Zillow Advice: Buying Foreclosures - If a house is in foreclosure but not for sale how can I try to buy it before it goes to auction?

Hi Sarah,After reading your ...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:54:00 GMT

Hi Sarah,
After reading your posts I'm wondering what it is you want to do. Do you want to buy a house to live in, or do you want to make an investment. You seem to be open-ended about the particular house, and only focused on getting a deal before someone else gets a deal.
If you are planning to live in the house, I suggest you decide on a neighborhood and a price range and find a house you will love. Most of the homes I see on the market that are foreclosures or short sales ended up there because the current mortgage(s) is greater than the value of the house.
If you are just looking for a good investment, buying a house that has a record of re-selling at a profit, may be better than buying one where another person went bust. Good luck.

Hi Sarrah - there are so ...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Hi Sarrah - there are so many factors that could change the way the question is answered. A lot of the homes going to foreclosure today have no equity in them and in fact many are even upside down - they owe more than it is worth. In these cases it pays off to wait for the bank to take it back sometimes. Do you know the owners at all? Taking over a loan (assumption) is not very likely, but a short sale could be negotiated possibly if they do owe more than it is worth and there is time to try to work out a deal with the bank.
There is no magic percentage number off of loan balnace to offer them. You need to look at comps and base your offer price off of what the market value of the home is. Your Realtor shoudl do this for you at no charge.

Good luck!

A "Notice of Trustee's Sale" ...

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:14:00 GMT

A "Notice of Trustee's Sale" is one of the steps of the foreclosure process in the State of Washington. The trustee is someone that was selected at the time the loan was originally signed. They are a neutral third party of sorts that orchestrates the transaction. If you go on the county recorder's office website, you can look up the actual notice for any given property. This is where sites like RealtyTrac get their information from.

My office has a free weekly foreclosure class with no obligation. The information is invaluable and in the matter of 1.5 hours, you'll understand the whole process inside and out. I have attended the class at least 3 times myself and I learn something new every time. Contact me for the information on it if you would like it.

You may want to just wait ...

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:33:00 GMT

You may want to just wait for the bank to take it back.

The homes that are in the ...

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:46:00 GMT

The homes that are in the inital stages of foreclosure are difficult to purchase for the follwing reasons.

The home owner may have unrealistic expectations about the value of the home or thier prospects to keep the home.

There may be other leins or unforseen problems that affect the value of the home, so even if it looks like a 500k home, with a 300k mortgage, the value may only be 300k. Once someone figures in sales cost, a seller may think their only option is to let it go to foreclosure and let the bank or someone else take over the problems.
If you know your price range, and your neighborhood, I would suggest you focus on what you want, as you can negotiate with an existing homeowner, based upon the acutal condition of the house.

Hi Pat-So what are my options ...

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:57:00 GMT

Hi Pat-

So what are my options if the home is in the courts or a trust? All the ones that I'm interested in on RealtyTrac have a foreclosure status of "Notice of Trustee's Sale" & the trustee is not the home owner.

Thanks!

Only the owner can sell it ...

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:56:00 GMT

Only the owner can sell it before auction unless it is in the courts or a trust. Get hold of the owner. Good luck because 85% of these people don't want to talk to you.

I've done some homework on ...

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:51:00 GMT

I've done some homework on RealtyTrac.com&found homes I'm interested in which the loan balance is in my price range so I would definitely be willing to pay 80-100% of the remainder of the loan. I know that I will not be able to get a 500k house for 300k but I can get something that has 300k or less left on the loan even though the owner might have paid more for the house to begin with. I want a 30 year fixed mortgage so that rules out the auction since you need cash in hand. Plus you don't get to go inside the house before auction & I would want to see the inside before buying. I know I'm probably asking for too much here... If I got the owner to sell would it be a short sale & need the bank's approval?

The home is in the process ...

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:57:00 GMT

The home is in the process of being foreclosed and the auction is the final step of foreclosure when the lender 'buys' the property. Until then the homeowner has possession of the home. Contact the homeowner if you wish to buy the home. Your best bet is to allow the lender to buy the home at auction then contact the lender (via the attorneys that have handled the foreclosure) if you have interest in the home.

In Minnesota there is a 6 month period between the auction of the property and the final foreclosure of the property. This is called the 'redemption period' where the homeowner can attempt to buy back the property from whomever purchased the property at auction. Because of this rule, rarely anyone but the original lender bids on the property. Check with the laws in your state before attempting to purchase a home at a sheriffs auction.

Don't expect to get a home ...

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:29:00 GMT

Don't expect to get a home for half price - as long as you're realistic you have a chance. Most banks won't go less than 80% of the value of their loan, so you can get that data and start from there.