[SoFLGal]

Zillow as a whole is not very reliable. I have seen some things close and others things way off. We have had people looking to list their homes and they showed us a Zillow sheet that was over $100,000 off. If you ask me that's a pretty big margin of error.

Look on the local property appraisers website and search what the homes sold for. You can go down a street and look at the solds. You won't get an average unless you do it yourself but it's a lot more accurate. Or of course, if you really wanted to know you could call a Realtor. They have access to all of this info at the touch of a button.

[Wendyb0077]

This all depends on how much the seller owes on the property. They may have a small mtg. on the property and that's why they jumped on it. If not the seller may have to come to closing with $$$ to close. Not likely to happen!!! Keep on top of your deal!!!

Originally Posted by Angelala

We looked at one that was priced at $199,000.00 and made a offer of $135,000.00 and the seller took it without counter offering. The seller knew we were heading back north the next day so I guess she didn't want to lose the sale and she was probably right.

[MyHomeIsInOcala]

Originally Posted by Muggy

Thanks. So my post should really say "REO & Foreclosure strategies."
Do I just call banks? Do I need a realtor?

You can use Any Real Estate Agent; just let them know what you are looking for. There are some that work with Loss Mitigation, REO & REO Asset Management Companies directly (that is what I did... I had over 12 asset management companies that I did business with).

You can also check out the auctions at the local county court house.

Good Luck!

[LingLing]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Zillow as a whole is not very reliable. I have seen some things close and others things way off. We have had people looking to list their homes and they showed us a Zillow sheet that was over $100,000 off. If you ask me that's a pretty big margin of error.
.

I recently have this experience. Two MAI certified (the highest rank you can find) appraisers appraised one property, $110K different in value. We asked them to look at each other's appraisal to come in with some conclusion. They were firm on their conclusion. Both appraisals were not judged faulty by a third MAI appraiser when a desk review was ordered. I don't have any confidence in appraisal system in this country after this experience. This is kind of off the topic. The buyer and seller are the only authority to determine the property's value. This is a buyer's market so buyer's call will be considered as the decisive factor. I don't believe in appraisers now. Of course, everyone knows they played a role in the housing bubble crisis.

[Angelala]

Originally Posted by Wendyb0077

This all depends on how much the seller owes on the property. They may have a small mtg. on the property and that's why they jumped on it. If not the seller may have to come to closing with $$$ to close. Not likely to happen!!! Keep on top of your deal!!!

We did, it's already a done deal we closed on it 2 months ago. We bought it for $135,000.00 and she owed $95,000.00 on it so everyone walked away happy.

[Wendyb0077]

Congratulations Good luck in your new home!!!

Originally Posted by Angelala

We did, it's already a done deal we closed on it 2 months ago. We bought it for $135,000.00 and she owed $95,000.00 on it so everyone walked away happy.

[Wendyb0077]

An appraisal is an opinion of value. It is not a science. But that is a really big difference in price. That just shows you how the market can get sooo messed up!!!

Originally Posted by LingLing

I recently have this experience. Two MAI certified (the highest rank you can find) appraisers appraised one property, $110K different in value. We ask them to look at each other's appraisal to come in with some conclusion. They are firm on their conclusion. Both appraisals are not judged faulty by a third MAI appraiser when a desk review is ordered. I don't have any confidence in appraisal system in this country after this experience. This is kind of off the topic. The buyer and seller are the only authority to determine the property's value. This is a buyer's market so buyer's call will be considered as the decisive factor. I don't believe in appraisers now. Of course, everyone knows they played a role in the housing bubble crisis.

[WOWAddict]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Zillow as a whole is not very reliable. I have seen some things close and others things way off. We have had people looking to list their homes and they showed us a Zillow sheet that was over $100,000 off. If you ask me that's a pretty big margin of error.

Look on the local property appraisers website and search what the homes sold for. You can go down a street and look at the solds. You won't get an average unless you do it yourself but it's a lot more accurate. Or of course, if you really wanted to know you could call a Realtor. They have access to all of this info at the touch of a button.

Have to agree. You can request the local property for a report on what you are looking for and it will be totally up to date. All of these sites pull their information from public information and most of the time before they update their systems it is months old.

Did not read the whole thread so I do not know if this was brought up.

I sold my fathers home not to long ago and have some insight on lowball offers and selling a home.

I was offered a really low offer by some guy who I heard from the other Realtor was a real jerk. He did no research and was just going off what the media was telling him make a low offer and it would be taken. Well I was already one of the lowest in the neighborhood but the market being what it was I considered it. I did not turn it down right away but asked for a couple of weeks.

I personally knew the house was priced correctly. I had done my research of other homes in the area and the people who were living into the neighborhood.

Its a good thing I did because 2 other couples came in and liked the house so a mini bidding war started. It was great for times like these. In the end the lowballer wanted the house the whole time and bumped his price a lot to get the house and in the end I got my asking price because it was a really good deal.

Moral of the story is if your looking for a "Home" do your homework. Do not listen to people who say "I would be insulted and not speak to you" for a low ball off or people who say offer 20% below their asking price. Every situation is unique.

If your just looking to buy a cheap property for investment. Who cares throw whatever offer you want.

[SoFLGal]

I've seen appraisals done and then the next month they are no good anymore because the values continue to drop so rapidly. Really, it all boils down to what a buyer willing to pay for your home. You can have an appraisal that says that your home is worth $500,000 but if I'm only willing to pay $250,000 then that's what is worth to me.

Generally, appraisers use the last six months sold properties within a one mile radius of the home. They try to come pretty close with the size and age. I was told that they are now factoring in active listings. I'm not a big fan of this because many of the homes on the market are short sales and often times the listing price is set low to entice buyers to make offers. The above criteria are the same parameters that I use to come up with a CMA (comparative market analysis).

Another problem with appraisals is that if you use a home that sold six months ago, the values may have dropped $50,000 since then. So it skews the numbers. I try to find things that have sold in the last month or so but it's not always that easy due to lack of sales. These could be some of the issues you are seeing with the inaccuracy of the appraisals.

[judithexit]

Originally Posted by Wendyb0077

Muggy, Lenders are not in the real estate business they are in the money business. Until the lender takes back the property you have to deal with the sellers. I did some research in my real estate market today. I searched properties that are 2005 and newer, 1800+ sq. ft living area, four bedrooms, CBS loaded homes. In just one part of town I picked up over 80 homes. Narrowed it down to 11. All of the homes were listed as SHORT SALES. with prices between 150k and 160k The origional prices where in the mid 200's and up. THIS MEANS NOTHING!!!! The seller and the realtor get together and throw a price out there. The lender hasn't agreed to any of this. All were subject to third party approval!! This 50 cents on the dollar is not realistic. NOT YET! Things are going to have to get a lot worse first..

Wendyb007 there is a lot of turth to what you say! But i have done this I will tell you really don't know what the bank or the lawyer for the bank will take. It Depends on a lot of factors for them , many homes they have in there inventory. If they think the house is in good shape and what can they get for it. So Muggy You won't know unless you try also it dose take a while to for them to close.