Matt Difanis & Lori Bellafiore, REALTORS®
One of REALTOR® Magazine's "30 Under 30" for 2004

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Matt Difanis, REALTOR®

C-U Area Community Guide

I've spent a great deal of time tracking down the links that appear on this page, and I'm confident that you'll find this directory one of the most comprehensive of its kind for the Champaign-Urbana area.  Having said that, I'm always eager to improve my site. Should you know of any appropriate resources or organizations that I have not yet included, please email me with the web addresses, so that I may add them to this page! I have provided this link directory as a courtesy to my site visitors, and I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the content of any of the sites listed here. One last request: Directories such as this one are nearly impossible to keep completely updated; please email me if you discover any dead or missing links, so that I may correct the problem.  Thanks for visiting!
 

LOCAL MORTGAGE LENDERS

SCHOOLS

GENERAL COMMUNITY WEB SITES

AREA MUSEUMS

REAL ESTATE LINKS: Consumer information and sites with home listings.

  • Online Mortgage Calculators: The link on the left will take you to a page of mortgage calculators on Summit First Financial's Web site.

  • Home Builders Association of East Central Illinois: includes links to local builders.

  • Illinois Association of REALTORS: In addition to providing a variety of information for REALTORS, this site features a wealth of information and links for consumers.

  • Realtor.com: The official web site for the National Association of REALTORS and the country's highest traffic real estate site with over 1.2 million listings nationwide!  This site is an excellent resource for people planning to relocate to other areas of the country.

  • HUD Web Site: This site contains a wide variety of consumer information on topics including fair housing, buying and selling a home, and renting.

  • Fannie Mae: Formerly the Federal National Mortgage Association, this company is a quasi-governmental agency that provides a secondary market for mortgage loans.  If you aren't turned on by the secondary mortgage market and mortgage-backed securities, then skip directly to Fannie Mae's Home Path, a terrific online guide to purchasing a home.

  • LOCAL MORTGAGE LENDERS

    A FEW WORDS ABOUT LENDERS...
    I have provided lender links and individual loan officer names to assist buyers in obtaining financing.  This list is not intended to be exhaustive; rather I have included links to those companies and individuals with whom I have had successful dealings in the past.  Each of the individuals named below has demonstrated tremendous competence and integrity in transactions involving either my clients or me personally.  In my experience, all of the companies below offer very competitive rates and a wide variety of financing programs to meet the needs of area home buyers.  I do not collect any advertising revenue for including these links (or any other links) in my site.
    • Summit First Financial
    • Contact Tom Roth, Teena Taylor, Connie Woolsey, Mimi Jones, or Meg Pitman.  Summit First Financial is a locally owned mortgage brokerage affiliated with National City Mortgage.  SFF offers a wide array of programs for a variety of buyer circumstances, including the popular FHA Assist and IHDA programs for first time buyers.  Tom Roth leads this team of outstanding mortgage professionals, and with the recent addition of Teena and Meg, both of whom are excellent longtime local mortgage professionals, SFF has continued to attract several of this community's very best mortgage professionals. Tom has successfully financed my own real estate adventures (and misadventures) with great success over the years.
    • Busey Bank
    • Contact Jan Buerkett at the Prospect & Kirby branch or Brad Bengsten at the Busey Investments office at Windsor and Fox.  Busey is the largest locally owned bank in the Champaign County area with a long history of serving the needs of local customers. Jan Buerkett has been with Busey for many years, and she brings outstanding service and a high level of competence and integrity to her job! Brad prides himself in being easily accessible to his customers and to combining first rate service with Busey's outstanding portfolio of mortgage products.
    • Heartland Bank & Trust Company
    • Contact Aaron Johnson at the Champaign office on Galen Drive.  Aaron has worked with several of my past clients with consistent success and extremely competitive rates, as well as an impressive portfolio of financing vehicles from which to choose.
    • First Mid-Illinois Bank & Trust
      • Contact Sherry Hingtgen.  Sherry has been a local mortgage professional for many years.  As a regional financial institution, First Mid provides locally targeted mortgage programs, as well as a large portfolio of conventional mortgage products.

    SCHOOLS

  • Champaign School District Home Page
  • Urbana School District Home Page
  • Mahomet-Seymour Schools
  • Monticello School District
  • St. Joseph-Ogden School District
  • Arthur School District
  • GENERAL COMMUNITY WEB SITES

  • Champaign-Urbana Economic Partnership: This site provides general information and offers many community links organized by category.
  • Champaign County Internet Community Directory
  • University of Illinois: Browse campus information; search the student & staff directory; many links and search options.
  • Parkland College: Widely considered one of the best community colleges in the state.  This site contains much information, including courses, schedules, campus information, and more!
  • Willard Airport: Features lowest fares, flight info, and general airport information.
  • Champaign-Urbana Homepage
  • Mahomet Chamber of Commerce
  • Champaign-Urbana Map Site
  • Arthur, Illinois Online:  Located 40 minutes south of Champaign, the village of Arthur is in the heart of Amish country.  This site contains info about the community, local tourism, Amish culture, and more.
  • AREA MUSEUMS

    Matthew I. Difanis
    RE/MAX Realty Associates
    2009 Fox Dr., Ste G
    Champaign, IL 61820
    (217) 352-5700
    Matt@MattDifanis.com

    Each office independently
    owned and operated.

    Content and photography ©1999-2007 Matt Difanis. All rights reserved. Information contained herein believed reliable but not guaranteed. Site design by Dave Strus.