Foreclosure Homes in Warner Robins Georgia
How to find foreclosure homes
Internet listings on foreclosure homes are often old and outdated. The best way to look for foreclosure homes is the Macon Telegraph. Banks are required to advertise the homes in the paper for at least 4 weeks before foreclosing the home (These are preforeclosure homes). The following Tuesday after the 4 weeks of advertising they will put the home in foreclosure. Any time within these 4 weeks the owner has the opportunity to bring payments up to date and any time spent on the home would be lost.
Buying a foreclosure home
I will be happy to try and talk with owners of foreclosure homes that interest customers and see if they are interested in selling. I would need to talk to them to try and secure my commission from the seller and find out how much they wish to sell it for. Quite often homes in foreclosure have liens against them and they owe more money than the home is worth and they may not want to sell, or can't because of the liens and amount they owe. I can review courthouse records and see if there are any liens, how much they owe, help negotiate the contract, and ensure the deal closes. I would also talk to their lender in order to try and prevent the home from actually foreclosing and killing the deal. Time would be of the essence and a cash deal makes it easier and faster. Once the foreclosure process starts banks quite often would rather foreclose on the home and sell it themselves then let the owner sell it. So, it is possible to get all the way to the day before closing and the home forecloses - killing the deal and any time spent on the home would be lost.
Advantages of a foreclosure home If the home is not listed they have a little more room to negotiate because they don't have to pay a full real estate commission. Ie. 6% Commission on $100,000 home is $6,000, so the bank may or may be willing to negotiate this amount with the buyer. Banks will probably try to sell for full price and have a little room for negotiating. The bank will have a little more room for negotiating, but they may not be as in much of a hurry as someone who has to move or already has two house payments.
Disadvantages of a foreclosure home
New Construction - no 1 year warranty
Resale Homes - No legal recourse against seller's because they are usually As-Is with no repairs, they usually don't help with closing costs, they usually don't take as good care of the property, no seller's disclosure - you don't really know what your getting, higher possibility of hidden debts or liens against property.
Common misconceptions about foreclosure homes
Banks are automatically going to sell for what is owed on the home: Banks will have the property appraised and try to sell for what it is worth. This is the same price as realtors try to sell the homes for. The realtor will do a market analysis and price the home and the banks will get an appraisal before listing the home. So, foreclosure homes are not necessarily cheaper. Foreclosure homes are not listed with realtors: Banks have their favorite realtors they list their foreclosure homes with.
It is easy to buy a foreclosure home: The home goes on sale at the courthouse steps, the bank usually has someone bidding on the home to make sure it doesn't sell below appraisal value, and then lists it with a realtor, and it may take several months before it comes on the market. When it does come on the market it usually has been sitting for several months.
Overall Conclusion
The price may be a little cheaper with foreclosure homes, but you are better off buying a resale home from someone who has taken care of their home, are willing to make repairs, help with closing costs, and might be willing to negotiate on purchase price - or has already reduced their price one or two times.
Here are some additional links regarding foreclosure homes
Find a foreclosure home
Buying foreclosure properties
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