Steve Walton

Do you need an appraisal or a market analysis? It usually depends on your purpose as to what you need to get. A market analysis can be completed by any licensed realtor preferably a commercial agent if you have more than 4 units) in Helena who has access to the Helena multiple listing service. Make sure you use an experienced realtor who has marketed and sold multi-family homes. An appraisal will need to be completed by a state-licensed appraiser. The best way for you to get in touch with a licensed appraiser is to contact a local bank who does commercial lending on this type of property. You may also just want to look in the Helena area phone book. There will only be 3 or 4 licensed commercial appraisers. Good luck! - Mon May 5 2008, 15:22

As the real estate market nationwide has softened, we here questions about foreclosed properties more and more often.

In most cases, foreclosed properties will be listed for sale with local real estate agents on the Billings MLS. My experience is that HUD (government loans) foreclosures do offer value in that they seem to be aggressively priced. Homes owned by conventional loan market companies use market appraisals to price the properties and don't seem to be priced as well. Occasionally, we'll gain knowledge of a local bank-owned repo before it hits the market and can make an run at it before it's listed.. that can often lead to savings.

Another way to purchase a repo is to purchase it at the sheriff's sale at the courthouse. Not all foreclosed homes will reach this sale, and many won't sell at the sale. It requires a significant amount of time and energy to stay on top of the sheriff's sale list. If you do purchase a home through this sale, you should expect to have a check in hand without appraisal and to buy the property as/is.

Otherwise, the process for purchasing a repossessed home is the same as purchasing any other home except that the seller is a bank. The bank is as interested in maximizing their profit as any other seller might be. They negotiate differently, and there is clearly a strategy in negotiating with them. A potential downside is that the banks often times want to sell the homes in as/is condition.

Pretty lengthy answer that I hope helps. - Thu Apr 24 2008, 19:46

Bozeman is a beautiful community that offers many cultural and recreational opportunities for a community of its size (under 50,000). I've been a Montana resident for over 30 years and attended college in Bozeman in the early 80s and visit there often.

Bozeman has many of the restaurants and retailers that you would expect to see in much larger towns. The schools are very good with high levels of achievement at the grade school, middle school, and high school levels. Recreation can be found within an hour of Bozeman in any direction.. be it skiing, fishing, camping, hiking, or boating. There has been considerable population growth in Bozeman being fed by folks moving from other parts of the country. Whether that is good or bad depends upon your perspective. I will say that Bozeman has changed very much in the last 10 years.. it's certainly not the place I attended school 25 years ago.

Helena is a growing community that is the center of our state government. Well planned growth makes it a good choice. Missoula is in a beautiful part of the western part of the state. It is different from most of Montana with its political leanings. I reside in Billings, the largest city in the state that is currently thriving with commercial and business growth. - Thu Mar 20 2008, 21:16

Looking into foreclosed homes sounds easier if you're listening to the radio ads than it really is. Most homes in foreclosure go through a fairly lengthy process before they hit the open market for purchase.

Your first step should be to check the county's listing of homes set to come up for a trustee sale. This info is of public record and your courthouse should be able to help you. You do need to know that to purchase at a trustee's (auction) sale, you will have to purchase the home generally in as-is condition with no opportunity to inspect and in most cases you'll have to provide cash at the auction.

Most foreclosure homes will come to the open market and will be listed with a licensed real estate professional for sale. The banks list them for sale with realtors because they still have an interest in getting the most money they can for the home and realtors offer the best market to achieve that. In many cases, though, foreclosed homes are in tough shape and can be purchased at below-market prices.

Keep in mind that the Montana real estate market is still performing very well... regardless of what we might read in the paper about the national market. - Sat Mar 8 2008, 14:37