How to buy foreclosures in Atlanta area (Smyrna: real estate market, 2014)

[mccray916]

Can anyone suggest the best way to buy a foreclosure home in the Atlanta area without trying to buy one on the courthouse steps. Any recommendations for companies to contact. I do not want random companies pulling my credit report and dinging my credit. Would like to find a really good company to work with that will be patient and informative throughout the process. Thanks for any help. Perhaps interested in Smyrna or Camp Creek area.

[BackInATL2011]

Auction.com, some of them are auctioned and accept bids online.

Or you can have somebody buy one for you at the court house. I know people that do that but they have plenty of investors/customers who purchase them afterward so I wwouldn't be able to refer you to them.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by mccray916

Can anyone suggest the best way to buy a foreclosure home in the Atlanta area without trying to buy one on the courthouse steps. Any recommendations for companies to contact. I do not want random companies pulling my credit report and dinging my credit. Would like to find a really good company to work with that will be patient and informative throughout the process. Thanks for any help. Perhaps interested in Smyrna or Camp Creek area.

Finding a good company to work with that will be patient and informative may prove to be a substantial challenge when there is currently so much activity by investors (both domestic and international) buying foreclosures and single-family homes with cash.

Unless one is attempting to purchase a foreclosure in an extremely depressed area where there is very little-to-no interest in buying by the cash investors who currently dominate the detached single-family home real estate market, one may potentially have some degree of difficulty attempting to purchase a foreclosure with credit.

In this market, there are many instances where credit buyers who inquire about houses are undercut by cash investors who do not need to go through the credit approval process and are ready to buy almost immediately.

One good way to attempt to buy a foreclosure or any home with credit in this cash-dominated real estate market is to find a good realtor who would be willing to work with you to either help you purchase a foreclosure with credit or purchase a rent-to-own property, which is what many cash investors have been converting the foreclosures and lower-cost properties that they bought in a cash-buying frenzy from 2011-2014 into.

Also, don't hesitate to make offers to purchase on quality rental properties, since that is what cash investors have been turning foreclosures into after they buy them.

Because Smyrna is kind of a hot real estate market at present (because of Smyrna's status as a hot close-in suburb), finding a residential property there that hasn't already been turned into a rental property may potentially prove to be a challenge, especially if you will be buying with your own credit in this real estate market which is dominated by all-cash transactions.

That doesn't mean that you should not look in Smyrna, but you should be warned of some of the challenges that may lie ahead for you.

The Camp Creek area is not as hot of an area as Smyrna is right now, so your chances of finding what you are looking for potentially might be better there than in Smyrna.

In any case, good luck with your real estate search!

[ATL Golfer]

Hire an agent. They won't pull your credit. Your lender will and they can wait until your are serious about a property.

Your agent can provide a quick list of all foreclosures in your desired areas.

You can also check out HUD homes on their website.

[LovelySummer]

This. I would only tweak to say hire an agent that focuses on or has significant experience with foreclosures based on actual experience. Most of my properties have been foreclosures purchases using an agent. What I've learned is that if the afent tells you they only look on the mls/fmls to find properties to present to you, they don't really work in foreclosures. I've also found that many don't really want to deal in foreclosures bc they don't want to take a cut in their possible commission relative to what the commissioon would be for a property for that is not a foreclosure for the same amount (or sometimes more) work for the agent. I would simply interview based on buyer's agents who advertise as focusing on and handling foreclosures and then ask for details on what percentage of their reps last year and year before were foreclosures. Also, in lower price point areas, you will still find plenty sitting on the market. In response to your inquiry, I personally know there are plenty still available in Camp Creek. Posdibly Smyrna too. I have not checked Smyrna. Havea professional inspection done just like with any other property before purchase.

With regard to investors buying up the market, I would not worry about that being the case. Investors rarely offer anything near the asking price so if you have a seller who needs to get something near the asking price, the investor offer won't cut it. Now, I'm not telling you to offer the asking price. I don't ever pay sticker...for anything. I'm just saying don't worry about the investors.[QUOTE=ATL Golfer;38042070]Hire an agent. They won't pull your credit. Your lender will and they can wait until your are serious about a property.

Your agent can provide a quick list of all foreclosures in your desired areas.

You can also check out HUD homes on their website.[/quote]