San Diego Real Estate Blog

You want to buy a foreclosure? Remember, there are both great opportunities and great pressures and pitfalls in this market.

First, you have to decide at what stage of foreclosure you want to buy. There are three options: 1. pre-foreclosure; 2. sheriff’s auction; 3.

“The safest and best way to buy is when it’s a bank-owned property,” said Rick Sharga, a spokesman for RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosure properties.

Pre-foreclosure: These homes are in the foreclosure process, but they have yet to be sent to auction. Owners are typically trying to unload them because they are “underwater,” owing more on the homes than they are worth.

As a result, potential buyers must negotiate a deal with the lender as well as the owner. That makes buying at this stage of foreclosure complicated and slow. But, you have the advantage of being able to inspect the home before purchase — which isn’t the case in other types of foreclosure sales. Sharga warned, however, that prices are usually higher than at other stages of foreclosure.

Sheriff’s auction: These sales yield the lowest prices, but they are fraught with difficulties. Often the house is unavailable for inspection, leaving buyers with a long list of expensive repairs — and much larger bill than they intended. This stage is usually best left to the professionals, the contractors and investors who regularly bid on these places and know what they’re doing.

Repossession: This occurs after the home has gone through a sheriff’s auction but does not sell and the bank gains possession of the property. Homebuyers may not get the best bargains during this stage, but they can nearly always perform a thorough inspection before closing, minimizing costly surprises. Plus, the property comes with a clear title.

In addition, the banks selling these places may extend preferential financing terms to the buyers and may have made some repairs before putting the property on the market.

Even in this safer stage, though, homes are still sold in “as is” condition. That means the bank won’t pay for cosmetic issues. Although, they will often pay for some or all of repairs that are health and safety issues. That makes the home inspection even more critical. You do not want to buy a bank owned or really any home for that matter, without paying for your own home inspection.

Since you’re buying from a corporation, not an individual, the buying process can be faster, so be prepared to move quickly. Many times a listing goes on sale on a Friday and is sold over the weekend.

Having your financing in order for a quick purchase is very attractive to banks. Buyers and their agents need to be on top of everything from the inspection to the financing. Some banks will even give you discounts for closing quickly. On the other hand, they may charge a per diem fee for late closings.”

Once you’ve decided which type of home to buy, there are several common mistakes foreclosure buyers should take care to avoid. These include:

Getting caught up in a bidding frenzy: The banks often under-price repossessions, hoping to generate excitement, attract multiple bids and sell them quickly. The problem is, as in any auction-type sale, bidders get excited and pay too much.

There are 800,000 REOs in the banks’ inventories. There’ll be another home to bid on tomorrow. At the same time, low ball offers are often scoffed at. A good agent should be able to show you comparables to make a strong offer.

Underestimating repair costs: Take full advantage of the home inspection and don’t delude yourself about how much the repairs will cost.

In some cases where a lot of work is required, take along someone who can give you a good estimate of how much repair costs will come to.

A good rule of thumb would be to factor in a cushion of 10% to 20% of the purchase price to pay for unexpected repairs. If you end up not using it, go on vacation after 6 months.

Buying in a neighborhood flooded with foreclosures: This is most important for people buying for the short-term. Any neighborhood saturated with REOs and foreclosures may be headed for further price falls. If you’re planning to relocate within a few years or buying a bigger house, that could mean selling at a loss. A better bet, if you can find it, is to buy the only foreclosed home in an otherwise stable community. That’s more likely to hold its value.

According to the Census Bureau, new home sales improved in March at the fastest single-month rate in 47 years. New-home sales rose 26.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000 last month, compared to an upwardly revised annual rate of 324,000 in February.

The March sales were the strongest since last July, and the percentage gain was the biggest on a month-over-month basis since a 31% gain in March 1963.

New-home sales spiked in every region of the United States. The South saw the biggest jump in new home sales, up 43.5%, while the Northeast region saw sales climb 35.7%. The West and Midwest regions both saw single-digit percentage growth, with the West up 6% and the Midwest up 4%.

The Census Bureau data followed a report from the National Association of Realtors on Thursday that showed existing home sales soared nearly 7% in March, as new homebuyers raced to buy up properties before a tax credit expires on April 30.

The Census Bureau estimated that 228,000 new homes hit the market in March. At the current sales rate, it would take 6.7 months to sell through that inventory, down sharply from an estimated 9.2 months of inventory in February.

While things are not great, a firming housing market and improving jobs market (experts are predicting unemployment for April to be a still high 9.6% compared to 9.7% for March) shows we are heading in the right direction.