The first step is to find out when the home last was sold.

What matters most to a seller, in addition to pocketing some cash, is paying off their mortgage. That means if the property was last sold only two to three years ago, a lowball offer is unrealistic and likely to be dismissed out of hand because the seller bought the house at the top of the market.

"If someone bought six years ago, you have a little more room to negotiate, but those people are stuck as much as everyone else," said Liz Sidorowicz at Re/Max Signature in Chicago. "Someone has equity in the property. Why would he give it all up because the market has turned?"

It also pays to find out why the home is being sold and how motivated the seller might be. A seller who has been transferred or faces personal issues might be more willing to deal. So might a seller who has been in the house a decade or more, and who will make a profit on the sale even at a reduced price.

Buyers also should determine the amount of outstanding debt and home equity lines of credit to get a sense of how low an offer could be to pay off the debt and leave the seller with something extra. Don't automatically equate a short sale or a foreclosed property with a lowball offer because both types of transactions have to be approved by lenders that are looking to get the best price for the home. Sidorowicz recently represented a bank on a foreclosed home that was in deteriorating condition and listed at $418,000. A potential buyer bid $106,370.53. The bank rejected the bid, reasoning that the home's prime location, alongside a North Shore golf course, made the value of the land higher than the bid.

"It's wishful thinking," she said. "We all want something for free."

The outcome on another foreclosure property she dealt with, a one-bedroom condominium in Elmood Park, is more typical of the market today. Listed at $110,000, below market value, a bidder offered $85,000. The bank rejected it. Another buyer offered $100,000, the bank made a counter-offer, and the foreclosed condo sold for $105,000.

Kathleen Weaver-Zech, director of buyer's agency services at Keller Williams Fox Realty in Chicago, said she has had buyers who have been getting good deals but when clients ask her how low they can go on a bid, she responds with a question of her own.

"I tell my buyers how much do you want this house and how much do you want a deal," she said. "There's a difference."

Country Woods, Southeast Homer Glen  -  Announcing a price reduction on 15347 Graceland Dr., a 3,200 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm 2 story "Bright and Open". Now MLS® $449,900 - Great Area - Great Price.

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