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(Bad credit home loans) Cornucopia of Foreclosures and Short Sales

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By Kevin Curtis

 Most real estate markets are seeing 30% or more of their transactions being lender mediated through foreclosures or short sales.

The bargain hunters continue to move in to take advantage of the bottom barrel prices, low interest rates and cornucopia of foreclosures and short sales.

Buying a Foreclosure

In dealing with a foreclosure the banks selling them are mainly concerned with price. You as the buyer need to determine what the right price is for you regardless of their asking price.

This is where an experienced real estate agent can greatly improve your chances of not only getting the home, but also getting a better price and making it a smooth transaction.

A buyers agent can get important answers to questions like how long has the home been on the market, when was their last price reduction and how much, any city required repairs and research comparable sales.

The answers to these questions can educate you about the market and also give you an informed decision on what price you should offer.

While multiple offers are common to see on foreclosures there are a few strategies that can strengthen your offer.

With the credit market tightening, a cash offer can beat out an offer that is contingent on getting financing. In fact, it’s common to see banks accept cash offers that are thousands of dollars less than an offer that is higher but is contingent on obtaining financing.

Other helpful tips include: offer to close in 30 days or less, remove the inspection contingency, if you are financing do not ask for any seller paid closing costs and do not ask the bank to perform any repairs.

Buying a Short Sale

A short sale is where the lender allows a property to be sold for less than the amount owed on a mortgage and the lender agrees to take a loss.

While a short sale home is usually in much better condition than the foreclosure there are some big pitfalls.

Short sales can be very frustrating for all involved. It’s not uncommon to wait 90 days or more before getting a response from a bank on accepting or declining an offer.

Also, many of the homes on the MLS labeled as a short sale are not truly sellable. Just because a property is listed as a short sale it doesn’t necessarily mean the lender will accept your offer, even if the home owner accepted it.

So before you write an offer on a short sale, do your best to know what you are in for prior to writing the offer. Your real estate agent should be able to find out where in the process the listing agent is with the short sale approval.

The key really is to verify it is a pre-negotiated short sale. Meaning the seller has met the qualifications of a short sale and all necessary documentation has been provided to the bank.

Kevin Curtis is a licensed agent with RE/MAX Advantage Plus. He is The Minnesota Real Estate Team’s 2007 Agent of the Year. Kevin and his team provide great service and ongoing insights into the Minnesota Real Estate market at

MinnesotaPropertiesOnline.com.

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Turkey “the Only Logical Choice” for Expats According to Experts
By Rhiannon Davies

 According to AXA, the global insurance specialists, the current state of the nation will see up to 500,000 Britons flee the UK in 2008, with a survey from HSBC revealing that Britain is now not even considered a good place to live by people from other countries.

So it seems that the UK is set to suffer considerably from the disastrous state of the economy, and from the government’s attempts to solve the significant financial problems that Great Britain is facing.

Added to these predictions and survey findings are the bare facts that one person is being declared bankrupt or insolvent in the UK every five minutes, over 100 properties are being repossessed in Britain each day, and average household debt has reached GBP 9,500 as the personal economic situation of Britons worsens.

Reacting directly to these worrying facts, Julian Walker, the Managing Director of Turkish property specialists Spot Blue, has spoken out about the choices that Britons realistically now have to face.

In a recent interview, Walker explained that in his opinion there is only one logical choice for British citizens who want to escape the winter of discontent that’s fast enveloping the entire nation:

“Britain’s economy is severely stretched and we have to accept that the fiscal landscape of our nation will never be the same again. It’s the real people who are being affected by the sorry state of the economy, and as every person in this country knows, we haven’t even begun to see the final repercussions of the crisis yet.

“As billions of pounds have been wiped off the stock markets and banks around the world teeter on the brink of bankruptcy, it’s the pensioners and soon-to-be-retirees who are going to be most radically affected in these very tough times.

“The value of pensions are being decimated, and as inflation has been edging upwards in Britain, the real cost of living for those in, or about to enter retirement is becoming worryingly ever more expensive.

“If people want to escape the UK meltdown and enjoy a comfortable and prosperous future, they increasingly realise that Britain is not the nation for them in retirement - and in our opinion at Spot Blue, Turkey is one of the few logical choices for those seeking the perfect balance of lifestyle and financial advantages.

“In Turkey, British retirees are made to feel welcome by the local people from the very first day of their new life abroad - and with HSBC offering over 18%pa on deposits, Britons will immediately see the value of living in Turkey in terms of the more positive state of their bank balance.

“With low property prices and the cost of day-to-day living in Turkey is a fraction of what it is in the UK - from council tax to heating bills, Turkey is significantly cheaper.

“The climate in Turkey’s southern coastal regions is also much warmer and sunnier than the British climate, which means that people spend far more time outdoors and engaged in outdoor activities, which is better in terms of health benefits.

“The shorter and warmer winters and longer spring and summers naturally reduce heating and fuel costs, and with all that additional sunshine, the local grown produce - the majority of which is organic - is healthier, tastier, more abundant and therefore very good value for money.

“We’re seeing greater interest among British retirees for property in Turkey, with those who contact us keen to benefit from our wealth of experience and local knowledge to help them find a house, make a home and start a brand new life in Turkey - well away from the British weather and the British economic turmoil.

“For the short to medium-term all Britons are aware that the United Kingdom will not be a comfortable, affordable, prosperous or positive place to be, and so we agree with AXA’s predictions and are confident in stating that ever greater numbers of Britons will chose expatriation over debt and poverty.

“In our opinion, Turkey is the number one choice for those who want to live a fantastic quality of affordable life in an accessible, stable and rapidly advancing nation.”

For more opinion about the Turkish property market and for details of the stunning second home and investment property opportunities that exist in Turkey, contact Spot Blue on 020 8339 6036 or visit www.spotblue.co.uk

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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 1:05 pm and is filed under realestate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.