Archive for the 'Foreclosure Market' Category

If you are new to foreclosed home auction proceedings, do not get into a bidding war especially against long-time bidders who have long been using inside information and their familiarity with proceedings and personalities in the auction sector to achieve their goals.

Unless you have done your homework thoroughly, received a rigid training on live auctions or have set a price ceiling for each property that you intend to bid on, it is prudent for you as a beginner to observe and gain experience first.

According to real estate professionals, the frenzied bidding can lead you to a price level higher than current market levels and can lead you to bid on properties that you have not researched before the auction.

These months of January and February, there are public and private foreclosure auctions that will be held. You can observe or participate in them and increase your knowledge and expertise about live and online auctions.

In Nevada and Arizona, Texas-based auction firm Hudson and Marshall will auction off about 127 homes priced between $35,000 and $525,000 in the last week of January. All properties have clean titles and have title insurance policies already paid for.

In Austin, Texas, a total of 1,286 housing units will be sold off at a foreclosed home auction in the first week of February by the Travis County court, marking a two-percent jump from foreclosures in February 2009. In contrast, the number of properties to be auctioned off dropped in Hays County from February 2009.

Another auction firm which has been holding foreclosure auctions is Real Estate Disposition Corporation. It has recently sold off 36 homes in a foreclosure auction in Boston.

Auction experts advise prospective participants to arrive early at the auction site to get a feel of the place and to observe other bidders. Parking will also be less of a problem for early attenders. There could also be important changes announced just before the auction.

Prospective bidders also need to take a look at the properties before the auction as most properties are sold as is. The interiors of some units can be inspected, especially those sold by auction firms, but those sold at public auctions oftentimes are locked and cannot be inspected inside. Auction firms also show the details of their properties on their websites.

In every foreclosed home auction, a deposit of 5 to 10 percent is required. Some auctioneers give 30 days for the winning bidder to pay the balance; others require the full amount the same day or by the afternoon of the following day.

Foreclosure property sales have been the major source of money for one Florida-based investor whose sales soared when his purchase and quick resale of foreclosure properties were featured in a documentary produced by Michael Moore.

For investors looking for an example on how to profit from foreclosure properties, the story of Peter Zalewski, who spent his childhood in Chicago and who launched his foreclosure buying business in Bal Harbour can be a good case study to examine. Zalewski named his real estate investment firm Condo Vultures and specialized in cheap foreclosure condos. He also stepped up his sales efforts targeting foreign buyers who have been rising in number.

Zalewski focused first in South Florida, among the hardest hit regions in the country, and bought foreclosed properties at huge discounts and then resold them. He has agents that focus on individual buyers and a group that serves investors who are looking for bulk sales. Later, he opened operations in other cities such as San Diego and Las Vegas to be nearer neighborhoods where there are lots of foreclosures. He also has plans to open in foreclosure-clobbered Phoenix and Los Angeles.

According to Zalewski, bargain-priced foreclosure property sales in Florida, particularly in Miami, abound because of overbuilding during the boom years. There are still around 70,000 condo units for sale in the area as of October despite dropping from the staggering number of 108,000 condos as of October last year.

He said that around 60 to 70 percent of his buyers are second-home buyers or investors looking for cheap foreclosures and the rest are buyers who plan to occupy the properties. He added that during the condo building boom, long lines of people were making deposits for condo units not yet constructed. Today, he said, buyers are again forming long lines, but are now after foreclosed condos. What is significant, according to Zalewski, is the number of foreign buyers making higher purchase offers.

Some analysts have been contending that the buying frenzy may again duplicate the factors that contributed to the foreclosure crisis, but Zalewski explained that most buyers now have been buying in cash partly because of the competition and partly because of the hesitation of lenders in lending more money for real estate purchases.

All in all, the story of Zalewski shows that one can profit from foreclosure property sales if one is savvy and quick in looking for cheap investment opportunities.

Churches with properties for sale signs are becoming a common sight across the country. Industry experts said that more and more parsonages, church schools, church buildings and other properties have become victims of the same monster that has devastated both the housing and commercial real estate markets across the country. And experts are not sure how long foreclosures would continue to devastate the secular real estate.

One of the congregations that failed to save its home from foreclosure is Naples, Florida-based First Assembly of God. Construction on the $3.2 million family worship center came to a halt last month when membership contributions dropped by almost two-thirds.

Some members of the First Assembly congregation are homeless, while others are unemployed. Others who pledged to help finance the construction for the building had a change of heart for fear that the church will become bank foreclosure properties for sale. Foreclosure proceedings on the church building have been going on for some time now.

Following the footsteps of the Naples church is the Progressive Baptist Church located in Temple Hills, Maryland. The congregation owes over $2.86 million mortgage debt and $1.88 million overdue federal and state taxes for the 11.7-acre campus consisting of a house, church and school buildings.

According to industry experts, economic recessions do not necessarily mean a drop in church donations. In the 10 years that sporadic economic distress occurred, between 1968 and 2005, church donations dropped in only three years. However, the current recession is turning out to be different from previous economic downturns in terms of its impact.

Results of a study showed that 20 percent of Americans have reduced their church giving, severely affecting church finances in such a way that has never been experienced in the previous recessions. This resulted to more churches struggling financially. Furthermore, church lenders reported more delinquency problems this year compared with previous years.

Industry experts said that the collapse of the religious real estate is partly attributed to overbuilding and easy credit. In the past, credit is easy to get in the religious real estate because churches were regarded as good credit risks. In 1997, church construction amounted to $3.8 billion and in 2007, it reached almost $6.2 billion.

Now, with collections dwindling and construction financing drying up, many congregations are finding themselves with no places to worship as church properties for sale grew by the numbers every day.

Foreclosed properties for sale have been pulling down the prices of second homes in vacation destinations which were out of reach for many over the past years.

Homeowners who owned mortgages that are more than the value of their properties are contributing to the growing number of foreclosure properties for sale across the country.

Investing in a foreclosure property is a viable and affordable option to secure your financial future, according to data compiled by foreclosure research analysts.

Buy foreclosed houses now because home prices will increase in 2010, according to a majority of 41 economists surveyed by Reuters.

Nowadays, almost every search for any item starts on the Internet. The Internet, as many know, has become a significant part of the life of consumers, specifically buyers and sellers.

Last month, the number of failed home loans in the United States rose to record high despite efforts in the state and national levels to curtail the foreclosure crisis which devastated the economy and the housing market.

Despite the increase in sales of existing homes in Florida in the second quarter of this year, the median price in the region continues to drop, according to an industry survey.