In a market flooded with foreclosures, homebuyers can find steals easily. Or that\u2019s what many of them think until they begin searching. Soon, they learn that only savvy buyers get the best deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understanding how banks negotiate foreclosure deals is a must if you want to buy low in today\u2019s market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are five secrets every homebuyer must know when shopping for a foreclosed home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s useless to make lowball offers on bank-owned houses that have been on the market for only a few days, says John Thompson, a Realtor at Samson Realty in Chantilly, Va.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you haven\u2019t had opportunity to expose your property to the marketplace long enough, you would be reluctant to take a lowball offer,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cMost of the banks are aggressive with their pricing, but they are not going to give the properties away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asset management companies handle sales for banks. These companies price the foreclosed homes close to what they think the properties are worth. And they are given guidelines that stipulate how much of a reduction \u2014 if any \u2014 they are allowed to give during a specific period<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many agents list bank-owned houses for less than they are worth to grab buyers\u2019 attention and attract multiple offers. Once potential buyers are emotionally attached to the house, bidding wars are likely to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t fall for the gambit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do your homework to find out what the property is really worth based on what comparable homes in that area have recently sold for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKnow what the property is worth and know what you can afford,\u201d before you engage in a bidding war, says Jeff Richardson, a real-estate agent at Alliance Bay Realty in San Mateo, Calif. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to overpay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you come across the perfect bargain, you will have little time to decide before the vulture buyers show up. Be ready to act quickly while other potential buyers take their time to think about whether they want to make an offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe early bird catches the worm,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cIf you take weeks to think about it, you are going to get into a multiple-offer situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make a quick and sound decision, you need to already know the area and be qualified for a mortgage before the opportunity comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ve heard it many times: Cash is king. When buying a foreclosure, there\u2019s no question that a cash offer is a key tool to snag a bargain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For buyers who need mortgages, it can take 30 to 60 days to close on the house after the offer is accepted. The transaction can go more quickly when the buyer pays cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA cash buyer who can close in 10 days can certainly get the best deal,\u201d says Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO of HomeServices of America, a real-estate brokerage in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When facing competing offers on a foreclosure, remember that banks like quick, simple deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWrite a clean offer,\u201d Richardson says. \u201cWhen you are competing with other buyers, the less you ask for, the more likely you are to get the property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bank-owned properties are sold as is. Don\u2019t ask the bank to repair anything or add unnecessary clauses to the contract, Moody says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A bigger down payment and bigger deposit also help make your offer stronger because they tell the seller that you are committed to the property and will have no trouble closing on the mortgage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: By Polyana da Costa of Bankrate.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a market flooded with foreclosures, homebuyers can find steals easily. Or that\u2019s what many of them think until they begin searching. Soon, they learn that only savvy buyers get the best deals. Understanding how banks negotiate foreclosure deals is a must if you want to buy low in today\u2019s market. Here are five secrets… Continue reading 5 tips for snagging a good deal on a foreclosure<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20,"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions\/20"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbrtwn.com\/dora-mcgillis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}