Buying a Foreclosure in Orlando (Kissimmee, Sanford: bank owned, short sales, real estate)

[brianmonroe2002]

Hey everyone - I am trying to relocate to the Orlando area from my existing home in upstate New York. I was trying to get a foreclosure and have not had any luck. I came across a company called shortpropertysales.com and they appear to have a lot of houses that are foreclosures and short sales but I am not sure about working with them. Has anyone tried this company? I would love to hear about any experience you may have had before I give them my business. Thanks in advance.

[BrokerHarry]

I would suggest you come to Orlando to scout & view Active REO (bank owned) listings in person, rather than relying on a multi-state marketing outfit helping you purchase from long distance.

If you're willing to handle the rehab, there are plenty of REO properties available, active on the MFRMLS right now.

And as the market continues to rebound, I am seeing more & more REO properties actually being rehabbed by the investor or bank holding the note, & then selling those foreclosures in even better condition. The bargain basement fire-sale days are long gone.

As to short sales...they are absolutely being phased out. The government allowed the tax laws to expire that previously enabled a seller to escape taxation on the forgiven debt. The official policy has changed. They're really trying to discourage further upside down owners from bailing on their property as an exit strategy at this late date.

The Recession is over, the market is rebounding, & many banks feel that they pull a higher return on an REO sale that they control, as opposed to a short sale that may have been submitted at an artificially lower price from a friend of the seller, or an "insider" client of the listing broker.

As of Jan 2015, Closed Foreclosure Sales outnumbered Closed Short Sales 605 to 134 in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford MSA. Foreclosures are up 51% while Short Sales are down 42%. Successful short sales are becoming less & less common.

My advice is to find a local broker here in Orlando to work with, in close vicinity to the area you wish to purchase & live in.

[theoldnorthstate]

Not a real estate person, but from my observations after seeing all these sad foreclosures down here (1) the glory days of a real steal are over and (2) these houses have been vacant for so long without AC, pest control, etc who knows what could be growing between the walls.

I would advise anyone I cared about to look at either a new home or one lived in for those reasons. unless you had lots of $ to gut and start anew inside.

And it does seem to me that REO holders might be putting more dollars into upkeep than they did during the boom years of foreclosures.

[AONE]

A foreclosure doesn't mean a great deal. You must look at each home, does it require lots of repairs? how much? what area are they in, features, so forth. Many miss the real deals because they skip the other homes out there.

[annerk]

Keep in mind that a seller (bank) isn't required to disclose a problem with the home if they don't know about it. I know of a home about to be REO with ongoing mold problems which will probably require gutting to the studs to remediate, and the bank has no idea...