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Hello everyone, I am on the verge of trying to buy a house that is owned by Freddie Mac.
Here is a brief history of what I've done so far....
I have been looking at properties in my area for several months. I discovered a local attorney's website that lists their homes that are going to foreclosure auction. I made a trip to the home and looked it over quite well inside and out, and turns out the current resident was a friend from years ago.
He gave me a decent amount of information regarding the home and the mortgage company. I immediately contacted Chase bank, but it was too close to auction for them to accept any offers.
The auction at the county steps has come and gone, and the property wasn't sold. I re contacted Chase bank and they said the property is now in the hands of Freddie Mac.
I contacted Freddie Mac a few minutes ago, and they were nice enough to let me know who the listing agent will be (when the house actually gets listed)
Here are a few questions that I have: The starting bid price at the auction was going to be $129,000 ..... Can I expect the listing price to be anywhere near that when it gets listed?
It appraised in the $300,000 range several years ago when home values were way up... will that play a part in the final listed price ?
Is there a way that I can search the internet for comps that in the area and at what price they sold for?
Is using an agent at the office where the property is listed going to work in my favor or would they be ultimately looking out for Freddie Mac?
I've typed all this in a huge hurry, so sorry if I am all over the place.
Any input or advice would be great.
and by the way... this is in the Metro Atlanta market.
Hello everyone, I am on the verge of trying to buy a house that is owned by Freddie Mac.
Here is a brief history of what I've done so far....
I have been looking at properties in my area for several months. I discovered a local attorney's website that lists their homes that are going to foreclosure auction. I made a trip to the home and looked it over quite well inside and out, and turns out the current resident was a friend from years ago.
He gave me a decent amount of information regarding the home and the mortgage company. I immediately contacted Chase bank, but it was too close to auction for them to accept any offers.
The auction at the county steps has come and gone, and the property wasn't sold. I re contacted Chase bank and they said the property is now in the hands of Freddie Mac.
I contacted Freddie Mac a few minutes ago, and they were nice enough to let me know who the listing agent will be (when the house actually gets listed)
Here are a few questions that I have: The starting bid price at the auction was going to be $129,000 ..... Can I expect the listing price to be anywhere near that when it gets listed?
It appraised in the $300,000 range several years ago when home values were way up... will that play a part in the final listed price ?
Is there a way that I can search the internet for comps that in the area and at what price they sold for?
Is using an agent at the office where the property is listed going to work in my favor or would they be ultimately looking out for Freddie Mac?
I've typed all this in a huge hurry, so sorry if I am all over the place.
Any input or advice would be great.
and by the way... this is in the Metro Atlanta market.
I am not sure how Freddie Mac (Homesteps) works. . .but we recently had our offer on a Fannie Mae (Homepath) foreclosure accepted. The house was in GREAT shape and priced aggressively--actually priced less than a recently sold relo deal, in the same neighborhood, that we missed out on (it had 3 offers on the table)**. And, the bank also offered great buyer incentive.
I would bet that Freddie Mac would operate similar to Fannie Mae. . .and if this is the case, chances are good that the house will be priced right and move fast.
Regarding internet comps: I would say that they are not going to be as current as those that an agent can obtain for you using the MLS. You will be able to learn about the sale price and the amount paid in closing costs.
**Just wanted to add that the Fannie Mae house was much larger than the relo comp and had a bigger/better lot**
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Here are a few questions that I have: The starting bid price at the auction was going to be $129,000 ..... Can I expect the listing price to be anywhere near that when it gets listed?
The auction bid price was likely the amount owed on the mortgage, and has no relation to actual market value. The bank will base their pricing on market value as determined by recently sold comps. They may price a bit under market to generate interest and offers for a quick sale.
Quote:
It appraised in the $300,000 range several years ago when home values were way up... will that play a part in the final listed price ?
No. Again, price will be based on current market value.
Quote:
Is there a way that I can search the internet for comps that in the area and at what price they sold for?
It would be more efficient and accurate to work with a buyer agent that can give you sold comps from the MLS. There are sites like Zillow and Trulia that may have sold values if your state requires disclosure of sale prices, but they may be incomplete and not up to date.
Quote:
Is using an agent at the office where the property is listed going to work in my favor or would they be ultimately looking out for Freddie Mac?
You would not have an advantage from using an agent from the listing office. In fact, this would create a dual agency situation where they would not be able to fully represent you. Best to work with an agent from another brokerage.
Thank you very much for the informative responses. It really means alot.
Since my beginning post, I've heard from the listing agent. They said there are several things that must happen before the house gets listed.......
She said the first issue was that the house was still occupied (which I knew since I've been in contact with the occupant. He is "almost" out, as he has had his estate sale and is making arrangements to move to Florida)
Second, there is going to be a group (BPO I think she said) that is going to visit the property to come up with a recommended price that Freddie Mac should begin at.
Third, Once Freddie Mac agrees on the price, some time after that, It will go on the market.
The agent said this process is likely to take several weeks which I certainly understand, and that I need to keep a watch on the Homesteps web site to see when the house gets listed. She said she would let me know when it is listed but if I am watching too it would help.
I must admit that I am worried that the house will end up being listed at a much higher price than where we hoped to get it at. This is after knowing what the starting bid price was at the foreclosure sale.
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I must admit that I am worried that the house will end up being listed at a much higher price than where we hoped to get it at. This is after knowing what the starting bid price was at the foreclosure sale.
Again, don't worry about the foreclosure starting bid price. It is not considered when setting the listing price. The bank is going to do a BPO (Broker Price Opinion), where they hire an agent to provide their opinion of market value based on recent sold comps, condition of property, etc. I suggest you look for your own agent and have them check comps for you and provide their market analysis. Then you will be prepared to make an informed offer when it comes on the market.
We're actually in the process of purchasing a Homesteps property also in the Metro Atlanta area and indeed the foreclosure price was not the listing price. Just make sure to keep in touch with the listing agent so they can notify you when they're about to list the property.
You can also check the County records and monitor if the deed of the property gets transferred to Freddie. If this is in Dekalb, their site is easy to use and gets updated frequently.
We were actually choosing between a Freddie and a Fannie property, but chose the Freddie home just because their addendum it seems was less restrictive (7pages vs 14pages).
Be prepared though to pay full asking. Based on experience they don't budge on the list price when the property has just been listed. You can negotiate closing costs though.
We're actually in the process of purchasing a Homesteps property also in the Metro Atlanta area and indeed the foreclosure price was not the listing price. Just make sure to keep in touch with the listing agent so they can notify you when they're about to list the property.
You can also check the County records and monitor if the deed of the property gets transferred to Freddie. If this is in Dekalb, their site is easy to use and gets updated frequently.
We were actually choosing between a Freddie and a Fannie property, but chose the Freddie home just because their addendum it seems was less restrictive (7pages vs 14pages).
Be prepared though to pay full asking. Based on experience they don't budge on the list price when the property has just been listed. You can negotiate closing costs though.
This was the case for us (property was on the market less than 14 days). . .but we were given 3.5% buyer incentive (which was advertised in the MLS info).
We're actually in the process of purchasing a Homesteps property also in the Metro Atlanta area and indeed the foreclosure price was not the listing price. Just make sure to keep in touch with the listing agent so they can notify you when they're about to list the property.
You can also check the County records and monitor if the deed of the property gets transferred to Freddie. If this is in Dekalb, their site is easy to use and gets updated frequently.
We were actually choosing between a Freddie and a Fannie property, but chose the Freddie home just because their addendum it seems was less restrictive (7pages vs 14pages).
Be prepared though to pay full asking. Based on experience they don't budge on the list price when the property has just been listed. You can negotiate closing costs though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SleeplessnATL
This was the case for us (property was on the market less than 14 days). . .but we were given 3.5% buyer incentive (which was advertised in the MLS info).
Arghhh, I was afraid of that. I sure was hoping to deal with the bank since I assumed that I would be holding all the cards.
I guess that I will just have to be ready to offer my absolute top dollar (assuming it is under the listing price), and either hope for acceptance, or turn and walk away.
I had an agent from the realty group call me today, and she said it may be several months while Freddie Mac does all their stuff (BPO, inspection, etc), before it gets listed. I may need to inform her now that I am going to use an agent (family friend) instead of her.
After reading some posts and threads I got to thinking.........
When the BPO phase happens, will the price that they come up with be in the same ballpark as what an appraisal would ?
Would it be wise for me to have someone appraise the home now ?
Since it could possibly be a few months before the house goes on the market, I want to go into this as informed as possible.
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