Check Foreclosures Before You Buy In Today’s Market

Those of us that watch the real estate market, or work in Bank Owned Properties (REO) know that there are another wave of foreclosures coming.  While this is somewhat positive for those frustrated buyers in the lower price ranges in San Diego, it’s important to know what you’re getting into.

Real estate is all about local markets.  Real estate prices are affected by what your neighbors are doing.  Unfortunately in this market, many of your neighbors’ homes are going to short sales or bank owned, which can push your market value down.  Because these properties are distressed and the Sellers don’t want to keep them, they are priced to sell.

I am advising all of my Clients, and providing a list of pre-foreclosures, auction sales, and bank owned foreclosures when we are looking in a given zip code or community.  The reality is most areas have foreclosures, but some areas have more than others, which may continue to impact pricing.  With this knowledge, my Clients can structure an offer that makes sense for today’s market; the last thing you want to do is overpay.

If you are curious, you may visit my Foreclosure Radar page and search for yourself – this is another tool that I use to make my Clients effective in the market.

Listing agents or dual agents, because of their fiduciary duty to their seller, may be reluctant to provide this information for you.  Just a thought to keep in mind – there are some great opportunities in our market right now for those informed buyers.