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...nationwide, REOs sale prices now average 87 percent of estimated market value.
That means that $115K foreclosure might have a fair market value of $132K.
In most markets, foreclosures are no longer selling for absolute fire-sale, bargain basement prices we saw in the depths of the Great Recession.
If someone put up to $300K into that $115K foreclosure, when they finished they'd probably be sitting on the most over-improved house in the neighborhood, with no hope of ever recouping their investment.
Even in the slowest to recover areas, including: East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania (62 percent REO prices below estimated market value), Akron, Ohio (66 percent below), Atlanta (70 percent below), Cleveland (70 percent below) and Baltimore (74 percent below) that $115K foreclosure might have a fair market value of $185K.
Putting $200-300K into that $115K house to "bring it up to your liking" would still be ill advised.
I think you've take our conversation off topic. Throwing stats at me doesn't take away from the fact that using a minimum purchase price could take a contender out of the game. If you get the specifics regarding the must have list (sq footage, do they want move-in ready, do they want a fixer, beds, baths, commute to work, etc) and their max purchase price, your list will not be long.
Who in their right mind wants to sift thru every single listing on the MLS, including ones that are priced ridiculously lower than what the buyer is really looking for?
I am always shocked when I read things like this, because I have never had many houses to "sift thru" once I enter my criteria. DD's school district has 90 listings under our max price. Put in single family, minimum bedrooms, minimum lot size and minimum garage bays and there are 10 listings (360K-550K). Doing a map view for lot location eliminates 5 of those.
I am always shocked when I read things like this, because I have never had many houses to "sift thru" once I enter my criteria. DD's school district has 90 listings under our max price. Put in single family, minimum bedrooms, minimum lot size and minimum garage bays and there are 10 listings (360K-550K). Doing a map view for lot location eliminates 5 of those.
Often, putting in a bottom price point will weed out clutter.
People want a 2 acre lot? Sure, but they don't want every fixer out there. Once they recognize that nothing they see below a certain point is worth considering for a moment, we put in a floor that works for them.
You are arguing semantics. If the criterion for the house is size, location, amenity,school district and neighborhood you will most likely be in the upper end of your price range. Of course you can find less expensive but never in the preferred areas.
I'm not a realtor but had family and friends come to town thinking they can get the perfect house in this area of Texas for $150k. In reality what they wanted was in the $350k to $600k range. I had to tell them I'm not going to drive you around looking at crap that you would never buy.
You are arguing semantics. If the criterion for the house is size, location, amenity,school district and neighborhood you will most likely be in the upper end of your price range. Of course you can find less expensive but never in the preferred areas.
I'm not a realtor but had family and friends come to town thinking they can get the perfect house in this area of Texas for $150k. In reality what they wanted was in the $350k to $600k range. I had to tell them I'm not going to drive you around looking at crap that you would never buy.
No, I'm saying that there's no reason to have a minimum $ range because once you enter all your must have criteria, your list will be very short.
No, I'm saying that there's no reason to have a minimum $ range because once you enter all your must have criteria, your list will be very short.
But you have to stick with your must have list....I had a client with a large price range and he wanted to see EVERYTHING up to 400K. I put in bdrm count and school zones and it was still a large list. They said they could "live with" things not on their list if the "price was right" which translated to many showings of many types of homes including fixers/older/newer/smaller/larger. Honestly, they probably lost a few good ones because they kept spinning their wheels and changing their requirements and couldn't focus their search. I vetted homes for them based on the criteria given to me, but they also kept pulling up homes on their own via Zillow and demanding to see those as well (which of course they didn't like after seeing them )
Ultimately, they had a deadline to purchase, and that's what drove them to finally buckle down and stop looking at everything. They ended up with a 380K home. I honestly wouldn't have cared if they bought a 200K home but it was just frustrating to see them going around in circles and not taking ANY advice from me until the end.
Guess what I'm saying is have a set of criteria and DON"T keep changing them! It'll make your search for the perfect property a lot easier on all sides!
Darn I saw the title of your post and was gonna tell you about Julia Roberts Hawaii home that is for sale. Reading the title I thought wow this person should take a look at this $30 million beauty. Sure would be nice wouldn't it.
But you have to stick with your must have list....I had a client with a large price range and he wanted to see EVERYTHING up to 400K. I put in bdrm count and school zones and it was still a large list. They said they could "live with" things not on their list if the "price was right" which translated to many showings of many types of homes including fixers/older/newer/smaller/larger. Honestly, they probably lost a few good ones because they kept spinning their wheels and changing their requirements and couldn't focus their search. I vetted homes for them based on the criteria given to me, but they also kept pulling up homes on their own via Zillow and demanding to see those as well (which of course they didn't like after seeing them )
Ultimately, they had a deadline to purchase, and that's what drove them to finally buckle down and stop looking at everything. They ended up with a 380K home. I honestly wouldn't have cared if they bought a 200K home but it was just frustrating to see them going around in circles and not taking ANY advice from me until the end.
Guess what I'm saying is have a set of criteria and DON"T keep changing them! It'll make your search for the perfect property a lot easier on all sides!
Yeah, that's just insanity, walking them through every home up to their budget. That's wasting everyone's time and money. The rules don't apply for whacky buyers like them. You sound like you had the patience of a saint.
Stipulate the features in the home+property you want. Avoid talking about a price range until you get the lay of the land. You can't out-guess realtors Don't try; just stick to your guns about features, unless you find them unrealistic; then re-calibrate.
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