I've had my eye on this house for about a year! It is the PERFECT house for our family!
The owners left it and moved back to Africa. The Government is finally forclosing on the house and My husband and are thinking about selling our current house and getting a rental somewhere so when the house goes up for bid we can bid on it.
I want this house so bad but I'm scared also! There are so many thing that can go wrong. For instance....... What if they put the house up for bid and it's out of our price range. Or what if someone out bids us?
It won't be the end of the world if we don't get the house but I'd hate to live in a rental for a long time.
Tell me what you think! Am I crazy?
K.
I would research heavily the comps in the neighborhood to be certain that the price per sq foot is something you are comfortable with paying. And enlist the help of a realtor friend as well; so he/she can give you advice along the way.
Good luck,
K.
K. -
You aren't crazy for going after what you want, but there is a better way of going about it. The foreclosure market is stiff right now, there are usually multiple bids, and banks will take the highest and best (not said to discourage you at all). Sometimes, these properties never make it to the market because they are picked up in a 3rd party process - which could be you. My suggestion... If you have a Realtor already, find out if they are versed with buying and selling foreclosures. If not, contact me - I am and can help you find out more about the house, what they might possibly list for, and if it's possible to purchase 3rd party. Then you can decide if it's worth it to chase this dream!!!
Email me at ____@____.com if you have any questions - I'm happy to help. L.:)
No you're not crazy. But you are right to think through all the scenarios. I think your biggest issue may be selling your current house. The market is very strong in some areas, and not so strong in others. Check the time on the market for your area to get a good idea of how long you should expect for the sales cycle. Because if you're house hasn't sold by the time this one goes for bid, you will need to have the finances to cover both mortgage payments.
If you don't get this house, do you really want to leave your current one? Or is the plan you only want to move for this particular house? And have you checked out rental properties in your area? If I were you, I would sit down and make some different contingency plans to cover the different scenarios, and make sure both of you are in agreement with all of them so you can activate the plan when necessary and you won't find yourselves up at midnight arguing over what to do.
Sometimes the craziest decisions end up being the best ones...so good luck!!!
Breathe, K., It may be a great house, but it is only a house. Just keeping it real... D.
Call a Realtor. I know a really good one. Cathy Smith ###-###-####
You have a lot of good advice already. Just wanted to say you don't have to sell your house, if you have enough equity you can get a line of credit. Maybe the line of credit would be enough for you to bid with and then sell your house.
But like I said you have alot of good advice. Including this is just a house. Don't risk anything you can't afford to lose.
look at realtytrac.com they have great articles on forclosure or preforclosure and bank owned homes. from the article i read it's actually better to buy it from the owners before it goes to auction because you can get a better deal. if this is still possible i'd jump on it but the article i read said you need to have the money in escrow and you need to have it stated in legal papers that you are not responsible for the property if it goes to auction before you are able to buy otherwise for some reason the owners can sue you like it was your fault. you just need to look on the website because they have a 7 day trial for all the info and it's i think $40 a month to keep using it. i hope you find what you are looking for! we are looking to buy our first home later this year or early next year and after reading the articles on realtytrac i think i'm going to go for a bankowned home. you have more time to get the house checked out to make sure it's ok structuraly and also you would still get it below market value. well God bless and good luck!!!!
Funny thing, I have another friend looking at that house too! She told me the same story. Small world huh? THey're already in a rental and are going to bid on it when it's up for auction. I don't know what their price range / cap is so I'll tell you just what I told her...there are lots of real estate investors that attend these auctions too that have lots of working capital TO buy these kinds of properties and turn around and sell them making quite a mint (my cousin does it). Just don't put all your eggs in this one basket just in CASE it does get out of your price range -- always have a back up plan. If you DO move out and get a rental somewhere TO be able to bid on it and it falls through -- at least you're already "mobile" so taht you can find another home that would be perfect for you. :) You just have to do what you feel in your heart is best for your family... and then have a backkup in case it falls through. :)
