Interested Buyers frequently ask me how to find Foreclosures.  Until recently, Buyers searching for Foreclosures were required to spend excessive amounts of time researching available Foreclosures through County Tax Records, searching for Banks' contact information, or  paying for Subscriptions to sites offering Foreclosure listing data as their primary methods of locating Foreclosures. 

Due to the increased quantity of Foreclosures and Banks' desire to market Foreclosures to a wide audience and sell Foreclosures quickly, many Banks are listing their Foreclosed properties for sale through Real Estate Brokers. This means that many Foreclosure listings are easily found by searching the MLS (the database used by Brokers to list properties for sale) and sites that receive data feeds from the MLS. 

In our local MLS, there are fields where Brokers indicate if Listings are Bank Owned Foreclosures.  When Buyers contact me about their search for Foreclosures, I'm able to select Foreclosure listings only for their review.

Bank Owned Foreclosures being listed for sale through Brokers DOES NOT mean that you are losing out on a great deal. These properties are still deeply discounted below the majority of similar properties that are not Bank Owned. 

The Offer process is straightforward and Buyers are allowed to Finance purchases of most of the Foreclosures listed for sale through Brokers.  These ARE NOT Bank Owned properties that are purchased as Cash deals "on the Courthouse Steps." 

Of course, Foreclosures listed for sale though Brokers are not the only Foreclosures available and I can search a local database that provides information about those properties as well.

Currently, there are 1,097 Condos, Townhouses, and Villas in Broward County that are listed as Bank Owned Foreclosures and offered for sale through Brokers, with a price range of $17,500 - $714,900.  The average list price of the available listings is $97,099.  Click to view a selection of  Broward Condo Foreclosures.

Currently, there are 1,100 Single Family Homes in Broward County that are listed as Bank Owned Foreclosures and offered for sale through Brokers, with a price range of $21,500 - $2,999,999.   The average list price of the available listings is $163,511. The active listings have been listed an average of 44.5 days, so the majority have been listed for a very short period of time (this is because most of them sell quickly).

Luxury Foreclosures and Waterfront Foreclosures ARE NOT the majority of the Foreclosure inventory, however, there are many great deals available in the Luxury and Waterfront market (listings with significantly reduced prices).

When searching for properties to purchase, I advise Buyers to search non-Foreclosure as well as Foreclosure listings within their price range so they don't possibly miss out on similarly priced properties that might be available and of interest.

If you would like to receive e-mail notifications of Foreclosure properties, e-mail or call to provide me with your search criteria and I will send matching Listings for your review (no, there isn't a Fee for this service). Foreclosures available include Waterfront Foreclosures, South Florida Foreclosures in Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade County, Ft. Lauderdale Foreclosures, and Foreclosures in other South Florida Cities.

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NOTES TO BUYERS REGARDING FORECLOSURE PURCHASES: 

• The Bank is responsible for paying Brokers' Commissions (You, the Buyer, are not responsible for paying Brokers' Commissions). With non-Foreclosure AND Foreclosure purchases, the Homeowner/Seller, NOT YOU, is responsible for paying Brokers' Commissions. Read more information here about how Real Estate Commission structure works.
• Procrastination isn't smart when it comes to great Foreclosure deals. Great Foreclosure deals usually are not listed for sale very long before being purchased.
• As with a non-Foreclosure purchase, you will still need to obtain Loan Pre-Approval prior to searching for a Home.  This assists us with searching for and viewing Homes that are within the correct price range.  Additionally, the Pre-Approval Letter must be submitted with your Offer. Your Pre-Approval Letter is required to be dated within the last 30 days, so if you have an old Pre-Approval Letter, please get it updated first.  The Approval Letter is also required to indicate that your Credit Reports have been checked and state your current Credit Score.
• The amount of your Down payment has to be determined
• A "Good Faith" Deposit still has to be submitted with your Offer and the Bank that owns the Home will specify the required amount of your Deposit
• The Bank will require that you provide documentation (Bank Statements, etc.) along with your Offer that verifies that you have sufficient Cash to close the transaction (Closing Costs)
• If your purchase will be a Cash purchase, you will need to obtain documentation from your Financial Institution verifying your ability to purchase the Home that you're planning to place an Offer on (and this documentation is required to be submitted with your Offer)
• The Bank will often require that you complete Loan pre-approval through them even though you already have your own Pre-approval (you will still be using a Lender of your choice, but they just want to verify the validity and strength of your Approval)
• The Bank uses current Market Values and other criteria as part of the process for determining a Home's discounted List Price, so the amount they will agree to accept for the Home's purchase is often very close to the Listed price (when they list property for sale, the List Price typically ALREADY includes the discount that they're offering).   This being the case, Lowball Offers are usually rejected.
• Foreclosures are sold "AS IS".  The Bank has already considered any repairs that might be necessary and has priced the property accordingly.  They are offering the Property in its' current condition, so your Offer and negotiation will not include requests for repair nor requests for price decreases based on the property's condition.
• In calculating your Property Tax payment, the Property Tax Appraiser's Office WILL NOT use your Foreclosure purchase price as the determination of Market Value for Property Tax Calculation purposes.   Following is a quote from the Broward Property Tax Appraiser's website:
  "If you purchase a property in a foreclosure, your actual purchase price does not reflect the just (market) value used for determining your taxes. Florida law requires our office to use the reasonable market price of a sale of similar homes in your neighborhood (or a similar area) sold under normal financial conditions to determine the assessment -- and that disqualifies the use of foreclosure-related sales."
• Multiple Offers can be submitted simultaneously to the Bank for the same property and priority is not given based on when the Offer was submitted. The Bank will request your "highest and best Offer".    "Bidding Wars" for fabulous Foreclosure deals are not uncommon (even in this Market) and in those cases, the highest Offer will win IF the Bank determines that the amount is acceptable.

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Vickie Arcuri, Realtor^®
EWM Realtors, Inc.
1700 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL  33301
Phone:  (954) 708-9309
Fax:  (954) 414-0492
Vickie@vickierealestate.com
South Florida Waterfront Homes

Contact me if you're interested in South Florida Real Estate,  Ft. Lauderdale Real Estate, Las Olas Condos for sale, Ft. Lauderdale Beach Homes for Sale, Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Condos,  Broward Luxury Homes for sale, Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Condos, Las Olas Foreclosures, Broward Waterfront Homes for sale, Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Homes for Sale, Ft. Lauderdale Luxury Real Estate,  Ft. Lauderdale Docks for Sale, Ft. Lauderdale Docks for Lease or Rent, Ft. Lauderdale Oceanfront Condos, Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Homes,  Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Foreclosures, Ft. Lauderdale Oceanfront Homes, South Florida Waterfront Homes, Palm Beach Waterfront Homes,  Manalapan Homes, Hillsboro Beach Homes, South Florida Oceanfront Homes, or Miami Waterfront Homes.

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Listings of Interest:

Palm Beach Waterfront Condo for Sale with a Dock
San Juan del Sur Oceanfront Home for Sale
Las Olas River House Condo for Sale
Rio Vista Home for Sale
Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Coop for Sale with a Dock
Tamarac Townhouse for Sale