So, You Wanna Buy Pre-Foreclosures?

So you wanna buy pre-foreclosures? or at the courthouse steps? So many people ask us about this. Here's our '30 second seminar' on it. If you're going to buy PRE-foreclosures--after the seller is behind on her payments, but before the lender's auction date-then there are some pros and cons to consider.

Pros: 1) you've got a good possibility of buying the house subject-to the loan from a very motivated seller who just wants out. 2) you don't need to do any marketing, just read the foreclosure notices (more on this later), pull some comps and do drive-bys. 3) There are several *thousand* foreclosures published each month, in the greater Atlanta area-plenty to choose from.

Cons: 1) You've only got about 3 weeks (to beat the courthouse auction) to contact homeowners and get signed contracts, title work, funding, etc. 2) Most pre-fc homeowners are in denial about their situation and/or mad at the world due to all their stress and debt collection calls they get. Soooo, they're usually not very open or friendly to you and your offer. 3) Most really good deals are redeemed (caught up) by the homeowner, and the foreclosure cancelled, just before the courthouse auction.

Say you decide to jump in and 'play the PRE-foreclosure game'. We'd recommend you subscribe to the Atlanta Foreclosure Report at www.equisystems.com/default.htm (about $600/yr and we don't receive any commission for recommending them), and get the monthly list online. Also, consider doing a lot of bold, cut through the clutter mailings to the pre-foreclosures you're considering, to get their attention and have them call you. Remember, their mailbox and answering machine is filled with debt collection stuff. You need to stand out, and hit them often. You might want to mail a different neon postcard or lumpy mail (trash can, stick of dynamite, handcuffs, etc.) *every few days*, until they've grown to like you or are curious enough to call you.

If you choose to skip pre-foreclosure and actually buy foreclosures at the courthouse steps-then you're dealing with the foreclosing attorney and the lender, not the homeowner. The biggest things to keep in mind is you're expected to pay all cash by the END of the auction day; you'll have to run your own title exam in advance; and you'll probably have to guess what condition of home interior is since homeowner may not have let you inside. Another option is to buy the note/mortgage for cash at a deep discount, direct from the lender, prior to the courthouse auction. You don't have to deal with the homeowner that way, but you do have to have access to funds, and you will still have to do your own foreclosure after you buy the mortgage.

Best of success & abundance,

Lou Castillo

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More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.