June 8th, 2009 Categories: Buying, Foreclosures
At least once a week I have the following conversation with a buyer:
Buyer - I’m really interested in foreclosures so I can get a great price.
Me - OK, foreclosures have pushed prices lower in several segments of our market. What else are you looking for?
Buyer - I would like a single family home in Potomac, Rockville or North Potomac under $1M in a good school district.
Me - Now we have a problem.
Don’t get me wrong, no one loves a bargain better than me. When buying a home, however, having “get a bargain” as the #1 purchase criteria is a recipe for disappointment. Why? Primarily, the inventory of distress sales is very low — and getting lower. This removes 80% of the available market for consideration.
But getting a bargain isn’t the primary criteria, is it? You also want a home that meets your needs and is located in your desired area and goes to your preferred school district. Filter the inventory of distress sales with this critieria and there’s nothing left.
Take a different approach. Even if distress sales are unavailable for homes that meet your needs, you can still find good values. Step #1 – Focus on the homes that meet your needs first. Step #2 – Find the best values within this subset of homes. Some distress sales may now be worth a look, but don’t overlook regular resales. For my buyers, I’ve negotiated the very best values with sellers who are motivated and have a lot of home equity.
Don’t be disappointed. First – find homes that meet your needs. Next – narrow in on the bargains.
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Posted by Bruce Lemieux
This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 6:15 am and is filed under Buying, Foreclosures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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This is great advice. I find that if buyers are only focusing on foreclosures, then they may be missing other deals that more properly fit their long term needs. True, it’s great if that perfect home is a distressed sale, but if it’s not perfect for the buyers, the price needs to be REALLY low to justify it.