Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate

Monday Morning Market Memo 11-5-07 November 5th, 2007

Categories: Monday Market Memo

The total inventory dropped significantly this week.  That’s because many homes were listed only through the end of October and the owners chose to not relist them during th holidays.

We did get thirty new listings. Of these 30 listings, six of them are foreclosed homes.  That is 20% of the new listings for the week.  Hopefully this is just an anomaly that will not be a continuing trend.

This week both the pendings and closings averaged in the mid $200s.  Quite a few higher end homes sold this week to bring the average up. 

		Average Price	DOM
New	30	$247,787
Total Active	887
Pending	24	$246,467	99
Closed	24	$252,402	83

Below to the left is the Alaska MLS chart for the valley up through Oct.  The chart to the right is for comparison and includes all the listings on the MLS system.  This includes the Valley, Kenai, and Anchorage.  It is interesting to note that the outstanding inventory in the Valley is actually lower than it is for the whole MLS. 

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

Mat-Su Foreclosures, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Part 2 November 4th, 2007

Categories: For Buyers

In part one we talked about pre-foreclosures.  This is when you buy the property after it is in foreclosure but before it goes to the auction.  In a pre-foreclosure you are dealing with the private owner and sometimes also with the lender, especially if you do a short sale. 

In this post we will talk about actually purchasing the property at the auction.  These auctions are scheduled to be held either at the Palmer Court House or the Anchorage Court House.  When you read the legal notice, you will see who the contact person is and when the auction is scheduled.  You will want to call the day before the auction to ensure that it will in fact be held.  Often the auction is postponed or cancelled for some reason. 

When you show up at the court house you will want to have proof that you can pay the price in cash.  This can include a letter of credit, or a cashiers check.  You will not be able to get a normal mortgage on the property because the lender will want to be paid “cash as-is”.  

You will be purchasing the property “as is”.  Often you will have little to no opportunity to inspect the property before you pay for it.  You will have no recourse if you find problems with the property after you own it.  Often these properties have significant damage.  I have seen foreclosed properties with all the cabinets removed, all the light fixtures removed, the pipes frozen and broken, and a glacier flowing out the front door.

When you do purchase the property at the auction you will receive a trustees deed.  This deed will wipe out any other liens against the property except a federal lien such as an IRS lien.  If the IRS does come back and take the property, they will need to reimburse the purchaser of the property.

Normally only a few people show up for these auctions because they are so risky.  The real savvy investors who are willing to take risks occasionally buy properties here for 50 cents on the dollar or less.  But they often get stuck with major repairs as well.  Most often, the lender opens the bidding with the amount owed on the property and that is the only bid.  Then the property goes back to the lender who has to put it back on the market.  It is now a Real Estate Owned, (REO), property.

REO properties are almost always listed with a Realtor on the MLS system.  That is the subject for part 3.

 

 

 

 

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

Mat-Su Foreclosures, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly November 3rd, 2007

Categories: For Buyers

Some areas of the country are seeing a lot of foreclosures.  Generally, the places that had the fastest increase in prices are seeing the most homes go into foreclosure.  Wasilla and Palmer currently have more foreclosures than we have seen in about 10 years or so, but it isn’t anything like Las Vegas, Pheonix or Southern California.

Often, people ask about buying foreclosures with the unspoken assumption that a better deal might be found there.  There actually are some opportunities here for a savvy buyer, but there are also some mine fields that can blow you apart if you aren’t careful.

There are three different points where foreclosures come on the market.  The pre-foreclosure, the foreclosure auction, and the bank-owned foreclosure. 

This article will focus on the pre-foreclosure.  I will discuss the other purchase points in future posts.

The pre-foreclosure begins when the home owner drops far enough behind in payments that the lender begins foreclosure proceedings. Often, the owner finds a way to bring the payments current so that they can forestall the foreclosure.  However, if the owner cannot bring the payments current it is just a matter of time before the house will be auctioned at the court house steps.  The period before that is the pre-foreclosure period.

An owner who decides to try to sell their home before the bank takes it is a very motivated seller.  They know they are not only going to lose the home, they will also have very damaged credit if the lender takes it.

You can find lists of these foreclosures in local newspapers.  The Alaska Journal of Commerce legal section has the most extensive list.  The legal notice gives the owners name and the legal address of the property.

Usually these homes will be listed with a Realtor.  The listing advertisement may or may not mention that the house is in foreclosure. The problem is that more often than not, there is more owed on the property than it is worth.  That is where a short sale comes in.  Sometimes the lender will accept an offer for less than the amount owed to save them the hassle of taking possession and selling it themselves.

Normally, the home will not be in very good shape, and the owner will not be able to make any repairs.  If repairs must be made to bring the home up to financing condition, you may have to foot the bill yourself.  Making repairs on someone elses home before you purchase it is always a risky proposition. 

If you are looking fore a motivated seller, here they are.  But just because the seller is motivated does not mean that you will get a great price.  Negotiating with the seller is one thing, but usually the bank is involved as well.  Negotiating with a bank is like boxing with Mike Tyson, they know what they are doing.

Written by Marty Van Diest 4 Comments »