It seems that now everyone knows it’s the bottom of the market. It’s on the news shows and in news articles. The secret is out! You were smart to wait, but the waiting is over.
We’ve been previewing foreclosed homes for sale in Sonoma County for quite some time. We see 30 to 40 homes a week and keep abreast of new ones that come on the market. This way we know what’s available. There are 3 types of foreclosed homes. #1 is the nice, clean, move-in ready home. There aren’t too many of these. There are nice ones that could use paint and carpet cleaning, but there are not too many that are pristine-pretty. #2 is the “cosmetic fixer”. The carpets or flooring needs replacing. Cleaning and paint is needed and maybe some minor fix-up of fixtures or countertops. Not too bad, but a handy person is needed. #3 is our favorite because they are at the bottom-bottom of the market. These are the “contractor special”. They need work. They need a carpenter. Not many people have the money or can take the time to fix these up. The good news is there are less buyers looking for these, less competition. Perfect!
We are fixers at heart. It’s fun to see an ugly house transform into a beautiful home. We use “private money” investor loans to buy and fix up a house. Private money is a loan from a private individual at a high interest rate. An institutional lender would NEVER lend on a contractor special. So, we pay the private money lender/investor high interest, fix up the house, sell it and everyone makes money.
We’ve been in business for 20 years in Santa Rosa and have always had “private money” investors willing to do loans. It’s another alternative in this difficult lending market.
Lynn Tardibuono is a CA Realtor with over 23 years experience in Sonoma County real estate. Her number is (707) 523-2099.
