Buyers Score Big Bargains on Foreclosed Homes
Home owners are snagging big discounts on bank-owned properties, as the gap last year between the average sales price of foreclosed homes and other properties continued to widen, RealtyTrac Inc. reports.
Buyers who purchased a foreclosed home last year received a 28 percent discount, on average, compared to a non-foreclosure sale, according to RealtyTrac.
Foreclosed homes comprised nearly 26 percent of all home sales last year, which is down from 29 percent in 2009. Foreclosure sales dropped sharply the last three months of 2010.
Yet, Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, says only about 30 percent of banks’ foreclosure inventory is currently on the market.
Nevada, Arizona, and California reported the highest percentages of foreclosure sales for 2010. In Nevada alone, foreclosure sales accounted for nearly 57 percent of all home sales, according to RealtyTrac.
Source: “Report: Gap in Average Sales Price Widened Between Foreclosures, Regular Homes in 2010,” The Associated Press (Feb. 24, 2011)
Scam Uses Foreclosed Homes as Rentals
Four months after signing a lease for a rental property in Palm Bay, Fla., a family of seven has now learned that the lease was fake, the home was in foreclosure, and they had been sending their rent money to a suspected con man, not a landlord, police say.
Dewey Moore Jr., 45, was arrested last week and charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft. Police are accusing Moore of posting several phony notices for rental properties on Craigslist and then breaking into the homes, changing the locks, and posing as the landlord.
The family of seven discovered they had been duped after the daughter of the property’s actual owners called police to report squatters were living in the foreclosed home.
Police suspect that more homes in the area are involved.
Source: “Police: Family Duped Into Renting Foreclosed Home,” Florida Today (Feb. 8, 2011)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
FHA Relaxes Anti-Flipping Rule
Beginning Feb. 1, the Federal Housing Administration will provide mortgage insurance for some purchases in which the seller bought the property and held it for fewer than 90 days.
The agency is changing what is known as the “anti-flipping rule” to speed up sales of renovated homes in communities with too many bank-owned and foreclosed homes, says FHA commissioner David H. Stevens.
Waiving the 90-day rule will encourage private investors to buy vacant properties, fix them up, and quickly sell them to buyers who will be eligible to buy them using FHA financing.
FHA’s change “is going to be absolutely terrific” for first-time home buyers hoping to take advantage of the tax credit, says Bobby Taylor, an associate with Coldwell Banker Mountain West Real Estate in Salem, Ore.
Source: Washington Post (01/30/2010)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Foreclosures: Ten Reasons for Buyer Caution
Foreclosed homes aren’t always the best deal in town – even if they do come with a price tag that appears to be lower than some other homes in the neighborhood.
Here are 10 reasons why that is true, offered by Vince Mastronardi, president of On-Site Specialty Cleaning & Restoration in suburban Detroit.
No heat in the winter. When a home has been left unheated, buyers run a risk of damaged pipes.
Not removed but ripped. Thieves and even angry former owners can do a lot of damage when they depart with fixtures and key systems like heaters and air conditioners. Full Story….
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Foreclosures: Ten Reasons for Buyer Caution
Foreclosed homes aren’t always the best deal in town – even if they do come with a price tag that appears to be lower than some other homes in the neighborhood. Here are 10 reasons why that is true, offered by Vince Mastronardi, president of On-Site Specialty Cleaning & Restoration in suburban Detroit. No heat [...]