Well all the hard work paid off and last Sunday (June 1st) we hosted the 1st ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tour, the 1st for the Joliet, IL area.

I would like to thank all those who participated (as seen in the pictures below):

Our preferred vendors: the BrickKicker Home Inspections, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, & Attorney John F. Klunk. My fellow CFTers: Christine Ruzich, Ryan Behrens, & Heidi Lawless.

But most of all I would like to thank those "prospective foreclosure buyers" who attended our first tour. I hope that we repaid the faith that you placed in us, by not only touring great properties (some real bargains), but by imparting some knowledge about the world of foreclosed properties that you may not have had prior to the tour.

Getting on board the 1st Foreclosure Tour of Joliet, Il area.

Attorney John Klunk talks foreclosures.

Touring 1 of 7 Featured Properties.

1st Group, 1st Foreclosure Tour of Joliet area.

ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours is pleased to announce the addition of two affiliate partners to our team:

The BrickKicker Home Inspections is now the exclusive home inspection service for ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours:

The BrickKicker was founded in Naperville, Illinois in 1989 with the goal of offering homebuyers and sellers with professional, and timely home inspections. The BrickKicker's mission of providing professional, quality home inspections and helping people achieve their dreams intelligently has become a tradition among those who are part of the nationally recognized franchise network.

Today, 16 years later, as a result of being a national franchise, we have been pleased to consult with thousands of homebuyers and sellers across the country. We remain committed to the simple ideals of responsive service, quality work and dedicated professional attention. So whether you live in the West, the Southeast, the NorthEast or Mid-America . . . your local The BrickKicker operator will offer you a trusted, professional consultation of your property.

www.BrickKicker.com

Attorney John F. Klunk of Lockport has joined ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours to provide an expert perspective on the legal aspect of finacially distressed homes:

Education:

• John accomplished his Bachelors Degree of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
• He obtained his Masters in Social Justice from Lewis University, and achieved his Degree of Juris Doctor from John Marshal Law School.

Career:

• Veteran of the Chicago Police Department.
• John was admitted to the Bar in 1985.
• He then started his career in law as a Criminal Defense Attorney in Chicago in 1985.
• He later moved his office to Will County in 1990.

www.klunklaw.com

Here's a thumbnail of the flyer advertising our upcoming tour on June 1st:

Click on this link for a printable (8.5"x11") flyer as a PDF file.

We are proud to announce that Wells Fargo Home Mortgage® has agreed to join ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours as our Exclusive Lending Partner, with Dale Noble as our Home Mortgage Consultant.

• We are the nation's leading retail mortgage lender¹, providing funding for one out of every 16 homes financed in the United States.
• The majority of the Fortune 100 companies conduct their employee relocation business with us.
• Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is the nation's leading lender to buyers of newly constructed homes.²
• We are a leading provider of jumbo mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), as well as the nation’s leading retail originator of reverse mortgages.
• Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has one of the most diverse and extensive product lines in the industry.

ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours is excited to announce two additions to our team.

Ryan Behrens is a RE/MAX Pinnacle Realtor® who is an expert in HUD & Bank REO sales. Ryan was a member of the Gersch Team at RE/MAX of Joliet and is the co-listing agent of all HUD properties in Will & Grundy Counties, IL.

Heidi Lawless recently joined RE/MAX Pinnacle as a Realtor® after owning and operating a gymnastic school in Morris, IL for 10 years. Heidi was raised and currently resides in Morris, and brings a wealth of contacts and knowledge of Grundy County.

Well its official, ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours is rolling out our first foreclosure tour on June 1st (we originally had it planned for May 31st but had a scheduling conflict with the charter company). Here's the ad copy that we are running in the Morris Daily Herald the next 2 Fridays (also look for it in the SouthWest Herald):

Then a nice big 11.625" x 2.5" banner ad the next 2 Sundays in the Joliet Herald News (reduced to fit this post):

Hope to see you on the bus! Call 815.725.8400 if you want more info.

When I came up with the concept for ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours, the thought crossed my mind that some might view the project as well…ghoulish. Of course, we won't be busting in on financially distressed homeowners; we are going to be touring either vacant Bank REO properties or properties where the homeowner WANTS US there to prompt a short sale or pre-foreclosure transaction.

Nonetheless, when I was emailing a local news editor this morning, that ghoulish pang hit me again. That the perception of the tour by the general public might be that we were treading lightly about a subject, financially distressed homeowners, that has the nation in crisis and individual homeowners stressed.

That we fiddled while Rome is burning.

Certainly the "tour" is the most marketable (some might say salacious) portion of our business. It is a marketing angle to generate business. Guilty as charged. And we certainly are looking to make money for our clients and ourselves. Again guilty.

The flip-side is that we hope to help financially distressed homeowners. We want to make that short sale or pre-foreclosure deal so the homeowner can avoid a foreclosure on their credit. That they can escape the stress of the foreclosure process and get back to some modicum of normalcy.

Ideally, thru advertising and publicity of ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours, we also hope to reach some homeowner who is behind on their payments or has just been filed on. We can offer them our knowledge and expertise of the process and, just maybe, help them save their home (wouldn't that would be a great way to make a customer for life). We have added a page to our website so that distressed homeowners can contact us for help.

And while I'm not that narcissistic to believe that a couple of Realtors® can cure the housing crisis, I'd like to think that we at least showed up with a fire-hose.

We're kicking off our first tour at ChicagoLand Foreclosure Tours on May 31st and you're invited! Please visit our Sign Up page to reserve your spot on the tour. In the upcoming days, we will be releasing our tour area and start time on our blog, so check back for more details.

UPDATE: Our first tour is Sunday, June 1st from 1 to 4pm. Please use our signup form to register (we'll give you a call back to get your details) or call the office at (815) 725-8400 and ask for Chris or Tim.