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�� IN THE NEWS Illinois rank: 5 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate december 2012 3.10% Unemployment Rate 5.66% 8.7% year ago 3.38% 6.98% 9.7% Illinois Allows Lenders to Fast-Track Foreclosures for Abandoned Homes percent point change -8.2% -18.8% -10.3% Top County Logan CounTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate december 2012 3.43% 9.28% year ago 3.64% 14.26% percent point change -5.8% -34.9% Top Core-Based Statistical area 90+ Day Delinquency Rate LInCoLn, IL Foreclosure Rate december 2012 3.43% 9.28% year ago 3.64% 14.26% percent point change -5.8% -34.9% note: The 90+ Day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are 90plus days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the December 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary December 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. Illinois Angela Robinson REO Team Leader A Division of Elite Properties Chicago 100 Saunders, Suite 150 Lake Forest, IL 60045 847.714.4457 (c) ar@reoelite.com www.reoelite.com KNOW THIS One in every 375 Illinois housing units had a foreclosure filing in January 2013, according to RealtyTrac. As states across the country continue to struggle with lengthy foreclosure timelines, Illinois took a momentous step to shorten its foreclosure process. A new Illinois state law that allows servicers to fast-track the foreclosure process on certain properties has the potential to shorten a two-year process to between 90 and 180 days. The bill, which took almost as long to pass as Illinois��� former foreclosure process, received Illinois Governor Pat Quinn���s signature, February 8. ���This law will help restore neighborhoods and property values while fighting crime and blight by decreasing the time a home sits empty and getting it back on the market quickly,��� Quinn said at the passing of the bill. ���It also allows us to make major investments to keep families in their homes by preventing foreclosures in the first place,��� Quinn added. Abandoned single-family homes and empty multi-family properties are eligible for fast-tracked foreclosures under the new law. Lenders must comply with certain notice requirements, and a judge must verify the property is vacant to proceed. ���Abandoned homes bring down property values, function as safe houses for criminals, and discourage the economic growth conditions our communities need to recover,��� said Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), one of the local lawmakers who sponsored the bill. In addition to fast-tracking foreclosures, Senate Bill 16 aims to prevent foreclosure by directing funds to two state programs��� the Foreclosure Prevention Fund and the Abandoned Property Municipality Relief Program. Foreclosure filing fees paid by banks initiating foreclosures will flow into these two programs in order to provide foreclosure prevention efforts, such as housing counseling, and to deal with abandoned properties currently weighing on local neighborhoods. Under the new law, foreclosure filing fees vary for banks depending on how many foreclosures they file each year. Those filing more than 175 foreclosures must pay $500 per filing. Those filing between 50 and 175 foreclosures VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM will pay $250, and those filing less than 50 foreclosures will pay $50 per foreclosure. Quinn expects the state will acquire more than $120 million from foreclosure filing fees over the next three years. This will allow the state to disperse about $28 million to maintain abandoned properties and about $13 million to housing counseling efforts. ���For too long our broken foreclosure system has burdened communities with abandoned homes and been a drag on our economy, but now we can get to work turning these properties from problems into solutions,��� said Karen Yarbrough, the original House sponsor for the bill and the current Cook County Recorder of Deeds. ���The provisions in this law to help families avoid foreclosure will also play a big role in the housing recovery, and I���m proud to see it signed into law,��� Yarbrough said. STAT INSIGHT Total home sales in Illinois from December 2011 to December 2012. Source: CoreLogic Driven by the inDustry, for the inDustry Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com. 89