Jane Dough

Thanks for the link. That does look like a better site for Sacramento info.

I certainly agree that buying at the steps of the courthouse is not a realistic option for most individual buyers. Between due diligence, and coming up with cash, it's not a good risk for most buyers either. Personally, I would only look at that kind of sale if I had personal knowledge of the property.

And I agree that in today's market, where the lien is *often* higher than the value of the property, the future listing price will *usually* be lower than the outstanding liens.

I think the opportunities come in the little spaces between - the exceptions to the rules. IF the lien(s) is less than the value. IF the MLS listing price is likely to be higher. IF you have personal knowledge of the property. IF you make contact with the owner. IF you can convince the bank and the owner to agree to an immediate sale instead of going all the way to foreclosure. Lots of "IF"s, lots of work, plenty of risk, but for the right place and the right deal, I'd jump thru those hoops and be happy about it. Personally, I'd relish that kind of adventure. - Thu Oct 23 2008, 12:58

Jim,
It was not my experience that the ***pre-MLS*** foreclosure listings were readily available. I was looking for lists of NODs and steps-of-the-courthouse sales. I found that information, but in disparate locations broken down by bank or liquidator, rather than in one centralized place. If there is a place that has all that information centralized, I'd love to know about it, since I will be ready to buy another place in a few months.

Of course, I am not an agent, so there may be things that you have access to that I don't. And the foreclosure market is changing rapidly, so there may be resources available now that weren't around a year ago.

I totally agree with you that paid services like RealtyTrac are not that useful. I found that their information was woefully stale. The one thing I liked about RealtyTrac is that it's a good place for a novice like me to crossreference addresses against liens, so I can get some preliminary clue that a property has more than one lien.

Ironically after all my research and preparation I ended up not buying a foreclosure the last time around- I bought a probate sale- it just happened to be the right deal for me... I am only putting 10K into it and have about 75K equity even in this down market.

"Ted", my personal privacy is extremely important to me and I do not wish to be interviewed. - Wed Oct 22 2008, 18:10

I've been looking in the same areas but in a lower price range. There's actually been plenty of things for us to look at in our price range, though all of them have had some significant flaw or another (tiny, next to the tracks, no yard, or decrepit) If you are willing to deal with a place that has one major flaw, you will probably have plenty to choose from. Be ready to move fast when a place comes on the market. And if you see a place you like that's just sitting there not selling, but the price is too high, there's no reason not to make a low offer on it. The worst that can happen is they say yes. - Sun Mar 2 2008, 18:03

Stella, I have had the same thing happen to me. I learned a little bit more about short sales in the process. We found out that it's the *seller* who has to qualify with the bank, in order to be allowed to sell the house short. So if the seller hasn't done all of their paperwork and gotten approved by the bank, your offer is going to go nowhere. And really, what motivation does a seller have to quickly qualify for a short sale? They are not getting a dollar out of the sale of the home, and they will get a ding on their credit when the house sells. Maybe they are not even intending to sell, just offering the house as a short sale to keep themselves in there for a little longer before foreclosure. Too much hassle for me... That's why we decided not to bother looking at short sales anymore.
We have gotten in EIGHT bidding wars over foreclosures now. We keep losing out because I'm not willing to pay 2006 prices for a house in 2008... yet apparently some people are. We did finally get a house, by making a low offer on a probate sale that had been on the market a long time at a price that was too high. I just hope that the probate process does not hang up the closing for too long. We've already moved to Sac and are jumping from sofa to sofa while waiting to move in... Can't believe it took us four months and some fifteen offers to finally get a house. - Sun Mar 2 2008, 17:39

Seriously? I did not know that.

So, I will reserve my vitriol for the BANKS!

How do they choose their listing price? I know it is not by the amount owed. One of the houses we bid on was listed for $50K less than the amount owed. One was listed for the exact amount. And one was listed for $20K more. All three listed by different banks. - Sun Jan 13 2008, 13:08

I have now gone through two rounds of making offers and getting in bidding wars on low-priced bank owned property, and I am disgusted with the tactics being used to sell these homes. I don't have all year to play games with listing agents, wait for the bank to make up its mind, look at places that are priced 25% above or below market value, and waste my and my agent's time getting in bidding wars on one house, then waiting for a week or more to hear back from the bank, when there are so many other houses out there. Just list the house for the market value, and let it sell (or not) on its own merits. If it's priced right it will sell fast anyways.

Between the bidding war games, the foreclosures, the short sales, the not-quite short sales, prices all over the map, and the half-finished flips, shopping for a house right now is very frustrating. If I had a choice, I would wait a year or 18 months, till the market stabilizes.

At this point I have changed my strategy. I'm not looking at any more new listings. I don't have the time to get in another bidding war and waste another week! I am only looking at places that have been on the market at least 30 days, and am preparing to make low-ball offers on a few places. I'm not looking at any short sales. Just bank-owned and probate sales. I am so fed up with this process! - Sat Jan 12 2008, 14:22

Are you listed on fsbo.com?
You need better photos. The personal items and clutter in your photos are distracting, plus the photos are dark. Take your exterior photos on a cheery sunny day. Use spotlights and long exposure time to get better photos of your interiors. Open all the curtains. Delete the photos of the driveway and instead give us pix of the kitchen and bathrooms. - Wed Jan 30 2008, 16:43

Fortunately I am working with a wonderful agent who I have known for many years.

I would like to tell you exactly why I asked this question, but the details of why I asked the question would probably make her identity and mine apparent, and I want to protect her privacy. Sacramento is such a *small town*! In my industry (and I imagine that real estate is the same way) everybody knows everybody and gossip gets spread around really quickly.

I use a pseudonym (obviously) on this site to protect my privacy, too. Let's just say I'm a "widgeteer", and I know for certain that plenty of other "widgeteers" read this site as part of their daily travels. I just really like my privacy and don't want to be fodder for the gossip mill. - Wed Jan 16 2008, 09:55

Fascinating! Thanks everybody for all the fast responses and the little peek into your side of the biz. I did not know that Keller Williams was set up in a similar structure. That actually eases my mind some because I have certainly heard of them and they seem to be a perfectly respectable well-established company.

I think the setup of their corporate website just really threw me off. Looking at it made me think, what is their main business? Selling homes, or selling franchises? I would have to say that if I was in charge of Exit Realty's web design, I would do things a little differently. I would put the whole franchise opportunity / "Not an MLM" part of the website in a separate section and make the main site focus on homebuyers and sellers, similar to how most other real estate companies have their web sites set up. - Tue Jan 15 2008, 21:52