In December of 2007, we hadn’t given almost a billion dollars to banks. But the government and the blogosphere was abuzz with talk about bailing out home owners.
Category Archives: foreclosure
Wayback Wednesday… Forsclosure Thoughts, 2007
- Wednesday, 09 December 2009 08:30
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 0 Comments
Short Sales, Bank-Owned and Credit Pulls
- Thursday, 19 November 2009 18:48
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 3 Comments
A few days ago I wrote about how the purchase offering process is having issues… issues that are especially apparent on Bank-Owned Properties (we call them REOs).
Banks are often requiring that ALL offers be accompanied by pre-qualification letters from specific approved lenders (perhaps even from their own loan department). In other cases, the brokers representing the properties are interjecting this “requirement” on their own.
This morning, local (and nationally syndicated) radio talk show host, Clark Howard mentioned
Job Loss/Mortgage Payment Insurance for Buyers!
- Monday, 16 November 2009 22:06
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 2 Comments
We are pleased and excited to announce the roll-out of a new program for buyers… Job Loss Insurance.
This is a cool program to take a little bit of apprehension out of buying a home. In effect, it is an insurance policy that protects the buyer in case of job loss. The policy will make up to 6 payments during the first year of ownership if you lose your job involuntarily (two periods up to 3 months each). It is available with coverages up to $2000/mo.
First Time Home Buyers… I just found a REAL bargain…
- Saturday, 26 September 2009 23:47
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 0 Comments
- Image by mlhradio via Flickr
The October issue of Realtor Magazine (our industry magazine) had an interesting article about dispelling myths while educating first time home buyers. The third point was about the realities of “bargains”.
There are absolutely some bargains in the market… But, often those properties that are the real bargains are NOT the ones that have rock-bottom prices.
The HECK you say…
Really… I have been in some pretty cheap properties in the last few months. It seems that a house priced at $25,000 in a neighborhood or $150,000 homes would be a slam-dunk, right? That deal starts to look WAY less attractive when the issues get added up…
- roof
- mold
- floor coverings
- appliances
- plumbing fixtures
- electical fixtures
- copper wire
- copper plumbing
- landscaping (not to make it pretty, but to stop water from washing away the foundation)
- HVAC
- driveway paving
Seriously, I looked at a house that needed all of that. It would be faster, easier and probably cheaper to bulldoze the house and start over. Since the lot would be worth about $10,000… and it would take about $15,000 to clear the lot and get it ready for a new building… This wasn’t a deal.
Of course, most aren’t that severe…
However, there are a lot of times where one house will be significantly cheaper than another for sale, but after correcting its issues, it actually ends up costing more. It might be simple things like carpet and appliances, or maybe something more involved, like a roof or HVAC.
This often ties back to “I need to see all of the options“, presented earlier. In this case, we just want to get a look to make sure that it really is in that bad of shape.
I have looked at a lot of “bargain” properties and have a pretty good feel for them. There are some great deals, but they are usually not the first ones to present themselves… They are generally in much better shape and slightly more expensive.
Finally…
Remember that the deal properties often still need work. And it is probable that the buyer will have to come up with cash for that work, in addition to downpayment and other closing costs… it isn’t something to bootstrap.
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Thinking of a house with a big garage in Gwinnett County, GA?
- Monday, 14 September 2009 23:18
- Written by Lane Bailey
- 2 Comments
Gwinnett County, GA (just outside Atlanta, if you aren’t already familiar) is a great place to live… especially for car people, it seems. There are some great opportunities to find 4+ car garage homes here in Gwinnett.
There are rules that disallow promoting listings that aren’t my own, so I can’t give identifying information, but I am going to describe several homes in at various price points. The pictures are from a property I have listed at 590 Baltimore Ave in Lilburn, GA.
Overall, there are 138 properties in Gwinnett County, GA that are listed with 4+ car garages.
Under $200k…
Surprisingly, there are 22 homes under $200k in Gwinnett listed with 4+ car garages. And some of these are quite nice. There is a home in Buford that I visited last week that is very nice. It has two different two car garages, one is attached and the other is detached. It is also recently renovated. New carpet, paint and appliances. It comes in slightly under $190k. Other properties come in as low as $120k. I haven’t been to some of them, so the condition might be a little rougher…
Under $400k…
There are 22 more properties priced from $200,001 to $400,000 with 4 or more car garages. These are some REAL gems in this group. The pictures on this post are from my listing in Lilburn with 2 two car garages. It is a beautiful home on almost 4 acres… but only minutes from downtown Lilburn. Right at $300k, there is an amazing house in Lawrenceville. I have not been in it, but I believe it is a 4 car attached garage. This is a brand new home that is a builder close-out.
Under $750k…
There are 32 properties in the $400,001 to $750,000 range. These are obviously more luxurious. There are homes in Sugarloaf, Chateau Elan and Garner Creek at Parkview. There are several that are brand new. There is a very attractive short sale in Grayson. I have been in the neighborhood, and possibly this house (I can’t recall from the pictures, I would have been in it before the current sellers bought the home). At $700k, it sits on almost 3 acres.
Moving on up… Over $750k…
Most of the 62 homes that are listed in this range aren’t really enthusiast homes, but rather big houses with big garages… but there are exceptions, like a home in Lawrenceville, priced just under $1m with a detached workshop… looks like it would hold a few cars. It also sits on over 7 acres.
There are a few other properties that are exceptional, including some with 5 or more car garages… Pricing goes up to $8.5m. There are even some bank owned properties in this range that could be great deals for the right buyer.
(note: Due to limitations in the public database, links are to searches for homes with 3 or more car garages. If you contact Lane, he can set you up with a custom search that is limited to 4+ car garages.)
