Thread: BUYING FORECLOSED PROPERTY advice

Anyone buy foreclosed home for their personal living property ?
I just put in a offer today on a home for 200k , in 2003 the home was valued at 575k
I might not have the highest offer but my question is how much more would you be willing to offer if they come back with a declined offer .
The home is listed at 185k but has multiple offers and today was last day for highest and best offers ,
It needs some work , and somone gutted the a/c , furnace, appliances , and some other things , but I knew the PO and they probably put over $150k into the interior , granite , brazilian hardwood, custom venetian plastered walls , 2 story marble fireplace and buncha krazy stuff .. The thing is im 35 and wife is 25 yrs old , we dont have any kids . The home is 3500 sq ft with a 2000sq ft basement .. My wife loves the house and wants it no ???? asked . Currently we rent a 1,000 sq ft 2 bedroom condo . I worried that if i do buy this big ass house it will be very overwhelming for my wife even though she feels like she can handle it . After looking at some numbers if they accept my offer I would be getting the house at roughly $60/sq ft which IMHO is a steal figuring the home is is in WEST BLOOMFIELD , MICHIGAN which is one of the nicer more affluent suburbs in Metropolitan Detroit area . The only thing i have a issue with is the TAXES . 2 yrs ago they were 10k/yr now they are 7,500/yr and homesteaded .. State equalized value is 189k , if I end up buying the home for $200k would anyone think I could get them assessed at a lower price ..

We shall find out before the days end if offer is accepted or not .. If so
pics to come !!!!!

Me and the dude have ~ 4k sq ft, including the basement, on an acre and it's TOO BIG! Cleaning takes a full day and doesn't even get every room. All those fancy finishes will require their own cleaning product and utensil. We have tile, hardwoods, stainless, granite, etc and I have a counter full of products and devices. It's exhausting. I have a separate vacuum for in-between cleanings...

Unless she is at home full time to keep up with the cleaning, you might find yourselves overwhelmed with the upkeep.
Keep in mind also, I don't do any of the yard work, just the inside and it's crazy to keep up with.

Good luck!

If the home is bank owned, then all offers will be submitted through the realtor. Your offer will most likely be countered by the bank if it is not acceptable rather than just being declined. Remember that although they may have multiple offers, they always want as much as they can get. Just get ready to go back and fourth with multiple counter offers as the process moves along. Good Luck!

Sub'd. Interesting topic...
Side note: How long before Haze comes in with "Wife cleaning the house" comments? ;-)

Originally Posted by G-FLo

Anyone buy foreclosed home for their personal living property ?

No. But I have foreclosed on somebody and then sold it. It's just like any transaction except the owner is the bank. Nothing more, nothing less. The problem with dealing with the bank is that the home is AS IS and they will credit you nothing if you so desire. Make sure you have money set aside for all the improvmements. If you say you're going to put in $150,000, is the house completed worth $350,000 because that is what you're effectively purchasign it for.

Originally Posted by G-FLo

I just put in a offer today on a home for 200k , in 2003 the home was valued at 575k

What it WAS valued at means nothing. It was overvalued at the time and nothing more. Most likely when it was valued at $575,000, it didn't need all the work on it that it does now so the percentage of what you think it dropped it actually less.

Originally Posted by G-FLo

which is one of the nicer more affluent suburbs in Metropolitan Detroit area .

Didn't know there was such a thing.

Originally Posted by G-FLo

The only thing i have a issue with is the TAXES . 2 yrs ago they were 10k/yr now they are 7,500/yr and homesteaded .. State equalized value is 189k , if I end up buying the home for $200k would anyone think I could get them assessed at a lower price ..

They will reassess the property at the sales price at the time of purchase. As you do the improvments and pull permits, they will reassess you as you go along so your taxes will go up from there but they should be nowhere near what they were.

Hope I helped as I don't try to very often.

when did the property foreclose? i know in the state of michigan, depending on the amount of acres the house is on, the homeowners have a 6 month- 1 year redemption period. you wouldnt be able to purchase it from the bank until that period ends. however, if you can contact the orginal homeowners, they are able to short sale the property for whatever the amount is thats owed. it would also keep the foreclosure off their credit report.

btw, for anyone wondering how i know this, i work for chase in the REO dept, haha. i deal with this stuff everyday. sooo much fun :P

Originally Posted by G-FLo

The home is 3500 sq ft with a 2000sq ft basement ..

I was just curious as to why the homes basement is larger than the main living space?

I am no contractor/home builder/, nor do i have any credentials to say i know much about home building, but it seems a little off to me? Would come with some problems i would think if it were not built properly. Things that come to mind would be bugs, flooding of the basement, etc. if the basement were not sealed properly.

Every single home i have been in that has had a "basement", the "basement" was always equivalent to the main floor of the home which is why i am honestly curious..

Sorry if i sound like a noob, but will someone elaborate kindly?

Originally Posted by G-FLo

Anyone buy foreclosed home for their personal living property ?
I just put in a offer today on a home for 200k , in 2003 the home was valued at 575k
I might not have the highest offer but my question is how much more would you be willing to offer if they come back with a declined offer .
The home is listed at 185k but has multiple offers and today was last day for highest and best offers

The best advice that I can give is to have your agent do a CMA to see what other homes are selling for in the area. Are you paying cash or financing? If you are financing, the highest you can go is whatever the appraisal comes back at unless you want to come to closing with cash.

Originally Posted by Jeff@HessMotorsports

If the home is bank owned, then all offers will be submitted through the realtor. Your offer will most likely be countered by the bank if it is not acceptable rather than just being declined.

I'd like to know what banks you work with, because if that was the case, I'd be a rich man. In multiple offer situations, banks for the most part do the complete opposite. That's why the term "highest & best" gets thrown around so often. Now, if you are the highest offer but still not where they want to be, they may counter.. but if you aren't near the top you can forget about it. Also, cash is king.

Originally Posted by wickedlysane

Me and the dude have ~ 4k sq ft, including the basement, on an acre and it's TOO BIG! Cleaning takes a full day and doesn't even get every room. All those fancy finishes will require their own cleaning product and utensil. We have tile, hardwoods, stainless, granite, etc and I have a counter full of products and devices. It's exhausting. I have a separate vacuum for in-between cleanings...

Unless she is at home full time to keep up with the cleaning, you might find yourselves overwhelmed with the upkeep.
Keep in mind also, I don't do any of the yard work, just the inside and it's crazy to keep up with.

Good luck!

Easy solution. Get a cleaning-lady. I have someone come into my place once a week and clean the whole house. I have roughly 1,600sqft but I'd rather pay someone to do a better job than I would if I would have to slave over it. Personally, it's not worth my time to clean the house when I could pay someone to do it. my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by ChumpChange

What it WAS valued at means nothing. It was overvalued at the time and nothing more. Most likely when it was valued at $575,000, it didn't need all the work on it that it does now so the percentage of what you think it dropped it actually less.

I agree. All you need to know is the current MARKET VALUE. Price and Value and 2 different things.