You are all about capturing that ’smoking’ hot deal. You have been around at work and have heard what all of the locker room gossip is about. Hey so and so got a smokin hot deal with a foreclosure. Where did they get such a deal - From www.MoreThanForeclosures.com. Ok, sorry I could not resist. The questions that you need to ask is how much fat is there still on that property that is on the market. What does the seller look like, with regard to hardship? How much is the bank going to lose if the Short Sale sells for the current asking price? What about the agent - Has the agent had experience with short sales? How is the agents reputation amongst their peers?
With short sales, was the agent responsible for the taking advantage of other agents with regard to the Bank’s agreement on commission? (this one hits home) We work hard on these keeping time lines and frames - But we feel that everything should be 50/50 - I wish everyone did that is in this industry. But if that was the case Paris and I would have a chance of losing you as our clients. Whew - I suppose I am glad it is what it is! Don’t Forget to see what is going on at http://connormacivor.remax.com and http://parismacivor.remax.com.
You can find great deals on homes at any stage in the foreclosure process – preforeclosure, the foreclosure auction, or post-auction (from banks and investors) – but it’s often a case of the early bird getting the juiciest worm. By purchasing the property directly from the homeowner in preforeclosure, you reap several benefits, including the following:
• A lower price, because you’re not competing against other investors in open bidding.
• An opportunity to inspect the home, because you can make your offer conditional upon the home passing inspection. (When you buy at auction, the homeowners may not let you inside prior to the auction to inspect the home.)
• Assurance that you are buying the home and not just a mortgage. When you bid at a foreclosure auction, you are buying a mortgage, not a home. If you bid on a second mortgage by mistake and do not also buy the first mortgage, you could lose your stake in the home and any money you paid for that mortgage. Buying directly from the homeowner assures you that you are buying the home.
• Security that you won’t lose the home in redemption. If homeowners have the right in your state to redeem their home (buy it back) after the sale, you could lose it to the homeowners or to another investor (working with the homeowners) even if you win the auction. If the homeowners sell to you, they have no right to redeem.
You can find homes in preforeclosure by reading the foreclosure notices every week they are published. By law, foreclosure notices must be published for a number of consecutive weeks prior to the sale in a local newspaper or county legal news publication. Check with your county’s register of deeds to find out in which publication(s) the foreclosure notices appear, and then subscribe to at least one of those publications.
To reduce the competition even more, you may want to consider learning about preforeclosures even earlier in the process – before the foreclosure notice or notice of default is published and becomes public knowledge. To obtain early notice, try the following techniques:
• Network with attorneys who work with distressed homeowners in bankruptcy, foreclosure, divorce, and probate. These attorneys often have to help their clients liquidate assets.
• Network with other real estate and mortgage professionals.
• Tell everyone you know that you are an investor who purchases homes for cash. Better yet, create your own business card and give it to everyone you meet. People will know they can turn to you if they ever need to sell in a hurry.
• Treat distressed homeowners with compassion and a sense of fairness and do a good job rehabbing the home. By treating people right and doing good work, you earn a reputation that speaks well of you. People who need to sell their home in a hurry will come to you rather than another investor who has a less stellar reputation.
• Advertise that you buy houses for cash. You can post an ad in the local newspaper and hang flyers and signs around town (assuming this is acceptable in the area where you want to buy homes). Before you advertise, however, make sure you have the financing and resources in place to handle several properties at once.
Remember to choose your investments wisely. You won’t get every house you see, nor should you want every house you see. You can afford to be picky and patient – wait for the right opportunity to come your way. And do your homework to make sure it is the right opportunity for you. Ralph R. Roberts, GRI, CRS is an experienced real estate investor and consultant and the author of Foreclosure Investing For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons).
It has been said that there are more than one way to skin a cat. With the Short sales that have been mentioned, it depends on whether or not you can get a better deal. With foreclosures it has been our experiences that it can go either way. It depends on where the property is related to selling price and what is owed to the bank. It also depends on how the hardship package is put together, and whether or not when the bank gets to the short sale folder, is there anything missing?
Does the agent that is involved know what he or she is doing? Are they part time agents? Do they have something else they are doing to supplement their income, instead of throwing all of their eggs into one basket?
If you are going to approach the steps of a short sale, which is also known as a preforeclosure - Then be ready for a battle. Remember, that most agents have not, or are not clear on the requirements so the file, once it appears, on the desk of the officer at the mitigation department of any bank, it is processed without any delay. If it is missing something, what then? It goes back to the bottom of the file and the Mitigation officer continues to work the real foreclosures.
Please check out the www.HomeValue911.com website and make yourself at home. You can also take any city in the Santa Clarita Valley and put a 911 following it then have that followed up by a .com.
There is not better way to discover the comparable value of your home, or a home that you are interested in. Don’t forget to search for homes at www.Paris911.com. CONNOR with HONOR.
