Getting a deal on Charleston foreclosures for sale
In today's market, everyone wants a deal and there is no better place to look for a deal in Charleston today than the many foreclosures that are available. And I've noticed some really nice foreclosures recently coming on the market.
Many of my clients have listing alerts set up for homes that meet their search criteria and I think it is one of the best ways to keep on top of the market. So it should come as no surprise to you that I have several listing alerts set up for searches that I'm specifically interested in including all real estate activity in my neighborhood, searches for several clients who want more filtered results that I would review first before sending to them and of course, foreclosures for sale in Charleston.
Tara Siegel Bernard writing in the NY Times offers advice to consumers looking to buy a foreclosure, Foreclosures Can Offer Deals, but Buyer Beware.
A few highlights:
"Get preapproved by a mortgage lender so that when you find a property you are interested in, you can move quickly."
"Call the listing agent or hire a buyer's agent to do it for you." And I was very glad to see her continue that thought with this, "You should hire a buyer's agent with experience in these type of sales anyway."
"Buyers should make their offer contingent on a home inspection ... (but) putting too many contingencies in your offer, however, is likely to derail your bid."
"Be prepared to lose to buyers with all cash."
"With a short sale, experts say, it can take months. You also can't necessarily trust the listing price. It may easily be a teaser price just to get offers in." (emphasis added)
Good stuff!
One important thing to understand is that when lender owned homes come on the market, there is usually lots of competition for the good ones. You're not likely to have your offer accepted in the first week or two if it's less than the list price. If a home sits unsold for over a month, there will be a price reduction (and there will generally be a price reduction every 30 days thereafter until someone makes an offer) and at that point, all bets are off, make your best offer but you can feel a little more comfortable offering a discount to list.
So why are all these foreclosures coming on the market.
Despite the government's efforts to have banks modify loans and approve short sales, Gretchen Morgenson writes in the NY Times, Why Treasury Needs a Plan B for Mortgages.
"Unfortunately, there is a $442 billion reason that wiping out second liens is not high on the government's agenda: that is the amount of second mortgages and home equity lines of credit on the balance sheets of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. These banks - the very same companies the Treasury is urging to modify the loans they service - have zero interest in writing down second liens they hold because it would mean further damage to their balance sheets."
FREE foreclosure lists available here by price range. (please note that if the listing agent does not indicate "lender owned" in an optional field in the Charleston MLS, it will not be included.)
Or just contact me to help you with the purchase of a foreclosure or any other home for sale in the Charleston area.