Banks have large inventories of repossessed homes on their books in the Cedar Rapids area that they need to sell. Foreclosed homes offer good opportunities for smart buyers to purchase homes in hot neighborhoods that they could not otherwise afford. The reason is repo houses are sold at discounted prices below market value. Buyers have been competing for Cedar Rapids treasures for the past few years now. Investors and first time home buyers have discovered the value of purchasing repossessed homes because they know they can be purchased for less money, and you are getting a home with a built in equity. Repossessed homes are hot commodities right now and more and more buyers are looking for them. Cash buyers are at an advantage right now with tight credit markets because they can find great bargains at foreclosure auctions as well.
Finding Your Repossessed Home
A Cedar Rapids Realtor can help you find a repossessed home. Bank owned REO properties are listed with local Realtors who place them in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for other Realtors to find so they can show the homes to their clients. Your agent can search the MLS by price, neighborhood, bed, bath, and narrow the search to only repossessed listings. This saves you quite a bit of time instead of having to do the search yourself by looking on the Internet, searching Sunday real estate newspapers ads and driving around neighborhoods looking for foreclosure signs or vacant properties. The Realtor is familiar with the inventory in their area, and home sale prices and can provide you with information regarding comparative homes sales, as well as refer you to vendors such as home inspectors and contractors. The Realtor will also help you with the negotiations with the Seller or the Seller’s Realtor so that you get the best deal on your repossessed home.
Information You Should Be Aware of Regarding Purchasing Bank Repossessed Homes
- View the home in person. Conduct a physical inspection because repossessed homes are sold in an “as is” condition so you will be responsible for making any repairs if you decide to purchase the home.
- Banks are not required to provide buyers with a transfer disclosure statement so it is up to you to do all investigations regarding permits, use restrictions, and health and safety code compliance.
- Repossessed homes purchased at foreclosure auctions are sold without any warranties, and you may be responsible for paying off liens. Be sure to conduct a title search. Also, you should be aware that you cannot obtain title insurance.
- Line your financing up in advance so you can close on time. Banks like to close their repossessed home transactions quickly. You will need cash for repossessed homes purchased at auctions.
- Check your state laws regarding foreclosure auction property laws to make sure that the prior owner cannot redeem the property after the auction sale.
Right now it is still a buyer’s market, and there are a number of good deals on repossessed homes in Cedar Rapids. There is plenty of inventory. According to Realtytrac, there are 184 repossessed properties available for sale. There are nine foreclosure auction properties available, and one government auction property for sale as well. There were 51 new foreclosure filings in June 2011, which means there are still more foreclosure opportunities coming up. Trulia reported prices for popular neighborhoods of Cedar Hills and Southwest Area with average listing prices running around $133,695 and $109,153 during the period January 11, 2011 through March 11, 2011. Accordingly to Trulia, the median sales price for homes in the area from January 11, 2011 through March 11, 2011 was $98,250. Mortgage rates are still low as well with 30 year fixed rates mortgages hovering around 4.55%, although up 4.51% from last week.
So if you are in the market to purchase a home, you should consider looking at repossessed homes in Cedar Rapids because they allow you to purchase more for your money. If you are handy, you can fix the home up yourself. If you have an opportunity to purchase a bank foreclosed property, you should grab it before another buyer finds it.
