Jackie Hagenston

Hello,

Both foreclosures and short sales require an experienced Realtor to help you get to settlement successfully. In addition to that, you must have someone that you can communicate effectively with and get along with, as well as being able to depend on them to be proactive on your behalf. You will want someone who is honest with you about the marketplace and any properties you see, and they will expect honesty and clear communication from you as well. Email or call anytime if you have any specific questions.

Please also check out my profile, website, and LinkedIn profile. - Sat Nov 15 2008, 12:05

Hi Kevin,

Yes, talking with a lender is the first step. All lenders will meet with you no obligation, although you may be most comfortable talking with your own bank first. I can certainly give you the names of 2 great lenders my team works with who always get high marks from our clients. The lender will look not only at your salary, but at any debts you are carrying (called your 'debt to income' ratio) to determine what you qualify for. Additionally, you'll likely need cash for a 3% downpayment. You will not be able to roll your truck pay't into the mortgage.
Its tough to find a single family home in Leesburg for under $250,000. I'm not sure where your commute takes you, but I'd advise looking farther west if possible, or re considering a TH/condo. I myself have moved to Lovettsville to be able to buy what I wanted.

I think you should check with a lender to go over the details of your finances, and then start to check out what is available in your price range to see if you are interested in those properties. I'd be happy to set you up on an email program that emails you properties within your rough criteria so you can check out what's out there for the money.

Hope that helped some! - Wed Aug 27 2008, 13:28

Absolutely, have an honest conversation with any lender you talk with regarding what monthly payment you are comfortable with. What they may approve you for, and what you are comfortable with as a monthly payment may be different--many people 'qualify' for much more than they really want to realistically pay. They can 'work backwards' to help you establish a price range based on your desired monthly payment.

From an real estate agent's perspective, using a direct lender in this market is so important for a number of reasons:
1. Choose local. You want to be able to have face time if necessary, and there will be no complication due to time zone differences.
2. Many sellers, including foreclosures, will look more favorably on your offer if they see you are using a well known direct lender. With banks closing, programs changing all the time, and the mortgage market volatility, they don't want to tie up their property with your contract/offer if they don't trust your lender (and as agents, my team always advises sellers to require a back up lender letter from a direct lender if a buyer submits an offer from a lender we are unsure of)

Yes, shop around, but save time and ask your friends, family members, coworkers, or agent for references. Pick the top 2-3 and go from there! Get a good faith estimate from each so you know you are comparing 'apples to apples'. Good luck. - Tue Aug 19 2008, 07:10

Mbs,

Are you talking about the Trustees Sale notices in the paper? If so, those homes are not sold yet, but will be auctioned off on the courthouse steps on the date noted in the Trustees Sale notice/ad. Indeed, the most proactive method to search out distressed properties is going directly to the courthouse to search for recent filings of Trustees Deeds.

FYI, Virginia is a state where the bank does not have to go to court to foreclose, but does have to have a Trustee's sale....at which the highest bidder--OVER the opening bid--takes over the property (and any tenants, possibly other liens, etc with it!) With our market, the highest bidder usually ends up being the bank itself, as the opening bid is typically what is owed on the home---which now a days, is more than what its fair market value is. With the bank as official owner at that point, they will put it on the MLS to sell. This can be awhile from the date of foreclosure as they may need to evict the previous owners and inventory the property's condition. You can contact the banks directly (some have websites) to see their foreclosure homes. You may be able to get the jump on them before they have them listed on the MLS.

Otherwise, find a good realtor with foreclosure experience to set you up on a no obligation auto email program. The realtor enters your criteria and you will automatically receive an email the day a new property hits the market. You'll need to be ready to move quickly though, the best ones often get multiple offers and go under contract fast. Any questions, feel free to email. Good luck!
jackie.hagenston@longandfoster.com - Tue Aug 19 2008, 06:57

Thank you! Keep em coming. I'd love to hear more suggestions--I'm sure there are a million different ways people have set things up. - Wed Jul 23 2008, 14:34

Thx Julie--questions for you to clarify: did you say the team lead was on salary? Is that you as the lead agent? Is it difficult to determine who brought in the lead? If it comes in off team website, does that mean no one receives the 25% for securing it since it was from team advertising? I will read that book, the agent who set up the team has it, but has not set up the team that way. - Tue Jul 22 2008, 06:59