$950,000 home sells for $395,000
Wyckoff, NJ
In this market - it's possible! A home in Wyckoff, NJ was originally listed for $955,500 in March of 2006. I showed the property around that time and it was clearly overpriced. I had shown the property to clients who said that they would have purchased it if the price were more like $799,000. Prices have certainly come down in the last 3 years, but not 50%.
This property closed the last week of April 2009 for $395,000. The purchasers got a great opportunity on the house.
Everyone buyer wants to know how to get a great deal on a house. What's the secret? Where are these opportunities? Before you go and spend money on a "foreclosure" website, listen to this; the property we're speaking about should have been a short sale in 2006. (If you are unfamiliar with short sales, read my previous columns or visit shortsaleguy.org) Simply, the property was overpriced for 2006 market conditions. Since the homeowners couldn't sell, the property went into foreclosure in October of 2006. This property then showed up on all the websites that peddle "foreclosure" properties. The homeowners eventually left and the property was sold at auction to the mortgage holder in November of 2008, a full two years after it was first tagged as a "foreclosure" property.
Once the bank took possession of the property, they had to secure, winterize and clean it out. In order to sell the property in a reasonable period of time, the bank had to hire a Realtor to market it. Please note: they didn't call an 800 number nor did they go to a "we buy foreclosure" website. Truth is, anyone who really needs to sell a property will hire a realtor to give it the best chance of selling.
As a disclaimer, I do subscribe to some of these "foreclosure" services. The amount of misinformation is astounding. The reason why a subscription is necessary is because I have clients who "find" properties on these sites. They then ask me to find out more information about the property. It is great to be living in the information age. Twitter and Facebook are transforming how we keep in touch with each other. Technology has changed the Real Estate landscape as well. Fifteen years ago, if you wanted to buy a home, you drove to the town that you wanted to live in and called a local Realtor. They brought the "book," a print out of all the listings. Today, buyers can take a virtual visit to hundreds of homes in their local area or across the country. The "book" is online; we are in information overload. Availability of information is wonderful, but understanding the data and derive relevancy is something else.
A big mistake buyers make in trying to secure a great opportunity is that they're not ready. Timing is everything. When you see an opportunity, it is important to seize it. Are you ready? A bank will not entertain contingency offers.
If you have to sell your home first, you have a contingency. Having all of your ducks in a row is important. A good down payment, nothing to sell and being ready to close immediately with make a bank look favorably on your offer.
Great opportunities are available every day. Your best chance to get one is to build a relationship with a Realtor who is full-time and is active in the market. Please don't call someone up and say, "If you have any good deals, email them to me". If you don't have a relationship with them, why would they send them to you? Common sense tells us that the people that want to work with us will get the first call when something good comes along. This is the benefit for you the buyer, to have a great relationship with one Realtor. Good Realtors have expertise that you can't get from searching websites. In the end, relationships rule the world. Get yours started with a Realtor today.
Here is a link to the previous blog about the home I have been describing.
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For more information on this or any other topic, call Sal Poliandro, Realtor, Marketing Advisor, Short Sale Specialist
ePRO, SRES at 201-259-2187, visit our websites: www.SalAndDawn.com or www.shortsaleguy.org
Follow me on Twitter: @salanddawn
Sal can be reached by snail mail at RE/MAX Properties 73 East Allendale Road Saddle River, NJ 07458
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