Buying a foreclosure, from contract to closing
The easy part of buying a foreclosure for sale in the Charleston real estate market is searching for one. Once you find a lender owned home that you like and your contract is accepted, then the process gets a little more difficult.
Actually, right now I have two clients who have pending transactions for foreclosures, one is a very typical bank owned home that the original buyer couldn't make their payments for whatever reason and stripped the house of the kitchen appliances and left it in typical lousy condition when they moved out.
But the other is a little different, it was new construction that the builder couldn't sell and the construction lender took back the home and it's in pristine condition.
The two situations couldn't be more different.
The bank owned home is being sold "as is" and the buyer had 7 days to pay for and complete their inspections. They had to sign a lengthy addendum that some lawyers, God bless them, decided to not write in any language understandable by most human beings. They are more or less required to use the sellers attorney which happens to be located in Columbia although they can use an affiliated "downliner" attorney locally but that will cause additional delays. When they sign all the documents at closing, they still won't get the keys for another 48 to 72 hours. But it should close and the buyers are buying a nice home at a discount to current Charleston real estate market values.
The other buyers are very lucky. The seller is responsive, signing and returning all documents needed quickly and without issue. There was no lengthy addendum and the contract gave the buyers many more favorable terms. They got to specify when the inspections would be, who would handle the repairs (the seller!), who the attorney would be and when closing would be scheduled and more. Best of all, they got a wonderful deal on a beautiful home.
That's the benefit of buying a foreclosure; you'll get a bargain, a good deal on a home sold at a discount to current market values. The process isn't always easy but it's almost always manageable.
If you want to get started, you can search for foreclosures for sale in Charleston.
And the easy part for you, I'm here to help you.