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Q/A – How do you determine what foreclosures meet your program's guidelines? |
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Within reason we go throughout the Chicagoland area looking for foreclosures. They are everywhere -even in Naperville and Hinsdale and Lake Forest. Not every foreclosure meets our criteria, however.
When we look at a property the number one item we look at what the final monthly payment will be (including the escrows for the property taxes and homeowner’s insurance). We strive to keep our payments anywhere from a low of $1,400 per month to a high of $2,800 per month. We would go lower if we could, but we can’t meet our profit margins. Also, we don’t want to go any higher because it is harder to sell more expensive homes in this economic environment. So, this is our usual price range as it fits the price range of most home shoppers.
That payment described above is determined by what the property is worth and by what the taxes are on that property. We had a property in Homewood that we were selling for $240,000 with a monthly payment of $2,200. We also had a property in Vernon Hills that we were selling for $240,000 as well, but the payment was only $2,000. The difference was in the property taxes. The taxes on the Homewood home are much higher than the Vernon Hills home.
Profit margins are obviously very important as well as monthly payment. We make our money based upon what we sell a property for, minus our carrying costs, minus our rehab costs, and minus what we paid for it. So, if we have a property that looks like a good buy but we aren’t going to make any money on the deal we take a pass on it. Why risk $200,000 to make $2,000? It wouldn’t make sense.
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Q/A – Will you help me repair my credit? If so, how and how much? |
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There are times when we have someone that qualifies for our program on the income side, but not on the credit side. When that happens we offer our FREE credit mentoring services to the client.
We will work with those people that have had credit issues in the past and have shown a willingness to correct their past problems. If you are willing to help yourself, we are willing to help you!
When we pull your credit bureau not only will we look at your credit scores, but we will look at your credit history as well. We want to see that you have paid some of your bills on time. We want to see some items that if they did go bad, they were eventually paid off. We want to see your character.
Please note you are not charged for this service! It is FREE! We will make our money when your credit improves and you purchase one of our rent to own homes.
The only stipulation on this program is you may not occupy our homes until your scores are at least in the lower 600’s. To enter this repair program you need to have at least a credit score in the middle 500's.
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Q/A - What do you consider a rehabbed home? |
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At SuburbanRTOHomes.com we completely rehab and remodel all our homes. This is almost verbatim what I tell all our applicants. But what does this really mean?
*We remodel the kitchens and the bathrooms. We pull out the old and put in the new. We use new cabinets, new countertops, new stainless steel appliances, new ceramic tile flooring, new vanities and toilets – the works.
*We re-floor the entire home. Whether we are re-carpeting or putting in hardwood floors (many times it’s your choice) we re-floor the entire home.
Whether we are re-carpeting or putting in hardwood floors (many times it’s your choice) we re-floor the entire home.
*We re-paint the entire home. I know it seems obvious, but yes we repaint the entire home.
I know it seems obvious, but yes we repaint the entire home.
Other items we check are the roof, the heating and air conditioning, the plumbing and electrical – pretty much everything. If the remaining economic life is under 10 years – it’s replaced. If it’s over 10 years – it stays. Permits are pulled on all our homes, and after the work is done we hire a licensed home inspector to make sure we didn’t miss anything. We even pay for a home warranty for you at the mortgage closing.
Please check out our work in the Sold Homes section of the website. For interior photos, click on the picture of the home.
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Q/A - How Do I Qualify For Your Program? |
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We get asked this a lot.
1. We look for a complete application. If it isn't complete, we have no idea if we can help you.
2. We look for a minimum income on the application of $40,000 gross (if you are self employed, enter the average of your net income over the last two years with filed tax returns). Why $40,000 you ask? Because a $40,000 income is the absolute lowest amount (assuming no other bill payments like car, student loans, etc) that an individual can earn and still make a $1,400 housing payment comfortably.
3. We look for credit scores in the high 500's to low 600's to enter our program. If an individual has a 400 credit score, we don't want them. We can't help them. We aren't looking for perfect credit people, but at the same time we aren't looking for horrible credit people either. We are looking for the average Jane and Joe. That's all. Don't get me wrong, we help perfect credit people as well, it's just that they usually have their down payment money already and don't need our program.
To summarize we need a complete application, average income, and average credit.
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In Today's Housing Market Cash is King |
Cash is king in today's housing market. Think about it. If there are two offers on the table for the exact same price and terms, and one of those offers is cash and the other offer is a loan - cash wins no questions asked. That shouldn't come to a shock to anyone out there. Banks are the bulk of the home sellers in today's real estate environment and they need cash.
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Read more...
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Rent To Own Blog 
