Well, I promised I’d report in if I saw anything really good sitting around with no offers, or signs of foreclosure woes, on “the Eastside”.
As to good properties sitting around with no offers…not! I showed a few properties on Sunday, turned around and one went STI two hours later. Of course, very close to Microsoft. A few others left over there, but doubt they will last. Even then, those were not of the quality I would recommend. The best of day was a For Sale by Owner and not in the MLS at all. Interesting day. Literally only 5 to show from Juanita to Issaquah in the price range.
But today, I was shocked!! An agent asked me, “What does this mean ‘commission may be modified by lender'”? I said, “WHERE?” They said Kirkland. I said, Oh No!
Then I took a closer look. Who the heck bought that piece of crap at that price last year?! What lender did 100% funding in there? Don’t they know there was a huge suit against the builder for basically irresolvable drainage problems?
That’s not a foreclosure. That’s someone who walked into the bank and said, “Here! You can HAVE it BACK!
Now don’t ask me where it is. I can’t point fingers, but I promised to tell you if I saw “a short sale on the Eastside”, so here’s the first one I’m seeing. Based on the purchase date, there’s no way this should be selling for less today. But it will. Someone overpaid for it back then, never should have bought in there with the problems, and some lender wasn’t paying attention. Some Buyer Agent as well. Buyer Agents should have stripes so we can “strip them of their stripes” when they are responsible for someone buying a distressed property, for too much money, with zero down.
When you didn’t spend a dime on it, no downpayment, stacked closing costs, your credit was already crap which is why it was subprime…why not just walk away if you decide you don’t want it?
That wasn’t a foreclosure…it was a RETURN! No need to ask for their money back. They had not a penny invested in the first place. Don’t like it…walk away and bring the key to the lender.
That one was easy to figure out. But let’s keep our eyes open, because even though there seems to be a frenzy with three offers on one unit in that condo conversion up in Bothell on Sunday, it is definitely time to proceed with extreme caution. Make sure the value is there, before you buy.
Could be fraud. Get a inflated appraisal, which is pretty much every appraisal these days, find one of the hooter girls they hired over at Merit to find some time between keggers to give you a 100% loan (well, maybe really 110%). The seller slips you half the profits under the table. Merit goes bankrupt.
Everyone wins! Except the investor who bought the loan, and perhaps the taxpayer, if Congress follows through in bailing out some these clowns with our money.
If you want to see how it works in the OC, here you go:
http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2007/02/fraudera-ranch-its-family-affair.html
“That’s not a foreclosure. That’s someone who walked into the bank and said, “Here! You can HAVE it BACK!
what else, when they drag you out of the house-will that be a foreclosure?
Rich,
Ardell’s right on this; it’s a return. At least the homeowner can get his furniture out. if it were a rental, their personal property would be padlocked and auctioned off to pay back rent.
First rule of lending…what do YOU have at risk?
I do not agree with “return the keys to the lender”. You fail to understand that a junior lien hold (a second mortgage) etc, can still come after you for their unpaid balance far after the foreclosure. Sure it is an unsecured lien at that point but “lien dogs” love to go after you. Perhaps a short sale with a negotiated settlement and an agreement not to seek deficiency after the fact would be more in order? I would like to offer this service, refer them too me.