Nothing really going on this week. More and more properties feature the "bank owned" statement in their description.
I need a new obsession. This one is getting kinda boring.....Its like watching a flower bloom, a wonderful thing, but if you show up at the right time, you still get the same reward. Hopefully the coming weeks will bring some more dramatic price drops.
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Does the 'bank-owned' line make a house more or less desirable in your eyes?
I'm conflicted on it. It may mean more flexibility in pricing, ie they want to get rid of it, or it could seem kind of depressing.
Well, perhaps your new obsession can be those of us who are waiting out the bubble by renting and being evicted by those for whom the bubble has burst. Count me among them. I received a 60 day notice to vacate from my rental house. The agent at the property management company told me that the owner wanted to move a relative in, but I found out later that the owner needs to sell. Had I not previously had a one-year lease, the owner would have put us out sooner. In fact, the owner would like us to leave BEFORE 60 days if possible. I'm thinking of negotiating a rent waiver and immediate return of my deposit in exchange for an early exit. Good strategy?
This waiting out the bubble strategy is taxing. I'm really hoping this pays off in '08 when we do purchase.
Josh -
For me it means two things 1) The bank is easier to negotiate with than a short sale situation (since they don't have to get permission from the bank =). 2) Its also depressing cause short sales and bank owned are a good portion of the properties in my criteria.
Watchingthebubble -
Ouch...look on the bright side (I know its hard when getting evicted), but you might be able to find a better rental. I am seeing some nice places with very reasonable rents....as sellers decide to rent instead of sell at a loss (what I call the bleed slowly stratety). Sounds like your owner is over a barrel...it certainly wouldn't hurt to try and get the rent waiver. Good luck with the deposit though. Just keep thinking about all the money you are saving each month by waiting...and let's hope we are in reasonable territory in '08. BTW - who is your property management company? I was thinking I would posts links to help folks find rentals.
Watchingthebubble-
It never hurts to make the offer. Now I personally (if I owned a rental) would not refund a deposit prior to the tenants leaving. If he/she agrees take it and run. If not then I offer a little unasked advice. Make sure you are present when the landlord does the walk through. Ideally it would be good to have someone who doesn't live there with you as an observer. Have the punchlist in hand from when you moved in. I say this because if the landlord is experiencing financial pressure there may be a incentive (opportunity?) to use your deposit for sprucing the home up for sale.
On another note... if you like the home you may consider talking to your landlord about a purchase or rent-to-own agreement depending ont he landlords true financial position. You know what you want to spend in '08 and if you can get it in '07 it may be worth considering.
Here a hobby... find the biggest gap between the loan amount and current for sale price on short sales offered.
I suspect there is one in Folsom with a $2 mil loan, listed for under $1.3 mil.
That bank is not going to be happy.
sippn,
Got an address? Would love to look that one up in MLS!
Buying Time and Anonymous,
Thanks for the good advice. My property management company is HomePointe. The property was not very clean when we moved in, so we took pictures and noted every problem, from the weeds to the filthy refrigerator. In fact, before we got our 60 day notice, HomePointe sent someone out to do their "annual inspection." We were assured that they found nothing worthy to report. When I asked the inspector if the owner had any plans to sell the property, he said he didn't know.
Anyhoo, I'm happy to get out of the neighborhood, so I'm trying to see this as an opportunity and not a crisis. We are thinking of buying in Rocklin or Roseville, so this gives us a chance to try either of these areas out before we buy. I'm trying to remain optimistic, but I will be happy when the market regains some sanity and home prices drop. Quite frankly, I don't think there's much of anything really worth more than $400K in the Sac Metro Area when you consider wages, etc.
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