Tacoma, WA foreclosure auctions are great places to buy quality homes at bargain prices. To find out about the foreclosure auctions, you can check the local newspaper, the county courthouse or on the Internet. You will want to register at the online auction sites and other websites such as RealtyTrac, Yahoo and Trulia that offer foreclosure auction information. To get an idea of what auctioned homes are being offered at – a Tacoma home is currently advertised for foreclosure auction on RealtyTrac for $135,875. The median sales price for a home in Tacoma for the period January 11, 2011 through March 11, 2011 was $157,500. The average price per square foot for a Tacoma home is $135.00. So you can see why buyers/investors are interested in purchasing these discounted foreclosure auction properties.
Popular Neighborhoods
There are currently 1,755 foreclosure homes in the Tacoma area in some state of foreclosure, such as pre-foreclosure, foreclosure auction or bank owned REO’s. Popular neighborhoods include North End and South End with average listing prices of $400,545 and $143,428, respectively. Other hot neighborhoods are Parkland, with an average list price of $198,332, Fife, with an average list price of $206,147, Ruston, with an average list price of $368,409 and Auburn with an average list price of $257,808. When you find a foreclosure auction property especially in a hot Tacoma neighborhood such as these, you should jump at the chance to bid on it. The other way to buy one of these properties is to go to the bank directly and see if they will accept an offer prior to the auction. Homes that do not sell at Tacoma auctions are offered for sale by the banks that buy them back as REO’s and list them with local Realtors. So you may still have an opportunity to purchase the home if you were unsuccessful at the auction.
What to Know?
Competition is fierce for auction and REO properties so you need to keep current on the auction dates and times. Always check with the auctioneer or trustee before you go because frequently auctions are postponed and cancelled because the owners and the banks are negotiating at the last minute to find a way for the owner to keep their home. Auctions are conducted at the local county courthouse, at the property or locations designated in the auction sale notice. Arrive early at the auction especially if this is your first time bidding. You will need cash to pay for the home if you are the lucky bidder and a deposit to bid. The auctioneer or trustee will give you the bidding instructions so you know how much money to bring. A 10% deposit is customary. You may also want to check with a Washington foreclosure attorney regarding foreclosure laws or read up on them yourself.
Due Diligence
Before you bid, you should check the sold prices in the area. A local Tacoma Realtor can give you the information, or it can be found online. This way you will know what the homes are going for in the area and whether bidding on a particular home makes sense for your intended use of the property. You may or may not be able to inspect the home so if you live nearby you should drive by to see the condition and whether there is anyone living there. You cannot get title insurance on auctioned properties so you should do a title search to find out what liens there are on the property, if any. All liens must be satisfied. You are responsible for paying some of them so you want to make sure the home is really a good bargain and take all costs into account when bidding. Also, if the home needs major systems replaced, you may want to find another house to purchase because those costs can be expensive. A Tacoma foreclosed auction home that just needs cosmetic work is what you want to concentrate on finding because your repair costs will be reasonable and affordable so that you can rehab the home or hold it and lease it out.
Investors/buyers interested in purchasing Tacoma, WA foreclosed homes should investigate Tacoma foreclosure auctions and REO’s. Both offer the opportunity to purchase homes at discounted prices and are good deals for finding quality Tacoma homes. There are plenty of foreclosure homes in the area and prices are very affordable so you should take advantage of these deals now.
