One of my habits that I have formed within the last few months is to search on PropertySharks.com for new foreclosures, I like to see the properties that are going to be sold at auction and see the ones that have sold at the last auction (which is every Friday). The information that PropertySharks gives is by far the most comprehensive. Plus, Tina is the best with her stats...
But one of the BEST features is the Q and A section that changes every few months. Like this months question was:
Q. What if the bank buys the property at auction?
A. The bank just wants to get rid of it. Corner the bank's representative and give him or her a letter saying you want to buy the property. You can offer less than the bank paid for it since obviously nobody bid more than the bank. Generally speaking, banks only buy those properties which are "underwater", meaning that these properties have liens/debt in excess of the properties value. However a lot of this debt is "interest, penalties, and fees" imposed by the bank. If you buy from the bank after the auction, not only are they likely to waive their interest in these extra amounts, they may even discount the property slightly off the outstanding principal in order to get it off their books. Be sure to get the bank's attention before they pass the property off to a broker to sell. By that time, it's generally too late to get a good deal.
Oh, and since we are talking about foreclosures and what nots, are you curious to know whatever happened to Casey Serin from Iamfacingforeclosure.com ? Well he is back, still in mounds of debt, getting divorced and hanging out with....*ahem* Dr. Phil? Check out his new blog Foreclosure Help Book — Stop Foreclosure or at Least Make It Out Alive (slogan is a work in progress…) by Casey Serin and Damion Lupo.
How do I access the foreclosure information on the PropertyShark site? And can anyone ask a question or is it a kind of open forum?
Posted by: George | November 01, 2007 at 03:24 PM
What a great site! Thank you for showing this. I will put this on my blog :) expect a link back :)
Posted by: Michael Zebold | March 04, 2008 at 11:09 PM
After going through the post I have got a clear idea about dealing with the bank in purchasing the foreclosed home.Thanks for your suggestions.
Posted by: Steve | March 25, 2008 at 02:31 AM
I love this stuff. Thanks for your post. I hope people realize how valuable this kind of information is.
Posted by: Chuck Marunde | April 22, 2008 at 02:19 AM