Newbie Question On Making An Offer On House That Will Be Foreclosed On.
I've been interested in buying a house in my area for a few months now, and I've been reading on these forums and some books trying to figure out how to get the best deal. I'm planning on buying a place and living in it for a few years and then selling it. Currently home prices in my area are appreciating at 15-20%/year so it would be hard to make a bad move.
While browsing through the local paper this week I wrote down all of the properties that were listed as having sales on the courthouse steps in the next 2 months. Then I did some research on the properties. It appears that one of them is currently on the market for $165k. I'm guessing this is about on the ball for the fair-market-value for this property, but the sellers have to be motivated since there is a foreclosure auction on March 19. I was thinking of trying to enter a very low offer to try and get it.
My questions are, what would a reasonable offer be? How do I locate a realtor that would be willing to put in such a low offer? How can I protect myself against any liens that may be on the property? Any other advice anyone could give me?
Thanks,
Rob
a reasonable offer would be the lowest the seller would accept, I would start at what they owe and work from there.
If this house is not listed with a realtor I would try to deal directly with the seller.
You should have your offer contingent on a title search, if you've made a contact at a title company this can usually be done in 1 to 2 days.
Good luck, Ted
It is listed by a realtor. How do I find out how much they owe on it or are behind on it?
Thanks,
Rob
It always helps when we know in which jurisdiction you are. Perhaps you can revisit your profile and include your state,county, etc.
The Realtor can tell you the asking price. The foreclosure documents should reveal the total debt, etc..
Whatever your offer, remember, Cash is King. An offer that isn't subject to a financing contingency is heavily favored.
Thank you... I have updated my profile to reflect that I am in St. Croix County, Wisconsin -- right outside of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The asking price is $164k. I do not have the cash to buy the property, but I do think I can very easily qualify for funding. At 164k I'm not interested -- in the $130k range, I am. I assume I should get pre-qualified for a loan.
Thanks again,
Rob