Foreclosures ????

I am sure you have all seen all the foreclosure web sites with all the foreclosed properties. The problem with these sites is that they are for the great majority not foreclosed properties. If you want to see the details of these properties you have to join with a fee. When you do this you will find that most are people that have missed 2 mortgage payments or some type of lien has been filed on their property. These properties are far, far away from foreclosure. There has been fantastic money made by techies who just access public records and sell membership to the public. Banks and lenders are very reluctant to foreclose on properties in today’s market, when they foreclose it comes off their income sheet and goes on the bad debts. If we only knew how many people were behind in payments, we would be amazed!

The lure of the deal!

We are rather predictable in our behavior. You would not believe how many shirts I have bought that 50% were off only to bring them home and not to ever wear them. I totally felt good when I left Macy’s, in your face I got the deal! Don’t even get me started on how many shoes my wife has bought on sale, we are totally getting over on Macy’s. If I want a lot of looks at a property, then put sold as is, short sale, preforeclosure, etc. Anything that makes the buyer think the seller is at a disadvantage. Truth is all sellers are at a disadvantage in today’s market however some don’t realize it but are slowly catching on to the truth.

I have shown all sorts of short sales and foreclosed properties. For the most part all these properties are in extreme disrepair. When you think of it, if you find a property that is priced well and is not in a short sale or foreclosure situation you will get a much better deal than the foreclosed property since you will have to put much less into the property to make it livable. My wife recently put in an offer on a foreclosed property for $200,000, the property closed for $320,000. In my humble opinion this property would have required $100,000 in repairs so who won? The bank won this battle since the foreclosure contained the lure of the deal.

Win Win

The best real estate deal is the one that is a win win situation for the buyer and seller. There are many sellers out there who just need to be out of the property for various reasons. These sellers are willing to take a loss and who are still taking care of their property, this is much better than buying a property at a distressed price but is a distressed property. A lot of these properties are such that the power and water has been off for sometimes a year. Know what you are getting into before you buy.

Ocean front

We now have a condo on a 2nd floor in beautiful south Cocoa Beach. It has been totally redone by a prominent designer with over 2400 sq ft. It is now priced at $489,000.

Have a good day!

Jim Bagwell