The reality of foreclosure lists and Bank Owned sale methods

The following is an answer to a recent email I received from a blog reader. He had inquired about bank owned properties and i sent him a list of a mix of properties (bank owned foreclosures and privately owned) from the NNEREN mls we use as brokers in NH. He responded by saying that he didn't want mls listings but that he actually wanted the info. on foreclosures: This led me to my explanation of the methods and reasoning behind the very public approach the banks take and the information that the people that sell "Foreclosure Property Lists" do not want you to know. This is a time of opportunity and like many windows of opportunity, there are many many snake oil sales schemes that prey upon the perception that there is a secret method of advertising foreclosures that the banks employ as opposed to soliciting the highest market value they could get on the open market. The old stan-by saying of "they don't want to own property" makes us all believe that they will just give them away if only they could find a buyer. The reality is that they want the highest value they can get in the shortest period of time. Here is my response:

Hi XXXXX,

Banks actually list their properties with brokers in order to get the full exposure to the competitive market. They send their own reps to auctions to make sure they don't sell for less than a marketable value. Then they list the property with a broker, like myself, to get the property on the mls. This works well for them because their pricing strategy is to price below the appraised value so that their listings are an obvious value in comparison to the regular mls offerings. They can do this because they are just trying to mitigate losses. Private property sellers are typically trying to pay off a mortgage or maximize their profits. The banks accept that their will be a loss. They get an opinion of value from their broker, then they pay to have an appraiser give a value and then they undercut it by a margin that will make them sell fast and often in a competitive offer situation.
I think your question stems from a myth that is popularized by companies that sell lists of foreclosures and that myth is that there is some type of secondary marketplace where banks quietly stash their listings. Banks want to expose their properties to the largest number of ready, willing and able buyers. Brokers and the mls are the best source for buyers.
The secondary benefit for buyers in a foreclosure rich market is that the banks start to take control of the prices. When foreclosures sell for 10% below an appraised value every property around that sale is devalued by 10%. Then to sell a home in that area a property needs to be priced so as to be an obvious value. In other words, it has to be priced below the adjusted value. So what we are seeing now is that sellers that really want to sell need to compete with the banks' prices. This presents great deals for buyers whether the property is a foreclosure or not.
What I think you need to do is to look for a property that has what you want and then work with me to compare it to sold properties to determine the price that makes it a great deal and then you make an offer. It doesn't matter if it's a bank or a homeowner so long as you get the property for the right price.

Thanks,
Bill Barbin
Direct: 603-986-0385

Badger Realty North Conway NH
Sent from my Wireless BlackBerry Device

New Foreclosure Property in Moultonboro NH

3 Bedroom 2 Bath Ranch in Suissevale. Community Beach Waterfront on Lake Winnepausaukee with Tennis, Clubhouse and Dock. Contact Bill Barbin (me) at 603-986-0385 or bill@badgerrealty.com for more details on this foreclosed property.

Bank owned foreclosures are great opportunities for buyers.

Bartlett NH and Jackson New Hampshire Foreclosure Sales and Bank Owned properties

Here are some more great examples of Bank Owned and Foreclosed property sales. These are properties for sale that closed in Jackson NH and Bartlett New Hampshire in the last 200 days:
www.BillBarbin.com

Bartlett NH - 467 Jericho Rd. Foreclosure Sale
A 2 bedroom 1 bath home. Approx. 3 miles from Badger Realty Jackson Office.
Asking Price for sale at $37,900, Bank Owned sold at $33,500 on 12/31/2008
On the market for 301 days with original list price of $141K+/-.

Bartlett NH - 92 Wilhelm Place at Linderhof / Christmas Mountain area Bank owned
3 Bedroom 2 Full bath Chalet in Good location and in Good condition, with fee access to golf and pool and tennis. Near Storyland. 1 acre lot. 2 miles from Badger Realty Jackson Office.
Asking price for sale at $174,900 Foreclosure sale at $174,900 on 11/17/2008

Jackson NH - 47 Dana Place Rd. #3 Foreclosed
New Hampshire gem. 5 Bedroom 4 Bath condo just minutes from Wildcat. Approx. 4 miles north of Jackson office of Badger Realty
Asking price for sale at $129,900 Bank owned sale at $130,900 on 10/20/2008

The best way to find foreclosed properties, foreclosure listings and bank owned property is to work with a knowledgable agent, like myself, that specializes in Foreclosure Sales, Short Sales and Bank owned property. I need to say on top of the bank owned and foreclosure listings of all my competitors in order to serve the needs of my lender-clients best. That means that the buyers that work with me often have advanced knowledge of bank owned and foreclosed listings coming on the market and also have an advantage when dealing with the forecosure listings of the other agents that get the listings in the White Mountain area.
Banks are not easy to deal with. At www.BillBarbin.com
I have been working with lenders and banks for years and I can help guide you through the difficult and sometimes frustrating process that will lead you to a purchase of the right property at a very good price. Good deals sit while Great Deals sell. MY direct # is 603-986-0385. Give me a call if you would like to work with a broker that knows bank owned foreclosyre listings and can give you the competitive edge.

Foreclosed property sales in North Conway NH with Bill Barbin of Badger Realty

These are some great examples of bank owned properties that sold, or went under contract, relatively quickly in the North Conway NH / White Mountain Region, that I listed with my company, Badger Realty. These were listed at www.BillBarbin.com, as well.

3405 West Side Road, North Conway NH 03860
A clean and well maintained home on Upper West Side Road with views up the valley to the Presidential Range and White Mountains and nearby views of Cathedral Ledge. 3 Bedrooms plus a finished, walk out basement on 1.5 acres.
Asking price for sale: $194,900 Sold on 08/25/08 for $194,900
On the market for 72 Days. Listed for foreclosure / bank owned sale with Bill Barbin at Badger Realty

11 Birch Hill Rd. North Conway NH 03860
This needed some work but was far from a total overhaul. First time buyer purchase with 100% financing. Inspector had no big issues: Replace some insulation in the crawl space and trench for some groundwater management.
3 bedrooms 1.5 baths on 1.2 acres and privacy and on it's own drilled well.
Asking price for sale: $124,900 Sold on 12/03/08 for $124,900
On the market for 126 days. Listed for foreclosure / bank owned sale with Bill Barbin at Badger Realty

105 Mill St. Center Conway NH 03813
2 family property in good condition with a 1.8 acre lot that needed some clean up.
5 bedrooms total.
Asking price at foreclosure sale: $89,900 Sold on 10/28/08 for $89,900 Cash
On the market for 12 days. Listed for foreclosure / bank owned sale with Bill Barbin at Badger Realty

121 Pleasant St. Conway NH 03818 Pending Sale
Well Maintained 3 bedroom 1 bath home on a 0.6 acre lot within walking distance of library, elementary and middle schools and village.
Asking Price of $123,900 Due to close 1/30/09 On the market for 3 days.
Listed for foreclosure / bank owned sale with Bill Barbin at Badger Realty.

There are more to come. These are excellent examples of how the bank owned foreclosed properties for sale are priced effectively and draw out the buyers that are in the market. These are all buyers that avoided the top dollar asking price listings. Many of which gained instant equity and took advantage of incredibly low interest rates for their mortgages, where applicable.

These properties were marketed through my website at www.BillBarbin.com .

Bank Owned properties and Foreclosures (foreclosed properties) are Effecting North Conway NH area real estate values

Keep track of my foreclosure listings at BillBarbin.com, my personal website. Over the past 6 months there has been a sharp increase in the number of sales of foreclosed homes in the general North Conway NH and White Mountain region. We have also seen an increase in the number of new foreclosure listings for real estate for sale. However, the trend is emerging that shows that these are the homes and properties that are staying on the market for the shortest period of time. What is this trend telling us?
It is common knowledge that banks and other lenders do not want to be in the business of owning and managing properties. We also know that many of these institutions are in some form of distress due to the banking crisis and stock market problems with mortgage backed securities. What I see from this information and the actual pricing practices of the banks that list their foreclosed properties with me as bank owned foreclosure listings, is that the lenders know that good deals are not selling right now. The only properties that are really selling are the "great deals". There are buyers out in the market right now. However, these are the buyers that are looking for obvious and dramatic values. Therefore, banks and lenders that have foreclosed properties are listing these foreclosure listings for sale at "great deal" prices.
The method they use is simple: They ask someone like myself, the listing broker, for an opinion of value. Then they order an appraisal through a certified appraiser. Then they undercut those prices by about 15% and list the property for sale, usually in "as is" condition. This results, quite often, in market times under 30 days and often multiple offers, many of which are cash offers.
How does this effect the rest of us? Well, when the market is hot and an appraiser looks at a property for a bank that is offering financing to a buyer, the appraiser doesn't use bank owned or foreclosure listings or even short sales as comparable properties for the report. They look at those sales as anomalous. But when the bank owned sales get to be greater than 25% or so of the sales for a given period in a market area, the appraiser has no choice but to use those for comparison pricing. The result is that every other value is compared against the competitive pricing strategy of the bank owned properties. This means that the report may not support the buying price of a privately owned property sale. Once the banks won't lend to a certain sale price, that property's value is immediately diminished. As this trend continues, every listed property faces the same problem with appraisals. At the same time, when you have a market with an over-supply of available homes and properties for sale, the buyers themselves are comparing one house to the next. These are the people looking for obvious value to make them feel comfortable with their purchase decisions. It ends up resulting in a 2 pronged effect on the value of all the other homes on the market.
Keep track of my foreclosure listings in the North Conway NH and White Mountain Region at BillBarbin.com, my personal website.