Buy a House Fast

While investors are an important part of the housing picture, opening up home ownership to American families is the avowed intent of most Federal programs.  In the current environment, bank owned homes that are priced right to appeal to families are often the target of investors, who use their greater experience and greater pool of funds to outbid home owners.  This takes many homes out of the grasp of owner-occupants who tend to stabilize the neighborhoods.  Some investors buy homes to hold onto until the price increases, while buyers who live in the homes have a greater stake in maintaining them.

As a result of a new program unveiled in August by Fannie Mae (FNMA) in certain areas, individual home buyers, public entitles, non-profits, and certain for-profit entities that use public funds have the first option to look at and purchase FNMA properties during the first 15 days a property is on the market.  Offers from investors will be considered only after the first 15 days have passed.  After successful trials in Arizona, Minneapolis, and Florida, the program went public on November 24.

Some buyers who use Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds from HUD, local housing trust funds, or charitable foundation funds may also qualify for the following benefits:

In addition to First Look, buyers using NSP funds also gain a few other benefits:

• Deposit Waivers -Individual home buyers who have qualified for public funds  through NSP and want to purchase a Fannie Mae-owned property do not have to meet the usual earnest money/deposit requirement. Fannie Mae will now waive the earnest money/deposit requirement for public agencies who use public funds to purchase a Fannie Mae-owned property.    Deposits for these buyers can be as low as $500.
• Reserved Contract Period – Once seller receive an acceptable offer, buyers have the ability to renegotiate their offer after obtaining an NSP-required appraisal.
• Extra Time for Closing – Buyers receive up to 45 days to close — 15 days more than waht is usually allowed for purchases of Fannie Mae-owned properties.

See the Fannie Mae press release for more details.

This program provides prospective home owners with a clear shot to buy a foreclosed home, especially those who have been cleaning up their credit, saving their money, and positioning themselves to buy.  If you are interested in this program, Express Realty Services can help you find a qualifying property.  Aside from our foreclosure listings, we have a special stock of renovated, refurbished, or remodeled homes from our sister company Express Homebuyers.  Check out the many affordable home values we have to offer.

If you are thinking of buying a foreclosure, you may get an unexpected glimpse into human behavior: people do crazy things when they are under stress. You might expect to see a home that is run down, but you may not be prepared for the state of some foreclosed properties.  The current foreclosure crisis has resulted in a rash of trashed, smashed, and stripped-bare homes for the next set of owners to deal with.

Many homeowners, strapped for cash, have ripped out counters, appliances, light fixtures, or cabinets to sell and may have intentionally damaged what’s left, out of anger.  Maybe some people think they are only getting back at the bank, so don’t care about the condition of the home.   Vandals have often come in and finished the job of gutting the home of anything of value.  It takes a buyer with vision and sometimes deep pockets to overlook the damage and see a livable home underneath.

Needless to say, many foreclosed owners do not follow the basic law of what stays with the house: If it’s attached, it stays!

This includes:

• Doors and windows
• Furnaces and air conditioning unit
• Floor, ceilings, and walls
• Electrical wiring
• Counters tops and cabinets
• Sink drains, and faucets
• Built in appliances
• Plumbing fixtures, including toilets, tub, and pipes
• Built in medicine cabinets, sinks, and showers
• Built in shelving and bookcases
• Landscaping, fences, built in pools and spas

These things can go:

• Furnishings and personal property
• Mirrors
• Arts work and photographs
• Pets and their things, including dog house, aquariums, or bird cages
• Refrigerators, televisions, computers, stereos
• Throw and area rugs
• Indoor plants
• Portable fans and heaters.

You can hardly read this list without alternately snickering and shaking your head.  Doors and windows taken?  Walls?  Unfortunately, we are too used to hearing about homes being gutted for copper piping to react at news that people now steal even the obvious things!

If you are thinking of buying a foreclosed home, replacing all these essentials can be costly.  So can removing trash left in homes if the previous residents left quickly without taking everything they owned.  If the home is bank owned, the lender might have filed claims against the former homeowner’s insurance – or come after the former owner. You, as a buyer, have no recourse against the former owner.

Get Prepared With a Home Inspection

If you are up for the challenge of purchasing a foreclosed home, make sure to get a home inspection. You are unlikely to get any guarantees on the home or recourse against the lender or former owner, but an inspection will list the obvious and hidden damage to prepare you for the work ahead.

Horror Stories, Yes. But there is a Bright Side!

As long as you know what you are getting into, foreclosed homes can be a great value.  Since almost every neighborhood these days has its share of foreclosures, you have a choice of properties in areas where you want to raise your family once you have brought the property back to its former glory.

Express Realty Services can help you find foreclosure property as well as fixer uppers, quality remodeled homes in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Whether you want a home in move-in condition or are prepared to do some work, we have the home for you.  Contact us today to get started.