Best area to find a steeply discounted house (Denver, Columbine: bank owned, for sale)

[Ajs76]

Hello,

My Fiance' and I are looking at buying in Denver. We'd like to be fairly close to centennial (say 15 minutes or so) as she works near there.

We're looking in the 600-900k range because it seems that there are a LOT of houses in that range that just aren't moving either because they were overdeveloped or people just need to move and are having a hard time now due to the market slow down. I want to buy 2007's million dollar home as cheaply as possible.

I figure time is in my favor, so I'm in no hurry to leave my downtown rental apt.

So where would you all be looking to buy assuming I want to get this place and keep it for a long period of time i.e- raise kids there etc.

I've checked out a lot of areas:

Greenwood Village - you get less for your money, but the proximity to DTC and reputation seems to make it a solid choice for the long term.

Centennial - There are fewer houses in this price range, which concerns me that I might be buying one of the nicer houses on the block limiting the investment potential.

Estancia? /Foxfield - We attended an open house and looked at some REALLY nice homes on significant land, but the sheer amount of landscaping and potential for these areas to be ghost towns really scares me.

i.e -

University Park - I'm liking how the large custom homes here aren't able to justify their price tags at all. i.e-

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2121-S-Columbine-St-Denver-CO-80210/72296481_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address}


Any other areas you all would consider? Thoughts?


Thanks in advance!

[2bindenver]

This is like finding a needle in a haystack. You cannot predetermine what a seller will accept in any given area.

You need to have a lot of patience.
You will be making offers on a lot of properties that will not end up in contract.

Is there potential in a bank owned, corporate owned short sale or traditional sale? Sure. But you won't know what a seller will take because of the neighborhood or community.

I had a property for sale three years ago 2 loans 1.2 million didn't take a $975,000 cash offer. Did sell at the foreclosure sale for $690,000 to an investor -now for sale again for $800,000.

There will be a lot of writing contracts on your part. So be kind to your broker.

[Ajs76]

Thanks for the input! So your thought is not to limit myself to an area necessarily, but just lowball everyone

I do forsee a lot of offers being rejected fairly harshly, but there's always the chance. I'm avoiding rushing into this because I'm thinking the next year or two will not be kind to real estate. So getting a bad deal now will just become that much more apparent.

[2bindenver]

By definition a lowball offer would be a significant decrease from today's fair market value.

Who knows what next year or the year after that will bring. Property values, interest rates are all subject to change.

Since we didn't have a great run up on values here, we didn't have a bubble to burst. It's my opinion that the sole reason that the luxury market is suffering is the lack of needed financing.

[Disarming Darling]

You can try Lone Tree.
But the problem in Denver is that there is low inventory and people really don't need to lower their asking price, because there is not that many homes to choose from like in the past.

I had a broker tell me he didn't like to lowball because it would hurt his reputation. Maybe others feel the same way.

[Ajs76]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

Since we didn't have a great run up on values here, we didn't have a bubble to burst. It's my opinion that the sole reason that the luxury market is suffering is the lack of needed financing.

Homes in a lot of the areas seem to be selling for 30% off their bubble-ish prices, which is great. I'm thinking you're right on the lack of easy financing now, so I'm thinking if I DO have qualified financing, and can find someone who needs to move for work, divorce, etc...they might be willing to deal.

Is it naive to think that? I'm finding asking prices that look pretty decent either way.

[2bindenver]

I am all for getting a good deal. As a local Real Estate Broker, there's a strategy for that.

The luxury niche REB's all know each other, and do business together repeatedly.

[proveick]

How about checking out the foreclosure auctions.
http://www.denvergov.org/web/Clerkan...es_Results.pdf
RP

[Disarming Darling]

Originally Posted by Ajs76

Thanks for the input! So your thought is not to limit myself to an area necessarily, but just lowball everyone

I do forsee a lot of offers being rejected fairly harshly, but there's always the chance. I'm avoiding rushing into this because I'm thinking the next year or two will not be kind to real estate. So getting a bad deal now will just become that much more apparent.

People won't give their houses away and even foreclosures and short sales you don't save that much. Why don't you look for something close to your price range?

This is how people end up losing their homes years later. Have to consider property taxes also.

[2bindenver]

A foreclosure auction is the last place a newbie should be.

A lot of loans that are foreclosing are juniors, so if you buy one you have to payoff the first in order to get full ownership.

A foreclosure auction requires a certified funds check for 1 dollar more than what the bank bids. If you win the auction, you have until 2 pm to get the public trustee the rest of the cash.

There are redemption rights for all junior lien holders.....