About Short Sales

Pre-foreclosures properties are homes that are about to go into foreclosure. Some of the best real estate deals are made this way, before they hit the mainstream foreclosure market. Negotiations are usually with the owner directly, who would like to work out a deal before the bank forces them to leave the property.

The number of pre-foreclosures is growing every day. If you’ve kept up with the media recently, you know that investing in pre-foreclosure homes is one of the best ways to make a substantial profit. There are virtually a limitless number of these discounted homes on the market, due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the current economic slowdown.

Compared to an auction, buying a pre-foreclosure property can often be a more attractive alternative. At an auction, you often have to have the necessary cash on hand in order to participate in the bidding, however, with pre-foreclosures, you don not require immediate cash and can work out different scenarios with the current home owner and your bank. This allows you the ability to purchase a foreclosed house that they may not of been able to do otherwise.

The main advantage of a pre-foreclosure is you get to meet the people who’s house your interested in acquiring in a less anxious environment then at an auction. With an auction homeowners will usually remain anonymous.

A huge benefit to buying a pre-foreclosure is the ability to examine the property ahead of time. Because the current owner is still living on the property you can physical knock on their door and have a look around and examine the house. You can even discuss with the owner as to any current problems with the functionality of the property. If you time it right and the owner agrees you may also be able to get a home inspection done.

Pre-foreclosures provide the opportunity to see what sort of work needs to be done to the premise, and provide you with an idea as to the budget required to do so. You now have much more information then you would before a foreclosure auction to make the right decision of whether or not to purchase.

So now you can see that buying at the pre-foreclosure stage has some nice advantages over buying at auctions or from a realtor. It really comes down having the right information to make the right choice, at the right price.

Pre-foreclosures are homes and/or property that are about to go into foreclosure. This is where some of the best deals are made. These are generally negotiated directly with the owner, who is eager to avoid the grief of foreclosure.

The number of pre-foreclosures is growing every day. If you’ve kept up with the media recently, you know that investing in pre-foreclosure homes is one of the best ways to make a substantial profit. There are virtually a limitless number of these discounted homes on the market, due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the current economic slowdown.

Depending on your situation buying a pre-foreclosure home can be an improved method of acquiring property rather then buying at an auction. Auctions more often then not require that you have the necessary cash on hand in order to bid. When buying pre-foreclosure homes, however, you don?t necessarily have to have cash on hand.

The main advantage of a pre-foreclosure is you get to meet the people who’s house your interested in acquiring in a less anxious environment then at an auction. With an auction homeowners will usually remain anonymous.

One of the biggest advantages of purchasing a pre-foreclosure over an auction is that you can inspect the property before it goes into auction. At this point the property owner is still living in the home so obviously you want to call on them and take a look around the house to see what kind of condition it is in. If the owner feels you make be able to help them, they may disclose if there are any internal problems with the house (i.e. water damage, electrical issues, etc.). Also if the owner is co-operative and you have enough time it would be advised to get a property inspection done as well.

This allows you to determine how much effort, if any, will be required to repair the house and at what cost. This will eliminate much of the risk and will help you make a better decision about if the property would be a good investment or not.

Hopefully this article articulated some of the advantages that buying pre-foreclosures is a good alternative. All real estate professionals consider this method as one of your best value options when it comes to purchasing a home

F.G. (NY): “Foreclosures are the top subject in the economic news today. Will it affect my condominium association too? What can be done?”

Dear F.G.: Foreclosures stalk condo owners like a predator looking for his prey. They are at an all time high in over 20 years, especially in the big cities. They are evenly split between builders going out of business and buyers that bite off more than they can chew. With people’s financial house in complete disarray due to general economic conditions or loss of income, condo foreclosures are becoming a fact of life. This is more common than most would have you believe.

If mortgage payments are not made by the current owner, a foreclosure may occur. The bank or lending institution will sell the unit at below market value. This is devastating if it happens to you.

The bank or mortgage lender has no choice but to get some money back through foreclosure because of the lack of payment by the owner. The bank or lender may allow someone else to make the payments and move into the condominium.

When too many condominium owners lose their units to foreclosure, condo associations feel the financial pain. That is bad news for homeowners who depend on them to take care of building maintenance, property insurance, utilities, landscaping, and other amenities that are shared in common.

Borrowing money from a bank or from the association’s reserve, reducing contributions to reserves, reassessing costs, renegotiating service contracts, and delaying capital expenditures are some of the actions that the Board of Directors can take. Obviously, these actions are not very palatable to the owners. Cutting back on amenities, increasing monthly assessments, and levying special assessments usually affect owners immediately.

The Board can offer payment plans or loans to the owners. They can waive late fees or penalties to help owners catch up on delinquencies. Some condo associations are assessing anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 per unit to make up for the shortfall.

Just because the funds are inadequate, associations cannot abandon their fiduciary responsibility. They must continue to make an effort to collect delinquencies.

When a condominium association forecloses on a unit, the payments will cease. The bank or mortgage lender may accept a deed to the property from the association in lieu of a foreclosure. This could result in a faster sale of the unit to a new owner. The top priority is to get someone into the condominium who will pay the assessments.

Times have changed. Foreclosure stalkers (politely called investors) are not showing up in bunches at foreclosure auctions to snap up great bargains. We always used to hear about the great times when condominium properties were sold with profit to interested buyers and the associations recovered all their money - plus making a profit that financed the new landscaping at the front gate. Those times are gone!