Posts Tagged ‘mesa foreclosures’
Since 2007, mesa foreclosures and short sales have littered the real estate market and drove down the price of property and home values. The upside to the down housing market is that homebuyers and investors can find sweet deals in some of the nation’s most sought after cities.
If cities like Milwaukee, Memphis, Baltimore and the Big D interest you, then you’ll find a honey of a home in any of these metro areas. Though the initial listing price may begin at what properties are currently valued, they are often reduced from 26 to 33 percent. The top ten U.S. cities with the listings discounted the most include the following:
* Milwaukee, WI – 33 percent
* Phoenix, AZ – 31 percent
* Mesa, AZ – 31 percent
* Memphis, TN – 31 percent
* Baltimore, MD – 30 percent
* Jacksonville, FL – 30 percent
* Dallas, TX – 29 percent
* Minneapolis, MN – 29 percent
* Tucson, AZ – 27 percent
* Columbus, OH – 26 percent
Falling in the first quarter by 4.3 percent, Milwaukee home values continue to lose ground, but the number of home listings is huge. In fact, Milwaukee has the most real estate listings of any city in the state. As of April 2010, the average home in Milwaukee was valued at $144,609, which is making buying real estate in this city much more affordable. Add to it a 31 percent reduction on the listing, and you could buy a home there for only $99,780.
Phoenix was on a top ten list in 2008 for being one of the cities hardest hit by the real estate bust. In the first quarter of 2009, property values were still going down, tumbling by almost 20 percent. Economists predict that the city has a looming shadow inventory getting ready to hit the market soon and will drive values down even further. Standard & Poor’s Case Schiller Study showed Mesa home values were on the ever-so-slight rise by last quarter 2009 and into first quarter of 2010. As of April, the average estimated value of Mesa homes is around $133,664.
According to the most recent Clear Capitol market report, the River City was noted with the most sales in the nation of foreclosed property by lenders in the first quarter of 2010. It resulted in an 18.1 percent drop in Memphis home values from year-end 2009. Baltimore and Jacksonville tie for having a 30 percent reduction in the listing price. The median listing prices are $250,000 and $189,900, respectively.
In earlier 2010, mesa foreclosures were still climbing in Dallas; although, at a slower pace than in the recent past. By May, foreclosure filings dropped for the second straight month. That’s good news for Dallas real estate value and could indicate the beginning of a recovery. Minneapolis showed a 24.7 decrease in inventory compared to the same time in mid-April 2009. It looks like the housing market in the Twin City might be leveling out, since new listings are still on the decline. What that means for buyers is that home listing prices could soon be on the rise, so now would be the time to buy.
Median home values for mesa foreclosures continue to decline and currently sit at around $192,000. That’s almost a 4 percent drop since January 2010. Housing inventory is about the same as it was this time the previous year. Columbus appears to be leveling out somewhat in median home values staying steady at $159,900 since the beginning of year. That’s still a decline of 5.9 percent from the same time last year, but the inventory is decreasing, so these may be indicators that the market is beginning to level off. The dream of buying a quality, affordable home has become much more attainable. Falling home values, along with reductions in listing prices, lowers the cost to a more manageable price point.
Meanwhile, there are four other markets that did not experience a decline in home values in 2010 that were among those hardest hit nationwide by the housing bust. San Diego and Detroit both showed an increase, along with Los Angeles and San Diego. These cities, along with previously mentioned Phoenix, are now at the top of the list for cities recovering in the housing market.
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A foreclosed home is one in which the home owner was unable to pay his home loan so that the lender took over home ownership through the foreclosure process. These bank owned properties are also known as REOs (real estate owned).
The process in Arizona is similar to that in other states and will be the basis for this article. When you work with a real estate agent he will write up your purchase offer with you on a standardized contract which was developed by the Arizona Association of Realtors. The contract allows the agent to customize the contract for your particular purchase and has many built in protections for both the buyer and the seller.
When you make an offer for a mesa foreclosures property, you can expect to receive back from the seller (the bank currently owning the property) an addendum to the contract. These addendums are in essence a counter offer that the buyer must accept if he wants to purchase the property. In some cases the seller will negotiate with the buyer over these terms but most sellers expect the buyer to agree to their terms. We have seen a wide variety of addendums in the past year as we have worked with buyers. In all of them, many of the protections for the buyer in the standard contract are eliminated or modified. Here are some of the things we are seeing.
Inspection Period
In the standard contract, the inspection period lasts ten days from the date the contract has been signed by both parties. We have seen addendums that change that to be ten days from verbal acceptance of the contract and have even seen a five day inspection period that must be completed before the buyer signs and accepts the addendums.
Title/Escrow Company
The seller will typically require the buyer to utilize the escrow company of the seller’s choice. Usually using this company helps facilitate the timeliness of the transaction because the escrow company is familiar with the seller’s requirements.
AS/IS & Disclosures
When you purchase an owner occupied property, you will usually get a Seller’s Disclosure Statement. This will provide information about the property and a history of repairs done. When you buy a foreclosure property, the seller has not occupied the property and typically will not provide any disclosure statements. Additionally, the buyer is generally required to purchase the property in its current condition “as is” and the seller will not make any repairs. If something is missing such as a kitchen appliance or garage door openers the seller will not provide it. What you see is what you get. Read the addendum carefully to understand what the seller will be responsible for if the mesa foreclosures property is damaged during the escrow period. The escrow period spans the time from when the contract is agreed upon by both parties until the sale records (close of escrow).
Cost for Extension of Close of Escrow
Most of these addenda have a per diem charge if you need to extend the close of escrow beyond the date in the original contract. The most common reason buyers need to ask for an extension of the closing date is that the lender has not completed loan processing and delivered loan documents to title several days prior to closing to allow time for both the seller and the buyer to sign. We have seen costs ranging from $40 to $100 per day.
Loan Approval
The Arizona contract allows for a return of earnest money deposited by the buyer if after a good faith attempt to obtain a loan at prevailing market rates to purchase the property the buyer is unable to do so. Some addendums are limiting the buyer’s time to obtain loan approval to a set number of days from contract acceptance, for example 25 days. If the buyer does not notify the seller of his inability to obtain a loan within that time frame, he will forfeit his earnest money to the seller. This holds true even if the inability to obtain the loan had nothing to do with the buyer’s financial qualifications. We have seen loans turned down in the past few months for condo purchases because the community had too low a percentage of owner occupied units or the HOA was not financially solid or some cases for both of these reasons.
Tenants or Other Occupants
Most of these properties will be vacant; however, if you see evidence that someone is living in the property when you are viewing it and prior to writing an offer, you need to ask questions. Who is living in the property? If the property has been rented, what are the terms of the lease? We’ve seen addenda that indicate that the seller will not evict any occupants of the mesa foreclosures property and that it will be the responsibility or the buyer once he has purchased the property. You should also be aware that tenants have rights too. Be very cautious about writing an offer for a foreclosure property that is occupied.
What Does the Buyer Need to Do?
It is very important for the buyer to read the entire addendum provided by the seller prior to signing. If he has questions about the addendum he should ask his real estate agent for clarification. He should also verify that his real estate agent has read the entire addendum and made note of key dates.
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