How to Find the Best Foreclosures Properties – The top ways to getting your best foreclosure deal
It’s not about finding a foreclosure, or even finding a bank owned property. It’s all about finding a good one can that can be the real challenge.
Most banks don’t want Realtors to advertise properties as ‘bank-owned’ because that is negative impact for the bank.
Many times a for sale sign will not disclose the true status of the property. Nor will the flyers and other marketing materials. Some times it’s hard to tell which properties are taken back by a bank foreclosure or even deficiency judgment proceedings.
Many people think the word Foreclosure = Good Deal. Just be careful.
Not all foreclosures are good deals.
If the property is a condo, there could be home owner’s association problems, assessments, law suits, or maybe just high home owner’s association fees. Maybe the complex has lower than average rental income. These could be good reasons why the previous owner had problems making the payments and could be potentially why the property is a foreclosure in the first place. You don’t want to acquire someone else’s problems.
Some foreclosure houses are in various states of disrepair; some of the fixes are cosmetic, but some can be extensive.
One option for finding foreclosure listings: Go straight to the local expert.
You can go many places on the internet. Some websites will have you sign up and pay for foreclosure listings. Why pay?
You may be searching a web site and sign up for listing alerts, but that will only the beginning. This type of tool will only give you the tip of the ice berg. This could be only a small portion of what is available.
You need someone working for you.
You need the local expert that can give you all the details on the best properties in the local area. When the expert works for you, they can tell you why one property may be average and the other one may be way above average. You need to have the pro working for you in your best interest to get the very best deal.
You’ll also need the leg up on your bidding competition.
If you are paying cash have your proof of funds ready. If you are going to finance, have your pre approval letter ready. (And be sure that lender will lend on the type of property you are bidding on)
When you are searching for properties online, and don’t have a professional Realtor working for you, you are self represented. You are on your own! Basically you are searching in the dark with a small flashlight.
If you have the expert working for you, it’s like turning on the Stadium lights. Now you can see what is out there.
Many banks have properties that are not listed in the MLS listing system. For the most part, the MLS listing info is what you will find on the internet. By relying on this as your only tool, you are only going to see just some of the listings. Many of the best deals are gone before you even know they were on the market!
Your local experts in the market place are going to be way ahead of the curve and can see what is coming to market. They study the market daily. They subscribe to all the bank pre foreclosure and direct bank foreclosure listings. They go to the court house auctions. They go to the tax sale auctions. They go to the bank foreclosure auctions. And they know where the market place is, what will be coming to market soon, and what is in the pipe line for the future.
How much does it cost to have a pro working for you? Nothing. Zip. Nada.
It’s the best free service there is. Hire a local expert buyer’s agent for Free!
If you where on trial for a crime, would you want to hire a lawyer that hasn’t had a case in 6 years and refers to hid collage text book for examples? Of course not!
If you where sick, would you go to a witch doctor that has cured a few people in the Amazon? Of course not!
A real estate agent has to work for either the buyer’s side of the transaction – Or – the Sellers side of the transaction.
As a buyer, you don’t pay the commission, the seller or in the case of foreclosures, the bank does. It’s best to have someone on your side.
Why would you search by yourself with a flashlight in the dark? You can hire the local expert to help you. The Expert will turn on the flood lights on for you and illuminate the darkness for you. Any you don’t pay for that service!
You just might want to enlist the help of a realty agent that has the experience, skills, and is the local expert. Someone who works regularly with REOs might be able to track down the properties more easily than a traditional agent. It really depends on who you’re doing business with. It’s the difference between night and day.
Most listings will have instructions how they will want your buyers agent to submit the offer. The Bank offer package has to be perfect. Most buyers loose before they even get started because they don’t get the bank what they need. The loose the deal because of incomplete paperwork. Working with the local expert, your odds of getting the deal go up greatly. Many banks also have many addendums that need to be filled out. A pro that has experience in filling out these additional forms, will fill them out correctly, will usually have an upper hand on getting the deal. The bank selling the property doesn’t want to waste time in getting paperwork in order.
Besides the preapproval letter, many banks will look for the correct amount of earnest money. Foreclosure banks don’t want to make additional requests for correct amounts. They just don’t have the time. A deal could be lost if it is not done properly.
There are some absolutely fantastic deals currently being made with Foreclosures and Short Sales. Now is your time to get your piece of the action. You know what they always say” Buy when they are selling and sell when they are buying”!
Jerry Pinkas Home Selling Team – is your local expert in the Myrtle Beach area, for all your Real Estate needs. Our Team is dedicated to inform our clients on how to be a pro in the local real estate market and avoid common pitfalls that are costly. You will have access to the most comprehensive MLS Listing Service in the area with Free access and with lots of tools for both Buyers and Sellers. Award Winning – Top Ranked – Highly Recommended – Call The Pros – OR – Just Google Us! – The Jerry Pinkas Home Selling Team (843) 222-1926; Put our team to work for you today.
