Housing Market Newsletter - Real Estate tips home buyers and sellers

TACOMA - PUYALLUP & PIERCE COUNTY, WA

REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER / BLOG
Editor: Don Leske II / Agent & Associate Broker
Homepage website: www.HomesandProperties.com

[Newsletter]

12-10-07 Issue
FORECLOSURE PROPERTIES ....
"Should you buy, or beware?"

FORECLOSURE PROPERTIES ....
"Should you buy, or beware?"

There are various agencies who do foreclosures, some are state specific and some federal.

You can work to find all the resources as many of us have done, or you could get FREE help from a local Realtor in your area who has already done all the research. If the one you talk to first does not have the details you need, simply call another agent. Not all Real Estate Agents or Agencies focus on foreclosures, while some do.

Did you know that the seller, even Banks and the Government VA pay the "Buyers Agent" the commission or fee! So, why would you not get professional help with your foreclosure search if its free? Your Buyers Agent will get paid in the end if you buy a Foreclosure property. The last one I did was a VA property and they paid me 2.5% and my client paid me nothing, but got a great deal on their home.

1. See VA Repo Listings at: http://www.ocwen.com - VA Website for REPO HOMES.

2. State Treasury Repo Example: http://www.michigan.gov/treasury/0,1607,7-121-1751_3437-118951--,00.html .....many states have sites like this.

3. No guarantee, but: http://www.foreclosurefreesearch.com is an online resource with 7 days free trial. Not sure if they are good but free is good I would think for a trial. Be aware of these sites, some may have good info.... but its been my experience that some of their information is old outdated and of no value.

4. Try also www.trulia.com and just type in the area you are interested in first without any other details, like I typed in: Tacoma, WA --- then on the next page you can refine your search at the left side, just scroll down and only put a check in the box: Foreclosure - I came up with several pages.

Here is a little quote to note: Buying property in a pre-foreclosure stage — the period between receiving a Notice of Default from the lender and the day the lender puts the property up for an auction — may offer the best bargains, but it's also the most difficult. "There's definitely an art to it," says Brad Geisen, CEO of Foreclosure.com. "Pre-foreclosures tend to be more for the seasoned investors." .....

Get yourself a good Real Estate Agent to help out. I have had clients in a "Pre-Foreclosure" situation where their property was just not selling, and the Bank was about to foreclose. They agreed finally to both lower their price and put into their MLS and marketing Ads a statement that their home was in "Pre Foreclosure" ....all offers considered.

A Licensed Real Estate Agent could offer to help as in this example: The Agent assisted offer was to, "....buy it for less than its current market value, but still more than the owner currently owed the bank. With so little time left, the owners had a slim chance of selling the house on the market. And if it came to the lender putting the property at an auction — the actual foreclosure — they would be lucky if they got more than what they owed. Making a $660,000 deal with the owner....allowed the owners to pay off their loan and walk away with $310,000."

The difference between Foreclosure and Pre-Foreclosure properties is that with Foreclosure properties you are at the mercy of the Lender who will often wait for the best offer, as in a Short Sale, or if you bid on one that has actually gone to Foreclosure Auction... then you are bidding against others and most Lenders are now putting a minimum bid amount on the properties being auctioned.

With pre foreclosure properties, your Buyers Agent can negotiate for the best deal for you. Generally it will be a property that is listed on the MLS as a pre foreclosure sale. This means that the seller has already either defaulted or gone seriously behind on their payments They are what we call "Motivated sellers" and you may be able to get a better bargain than you would trying to bid against a lot of other buyers who all wanted to get a "good deal", Some sellers would rather sell their home with very little or even no money back to them at closing.., just a payoff and closing costs, than to have a foreclosure on their record.

See: www.HomesandProperties.com for more Puget Sound or Pierce County Washington help. I hope this article has at least helped a bit...., if you live in the Pierce or King County areas of Washington State, you may hire me to be your Buyers Agent of record. You will be asked to sign a Buyers Agency Agreement that states in part that you will not be charged a fee for my services.

Wishing you all the best! :)

Donald J. Leske Sr.
Your Accredited Buyers Agent
Associate Broker

Note: some of the information for this article came from:
www.smartmoney.com/home/buying/index.cfm?story=foreclosures

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