Archive for the 'Illinois' Category

A portion of the Woodstock Station housing development project in Illinois is facing public foreclosure home auctions. The undeveloped portion of the project has been foreclosed by the Barrington Bank.

The Woodstock Station project occupies about two city blocks. The site of the project was the former Woodstock Die Cast which became a part of a major Woodstock city redevelopment plan.

The project includes about 59 row houses or town houses, 60,000 square feet commercial center and nearly 200 condominium units. However, Barrington Bank decided to foreclose on the property before it was fully developed and placed it on foreclosure home auctions. During the foreclosure, 10 of the town houses were already constructed, of which 8 were finished and occupied.

The housing project was developed by Hummel Group’s Bob Hummel. The undeveloped portion that was foreclosed upon is scheduled to be auctioned off at the Sheriff’s Office in McHenry County.

According to industry experts, city officials want to see the whole site redeveloped as planned, adding that the local government has pledged to cooperate with whoever will buy the property for the immediate completion of the project.

Furthermore, the local officials have made a commitment to retain the architectural and development requirements of the project, regardless of who will buy it. The city of Woodstock was the previous owner of the property before Hummel took over for $500,000.

According to industry experts, a foreclosure judgment amounting to $4.725 million was issued early this year. Out of the total judgment, the principal amounted to $4.3 million, $329,000 for interest, $60,000 for taxes and $5,198 for late charges.

The property is bordered on the north by First Street, on the east portion by Clay Street, on the south by Newell Street and on the west by railroad tracks. But the area was known for its die casting business.

The city got hold of the foreclosed property through water liens after the die casting operation vacated the property. Before any development could be made on the property, the city had to do some land cleanup in compliance with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency policy. The city also decided to purchase three neighboring properties to include in the redevelopment project.

Industry experts said that the undeveloped portion of the project that has been placed on foreclosure home auctions is just waiting for its new owners to continue the development that has already been started.

An outreach program has been launched to help distressed homeowners in Chicago, Illinois avoid bank foreclosed homes. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced the outreach program which will provide guidance to homeowners in danger of foreclosures who want to apply for the Making Home Affordable Program.

The Obama Administration’s loan modification program aims to help distressed homeowners remain in their properties by altering their mortgages into affordable payment terms.

According to a press release from Governor Quinn’s office, Chicago distressed homeowners will have an opportunity to receive financial counseling for free at the Cicero Community Center on August 29.

The Keep Your Home program will be manned by real estate lawyers who will offer their services for free and housing counselors certified by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD). They will help review documents that will be submitted by distressed homeowners on site to evaluate if the borrowers qualify for reduce mortgage payments under the federal modification program.

Borrowers who may qualify to receive lower loan payments must be behind on their mortgage payments, primary owners of the one-to-four room property, should owe no more than or equal to $729,750 on single-family houses, have loans originated on or before December 31, 2008 and have an income enough to pay the monthly mortgages.

Homeowners who are interested to avail of the loan modification program are required to bring and submit several documents, including proof of income, pay stubs of the most recent mortgage payments, recent tax return, recent first and second loan statements, updated bank statements, credit cards, car loans or student loans, monthly payments on other debts such as property taxes, homeowner’s association fees, homeowners insurance, recent utility bill and for self-employed, a profit-loss state.

The Illinois Housing and Development Agency (IHDA) has partnered with the Chicago Community Trust, Attorney’s Title Guaranty Fund, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and West Suburban Communities to present the outreach program.

Early this year, Quinn signed the Homeowner Protection Act, a law that provides a 90-day grace period on foreclosures for distressed homeowners who avail of housing counseling. Homeowners who qualify for loan modification during the event will see their applications completed and sent immediately to loan servicers.

Homeowners can expect their mortgage payments to be lowered to not more than 31 percent of their gross monthly income.

The number of repo properties in Illinois surged to another record level in June as the area’s unemployment rate reached its peak in May after two decades. After witnessing a drop in the number of foreclosed homes in May, foreclosure rates swung back up last month.

In June, 77 repo properties were reported in Madison County, compared with 41 in May. Meanwhile, Saint Clair County posted 94 foreclosures filings, a whopping increase from the 26 reported in May. In Monroe County, 8 foreclosures were recorded, a slight increase from the five foreclosures reported in May.

In the first quarter of this year, both Madison and Saint Clair counties posted a large increase in the number of foreclosure properties. For March, Madison County’s foreclosure rates reached 145 while Saint Clair went higher with 163. For April, the number of repo properties in both counties dropped with 51 in Madison and 39 in Saint Clair.

Real estate experts said that the drastic increase in foreclosures in Southern Nevada is a reflection of the current condition of the local housing market. Some experts expressed their disappointment over the June figures, adding that the rise in numbers is disturbing but not surprising given the drastic increase also in the unemployment rate.

According to the latest data, the region’s unemployment rate reached its peak level in May, the highest in almost two decades. Data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security showed that unemployment rate in the metro-east region consisting of eight counties peaked by 8.2 percent.

The figures represented a 22-year high for May since 1987 when unemployment rate was recorded to be almost 9.1 percent. Last May’s numbers were still higher from the April unemployment rate of 7.7 percent and 6.2 percent in May the previous year.

In Saint Clair County, unemployment rate inched up by 8.5 percent in May 2009 from 6.9 percent in May 2008. Meanwhile, jobless rate in Madison County reached 8.5 percent from 5.9 percent.

Statewide, foreclosure filings in the first quarter reached 41,296, representing a 19 percent rise from the fourth quarter of 2008 and 111 percent higher than the first quarter of 2008. One out of every 27 houses is repo properties during the first quarter of this year.

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