Jonathan Osman

Lending Tree is great when you're messing with your own money (i.e. refinancing). You can fight with the lender who sold you on a loan that is not reflected in the paperwork all day long and it hurts no one. When it comes to my money and the money of the seller (a purchase), go with a real bank or lender. Banks are regulated like real estate professionals most who have tossed their ethics aside get on there to lie to clients to win the deals. Every client that I have had with them has failed to close to one reason or another but most of the time was the lender was a scumbag. Save yourself the headache, hassle, aggrivation, and your EMD and get with a real bank. If you're unhappy later on, refi and fight with them yourself. - Sun Jun 15 2008, 19:42

Hi Brooke. I am a local Charlotte REALTOR who specializes in helping buyers purchase foreclosed properties. The process is very similar to that of a traditional sale with the exception of a few things. First, the home is being purchased in "AS-IS" condition meaning that the bank will not make repairs to the property. You should hire an inspector to check the place out however know that the bank will not make any found items. Should the condition of the home change significantly between contract and closing, the bank will often re-negotiate. I had an A/C unit stolen from a home in January and it was written about in Reuters.

You also will need to be approved for the mortgage up front and I recommend going as far as your lender will allow without an accepted contract (called loan committment). In a traditional sale, if you cannot get financing, the seller will let you out with our earnest money. In a bank sale, the only contingency allowed usually is home inspection. Once you're past the inspection period, you are at risk of losing your EMD.

Most times, the bank specifies the EMD required, will require that you use their closing attorney, and sign a bunch of as-is documents.

While you do not need an agent to represent you, I highly recommend someone who has been through this process before. Many agents in Charlotte have not done a lot of REO or HUD foreclosures and their clients are misrepresented. Work with someone who knows the process and will work for you.

Finally, the price. I just wrote a blog on this but in summary, it depends on many factors how the price was set. Sometimes the bank's rep (either a broker or appraiser) have never stepped foot in the home so the price may be inflated. Other times, there may be multiple mortgages or other liens that may cause the price. Depending on who held the note before (if the former buyer had a conventional loan vs. a VA loan), that will factor in the price. You need to make an offer based on the condition. The bank will, in most cases counter (unless there's already an offer) and you can go from there.

That's a basic rundown of the process and I haven't even scratched the surface. - Sun Jun 15 2008, 19:38

I pulled the stats just for the zip code 28105 from May, 1 2008 to today and I came up with an average of 68 days until sold. However, on closer examination, the average sold price for which that number is based, is 51.4% lower than the current average sales price in zip code 28105. The same can be found throughout the Charlotte area. Home's priced below $200,000 are selling rather briskly throughout the city, some areas not withstanding. The market above $200,000 and really the higher up you go in price, you tend you see a much higher average days on market.

Another way to look at it as the supply of homes, which is figured by taken the existing inventory and then dividing it over the sales of the last month. In some higher end neighborhoods, there is a 14 month supply of homes however when you get to a neighborhood around $200k, the supply may be as much as 3 months.

It's important that you look it days on market based on your home's estimated selling price based on the area as that will give you a much better sense of how long it might take you to sell. - Sun Jun 1 2008, 21:32

you can search out the deed and it should reveal the mortgage company as well as any liens. - Mon May 12 2008, 13:28

Most lenders will do what's called a rental analysis where they will attempt to eliminate that debt of your old mortgage with a lease. Some may require an actual signed lease while others will just consider it an option. - Mon May 12 2008, 10:15