I’ve been noticing a house that’s essentially been vacant for the last year. I finally decided to check up on it. Here’s the details so far:
The house is a foreclosure which has a 100$ lien against it for lack of water payment. They also removed the water meter and it will cost $6550 to have the meter reinstalled. The house is actually very nice on the outside, and the last time it sold was in 2006 for $320,000. I haven’t seen the inside yet, so I have no idea what kind of shape it’s in. Here’s the deal, I am going to contact the lender that owns the home, but I’m not sure how to approach the transaction. I’m not sure if they would even sell it, and if so, how to handle it. Should I consider enlisting the help of a Realtor to help draw up offer paperwork, or do it myself? Additionally, other than sites like realtor.com how do I find comparables that would help me figure out the after repair value of the home, so I know how much I could typically offer? Obviously, by the questions I’m asking, I’m a newcomer. If anyone could give advice as the the steps I should take, it would be extremely helpful. Thanks
Hi,
This property could be shadow property (Inventory) being held by lenders to avoid flooding the current market with real estate, you will probable be hard pressed just to find the disposition manager who would potentially manage the disposal of this property at some future point!
It seems like an awful lot of money for a water meter, but I don’t know the situation or area your in, just be aware you may be able to get that cost reduced by discussing the routing, tap fee’s and location alternatives with the water company!
If the property is REO (Real Estate Owned) property by the lender and has already been foreclosed on the lender will always want there own listing agent to prepare and represent them as they always want to insure an “Arms Length Transaction” to avoid impropriates!
There is no sense getting a real estate agent to represent you until you know whether the lender is ready to sell the property, but keep in mind you also do not know yet whether disposition manager has a wholesale mind set or a retail mind set as it depends a lot on your area’s market and the situation the lender is in (Motivation) to move properties!
All of the repair estimates should be done by a contractor in your area who understands remodeling / rehabing and has the experience to accomplish the goals at the most cost effective budget you can as quick as you can!
Once you find out whether they are willing to sell and who there respentative real estate agent or broker is, then you can look at getting a real estate agent to represent you, but very first question even prior to an offer is what do you present with your offer that supports why they should except your “Wholesale offer” over all other potential buyers? What did you notice in the condition, structure, utilities, drainage, elevations or fire/life/safety issues that you are uniquely able to resolve that otherwise could be a liability to the seller or complicate a conventional purchase? (Supports Your Wholesale Purchase)
You want to offer about a 30% discount plus construction cost’s to the lender! (Might be actually 40 or 45% off asking price)
Good luck,
GR
Wow, thanks for the reply, great information. So I did a little more research on the house. I found the property records and saw that a trustee’s deed was filed on 01/31/2011, just a week ago. I looked into the deed and found the the grantor was the original owners, and a trust company. The grantee was the
FED NATL MTG ASSN, Fannie Mae. I went to the trust company’s website and found the home under their “homes sold” area saying the the home was sold to a beneficiary for $285,718.89. So I’m trying to understand all the information I’m finding. I’m assuming the owners went into foreclosure and enlisted the help of this trust company, which is associated with Bank of America. Through the foreclosure process, the home went back to Fannie Mae, but what is the $285,718.89? Is that the amount they owed when it defaulted? Just trying to understand the timeline of the home. Thanks