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Many people fail to pay the balance of their mortgage loans and when this happens the bank or the lender will try to recover this balance from the borrower who has stopped making payments by forcing the sale of the home they used as collateral for the loan.
I have found in my research that there are so many foreclosed homes near me and since 2010 there has been an increase in these.
In 2010, there was a 14% increase in the number of homes receiving a default notice between July and September. In that year one in every 45 homes received a foreclosure filing and the problem has become more widespread with the increasing rates of unemployment across the nation.
Banks have become extremely aggressive without much patience for those who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, and there are more families entering the foreclosure process sooner than ever.
States with the highest rates of foreclosure filings
According to ATTOM Data Solutions licensee of the nation’s most comprehensive foreclosure data and parent company to RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com),
“The foreclosures’ industry in the United States remains on hold right now, mainly because of the moratorium imposed by Congress on lenders pursuing delinquent homeowners who have federally backed mortgages. The temporary ban, in place until June 30, has helped drive down the number of foreclosure cases to historically low levels and forced lenders to sit tight,” said Ohan Antebian, General Manager of Realty Trac. “When it’s lifted, lenders will be able to decide how fast to pursue these cases, which will have a ripple on all the ancillary activity connected to foreclosures’. That will likely mean a surge of work for real estate lawyers, process servers, courts and others. But for now, the industry is running in place.”
Nationwide one in every 15,556 housing units had a foreclosure filing in May 2020. States with the highest foreclosure rates were
- Maryland – one in every 4,307 housing units with a foreclosure filing
- New Jersey – one in every 6,132 housing units
- Delaware – one in every 6,207 housing units
- Illinois – one in every 8,381 housing units
- Pennsylvania – one in every 9,633 housing units
Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 200,000 people, those with the worst foreclosure rates in May 2020 were not your usual metro areas.
- Utica NY – 1,877 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing
- Scranton PA – one in every 2,192 housing units
- Mobile AL – one in every 2,617 housing units
- Trenton NJ – one in every 3,014 housing units
- Peoria IL – one in every 3,086 housing units
Among 53 metro areas with at least 1 million people, those with the highest foreclosure rates in May 2020 were :
- Baltimore, MD – one in every 3,293 housing units
- Cleveland, OH – one in every 7,748 housing units
- Riverside, CA – one in every 7,788 housing units
- St. Louis, MO – one in every 8,127 housing units
- Philadelphia, PA – one in every 8,290 housing units
Finding Foreclosures for Sale
There are a few different ways to go about finding foreclosed homes for sale. I recommend taking advantage of as many of them as your can so that if a great foreclosure does pop up it doesn’t slip out of your fingers. I am going to discuss some of these methods below
Real Estate listing sites
Real estate listing sites like USForeclosure.net are excellent resources when your’re looking for foreclosures’ for sale. That’s because they aggregate available homes for sale in your area, including standard homes for sale and specialty sales like foreclosures’, pre-foreclosures’, and homes that are up for auction.
To make your search easier, use filters to narrow down the results. For example, play around with different keyword phrases, such as “foreclosure” and “auction.” Look at other factors too which affect what kind of deal your might be able to get. These include how long the property has been on the market (the longer the better when it comes to making your offer) and the previous purchase price of the property.
Work with a local agent
Real estate agents are a fountain of valuable information when it comes to finding foreclosures’ for sale. Find an agent who has a lot of experience buying and selling homes in the area that your’re searching in. Even better, find someone who has previous experience buying and selling foreclosed homes.
Key here is to work with a real estate agent who your trust and communicate well with, as well as someone who fully understands exactly what your’re looking for. It’s important that your agent knows what your fixer upper deal breakers are, as well as what constitutes your ideal property.
Newspapers
It might seem a little old school to turn to the newspaper for real estate listings, but there’s good reason to include print publications in your foreclosed home search. That’s because that Notice of Sale has to be published in the local newspaper in addition to its filing with the County Recorder’s Office.
Look at the legal notices that are listed in the town newspaper for the place your’re interested in buying in. In addition to checking out the listings themselves for possible foreclosed properties, write down the names of the agencies and/or auction houses that are listing them—even if that one property isn’t the right fit, your’ll be able to search their other properties.
Tips for Buying a Foreclosed Home
Now that your know how to find foreclosures’ for sale, let’s cover some tips your’ll want to keep in mind as your search.
- Get a mortgage pre-approval. If your intend on pursuing conventional financing for your foreclosure then your should get the paperwork in order as soon as possible—ideally before your get really serious about searching. A mortgage pre-approval gives your a major advantage in the foreclosure market, since banks are usually trying to offload these types of properties as soon as possible.
- Cast a wide net. Remember, the more avenues your search the better off your’ll be. You’re almost never going to find all available foreclosures’ for sale listed through one single resource, so it’s crucial that your diversify your search and maximize your opportunity potential.
- Have some deal breakers in mind. Price is obviously a very important consideration when your’re shopping foreclosures’ for sale, but it’s not the only one. There are other costs and financial risks that your need to accommodate when buying a foreclosure, such as the ease and costs of necessary repairs. After all, a $50,000 house isn’t such a good deal if it’s going to require $20,000 in foundation repairs before your can even get started on your renovation.
- Always go see foreclosures’ in person. It is absolutely critical that your check out foreclosures’ for sale in person before your make an offer or head to the auction house. A majority of foreclosure are sold “as is,” which means that your’re not going to be able to ask for concessions or incentives along with your offer. Buying a foreclosure sight unseen could mean taking on more than your were anticipating, especially when it comes to repairs.
Hope your found this information helpful if your would like any help or more information on this topic please feel free to leave a comment below
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