According to figures released by RealtyTrac, a marketer of foreclosed properties, there were 243,947 foreclures in the month of August. That's up from 115,292 in August 2006 and 36% higher than July's numbers.
"The jump in foreclosure filings this month might be the beginning of the next wave of increased foreclosure activity, as a large number of subprime adjustable rate loans are beginning to reset now," James Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.
The hardest hit was Nevada which had 1 foreclosure for every 165 households. Overall the Midwest and the South were the hardest hit, but every state is feeling the pinch. Real estate prices that went unchecked for so many years, funded largely by sub-prime loans, have been the doomsayer for investors, brokers, agents and home owners alike for the past two years. Surely our greed will be our undoing.
Where does that leave a new investor like me?
Often times scratching my head, trying to figure out how I'm going to make this thing work.
But check this out...
1. A real estate agent friend of mine told me that he has pre-foreclousre homes in northern Virginia that I can buy, priced at up to 80% below their tax appraisal.
2. I spend a lot of time researching the history of individual homes sales. Houses these days are frequently appraised well below their numbers from a few years ago. I saw a house just outside the Beltway that sold for $2.2 million in 2004. Today, the same house is appraised at $465K.
The bottom line is this, the opportunities are out there for those savvy investors who know, or can learn, how to make the market work for them.
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- I'm retired after 21 years in the Army. I've got something of a rebel soul which is allergic to the idea of working for anyone other than myself. Interested in buying or selling? Please feel free to contact me at 1-888-888-7179 or AandMInvestments@gmail.com. I'm always happy to make new friends and even happier to make a new business partner.
1 comment:
Mike, wishing you the best on your venture. Would like to add a couple of thoughts. Easy to get the concepts of "appraisal" and "assessment" confused. They are related, but are different concepts. The tax "assessment" is usually public record and thus easily obtained. It usually moves in the same direction (with some lag time) of market value of a home/s, but it shouldn't be confused with market value. In many cases...it isn't even close! It is derived by a formula applied by the local government (county, parish, etc.) for the sole purpose of generating revenues for that government. The assessor never steps foot inside the home, has no idea if it is in great condition...or totally trashed. It does not consider specific upgrades...are the kitchens / bathrooms upgraded / updated? It usually will consider whether the basement or other construction projects have been completed...assuming the appropriate permits were pulled and inspected. But it would not tell you if the construction used linoleum, tile, hardwood, or gold bricks for the flooring.
An "appraisal" on the other hand is typically done by an "independent" certified appraiser on behalf of a lender trying to protect their loan investment...they are NOT public record. It is done on site and takes the condition / upgrades, etc. into consideration and methodically compares them to other comparable homes, recently sold or currently on the market, in the same area. It isn't perfect, but is a much closer indication of market value. I hope this helps. Joe Gladden, Veteran Realty Serving America's Military, Inc. VR SAM®
PS Happy to have questions and your thoughts on this and other military real estate related subjects. Please join us on http://vrsam.blogspot.com/ or visit us at www.vrsam.com.
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