Foreclosures, Pre-Foreclosures, Short Sales, Corporate-Owned, REO, Third-Party...
The housing market is a-buzz with these words. Everyone is in search of that ultimate fabulous deal on a great house. You need to understand the differences between them and the challenges they represent.
Many types of distress sales are available to the savvy house-hunter. We can help you find and get those deals! It takes knowledge and advance preparation to beat out thousands of other home buyers, investors, and agents for the very small percentage of these properties that are actually good investments!
Don't end up as one of those people we see every day that buy a distressed property because it looks like "such a good deal" -- just to end up in foreclosure later themselves. You need a professional buyers' agent in your corner to advise you and protect your interests.
All of these types of distress sale are listed on the local MLS. There is no magic source for these great deals. Don't fall for web sites or unscrupulous agents that promise you a one-stop source or some secret list. And, please, don't fall for those radio spots that claim you can buy a magic "list" and get a great foreclosure home for $20,000 and have mortgage payments under $300 per month. I guarantee you if you find a home like that in this market it will have bars on the windows -- if it even has windows! There is no substitute for first-hand market knowledge and hard work. We spend every day working with buyers; researching and visiting properties for sale in our highly competitive market. We can find you those rare deals; it just takes hard work, patience, and the ability to jump on them.
Short Sales; Are they right for you?
Short sales are sometimes an opportunity to get a good deal in some situations but they aren't the best option for all buyers.
A short sale is a situation where the owner of the property trying to sell it owes more on their mortgage than they can sell it for. The listing price is usually an aggressive number. Often the agent "lists" the house for a price they know is less than the bank will accept just to generate interest and an offer for the bank to begin work on. A buyer can offer whatever they like and negotiate through their buyers' agent with the property owner to reach an accepted offer. Once accepted, however, the offer must also be approved by all lien holder. (That can include a first mortgage second mortgage home equity line of credit, HOA fees and/or property taxes.) It is not a "done deal" until all lien holders approve the sale and release the title.
The lien holders can accept, reject, or counter the offer that the seller has "accepted." The seller must write a "hardship letter" and provide volumes of documentation. The lien holder is going to do a thorough analysis and have appraisals done before reaching any decision. It can take anywhere from a couple weeks to several months for the lender to accept, reject, or counter the offer -- depending on their back-log of requests. We've seen it take as long as ten months to get any response from the lender. The average time is about two to three months. It is important that the seller be represented by an attorney or other short sale professional who will negotiate for them with the lien holder(s).
Because of the unpredictable timing involved, short sales are best suited for investors that do not have a strict timetable for buying and closing. They aren't usually the best option for buyers that want to move within a specific time window. There are rare instances where the lender has already completed their full analysis and determined an amount that they will accept in order to speed the process. In most of those cases, the listing price is the minimum the lender will approve.
SEARCH for Foreclosures & Short Sales
You can use our Search tool to see the Bank-Owned Foreclosures and Short Sales currently listed for sale. When you select the areas you are interested in also check the two boxes under Foreclosures on the search criteria page. This will show you all listings where the agent has used key words disclosing that the property might be a distress sale. Note that some listings on the MLS will be foreclosures and short sales but do not discuss that status where you can see it.
Keep an open mind. In many cases, the best values are not foreclosures. Working with us, we will make sure you don't miss any great deals.
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