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Lori Lincoln- Taunton to Attleboro MA Rehoboth, Dighton, Swansea, Attleboro

A Day in the life of showing junky bank owned properties in Taunton

I get ready to show these homes dressed in jeans and my worst pair of boots. Its about 30 degrees Farenheit, but need to dress warm because these houses are cold with a capital C.

So on go my jeans, my "play" coat, warm socks, my old boots.. hat, flashlight.. oh no.. ran out of batteries! No flashlight. So I call my investor clients to see if they can bring their own.

I will spare you some of the details,and cannot post pictures because I don't have permission from the lsiting agents, but this is a basic day of showing junky foreclosed properties.

First Showing/First Investor: UUGGLLY! Wow! This one looks like somebody bought the house with intentions to flip after they rehabbed.. only problem was there were several projects started, but never finished. Also, the typical bank owned listing with missing plumbing, no heat, burst pipes, etc.After all is said and done, the contractor says.. "needs about $100,000 in work or tear down. Not too bad in terms of trash or other unsightly sights, but needed a whole lot of work and probably not worth my buyers time or money.

Second Buyer/Investor: NOT BAD! This one only needs paint and some minor cosmetics. probably one of the best bank owned houses I've seen in awhile. The lockbox was even intact. No fumbling with keys, locks... perfect showing

Third house: This one, a multifamily in a questionable location. NASTY<YUCCKY< UGLY<GROSS!!!!! Well, we did get in! Needs about 5 dumpsters to remove the clutter, tires, windows, glass and other garbage outside. Inside.. oh no.. moldy, stinky, gaping holes in the roofs, stinky upstairs, to the point of gagging!, missing copper,missing plumbing, missing appliances, cut pipes etc.This one somebody should just tear down. Not worth the asking price.. even if we were in a sellers market. Needs about $100,000 in work according to the contractor. Again.. not worth it.

Fourth House: We get to the door and hear a smoke alarm. I have to call the listing agent because I have the wrong lockbox number. I panic because I don't see a door key.. OOHH.. its one of those small padlocks! Boy.. now I feel safe.. NOT!~ We finally get in. This one looks great on the first floor, it is a 2 family. so head up to the second floor.. OH NO! The entire second floor is near gutted. This one won't do either! Also stinks.. where is my Purell? What is that mess on the floor.. what the heck IS that? next..

Where is my PURELL?

Fifth House:

After reading the MLS listing again, we cancelled the showing.. apparantly, the listing agent was kind enough to let us know "there are major board of health violations" I think all of the properties except one had major board of health violations. Only one of the actually disclosed!

One of the reasons I don't, as a rule take first time home buyers to bank owned properties is that most of them are real junkers. The buyers lender, chances are will nix the loan if its FHA. Most first time buyer loans are FHA or VA.

Oh.. I finish my day, but going home, scrub my hands, wash my face, change my yucky clothes that have the "bank-owned property aroma".

By the way, believe it or not, I do like showing these homes. I help my buyers get great deals on them!

I am slowly getting over the disgusting things I see.

I am a buyers agent for bank owned properties. There are still some good deals in fair condition on the market, you just have to "kiss a lot of frogs to find that one prince of a house"

If you are in the market for a bank owned property, please contact Lori Lincoln at Keller Williams Realty. Lori Lincoln serves Greater Taunton Massachusetts Real Estate and surrounding communities including Middleboro, Fall River, Rehoboth, Assonet, Freetown, Dighton

Thank you for viewing my blog

Lori Lincoln

lorilincoln@kw.com

508-878-0917

for more information on selling tips, buying tips and real estate trends/school reports go to http://LoriLincolnTeam.com

Taunton Real Estate- 2009 is Divine!

I am so excited about the new year. Looking forward to a great 2009. In real estate, nobody can predict the future.

I will give you some facts that I have noticed over the last 2 weeks. Buyer/Investors are buying up the foreclosure inventory. Today, our office received over 25 buyer calls for showings in the first 3 hours of the day. I didn't find out what the total calls were for the day.. Normal is 5-10 a day.

Of course the influx could be due to the holidays... but still a nice positive way to start the new year.

I also noticed that in Taunton MA 25% of our foreclosed listings over the last 2 weeks are under agreement or sold. New foreclosed inventory isn't coming in as fast.

I believe that our inventory has decreased some due to the moretoreum on foreclosures which was implemented in 4th quarter 08. Banks have promised not to take steps to foreclose on borrowers homes until January 9th. They are more willing to modify loans now and work with their borrowers.

Question is, will the modifications be affordable enough to keep homeowners in their homes?. Will more bank owned inventory follow in the coming months?

Are prices stabiizing in the Taunton/Rehoboth/Dighton?

Is stabilization around the corner? Someone approaches me at least once a day regarding the state of the market. Nobody has a crystal ball. When the market changes, nobody will know it until they look back. It happens fast.

There are basic opinions on this:

The first is that interest rates are going down and are now in the low 5's high 4's. This means that a $200,000 mortgage would be between $1000-1100 a month (excluding taxes and insurance. Now homes in the Taunton Massachusetts can be bought for about the same monthly payment as what one would pay to rent!

The second fact is that 1 in 10 homeowners ( national data) are at least one month behind in their mortgage payment. Also there is a moretoeum on foreclosures until January 9, 2009.. a hold on them.. if you will.

So what will happen? Stay tuned.

I of of the same opinion of Jim Cramer and Donald Trumph.. BUY NOW! If you plan on living in your new home for any lenghth of time...chances of equity gains over time, are very likely.

BUY Now if you are first time homebuyer.. the government will give you a $7500.00 tax credit which is an interest free loan. You could pay off a credit card with this!

If you are a seller and you don't need to sell..don't. This isn't a time to "test" the market. Be serious about selling before you list your home. However, if you are a seller in trouble with your mortgage, there are many options available to you.

If you would like more information on current market trends and free reports on what homes in your area are selling for, please contact me via phone or email.

Lori Lincoln- Lori Lincoln Team- Keller Williams Realty-Serving the communities of Taunton, Rehoboth, Somerset, Swansea, Dighton, Assonet and Bristol County MA

508-878-0917

email: lorilincoln@kw.com

http://www.LincolnTeamRealEState.com

Taunton MA- Bank Owned Horror Stories- Homebuyers don't let this happen to you!

I heard this today ....a situation where a buyer submitted an offer on a bank owned property with her buyers agent. The Buyer was given the lock box combo with permission from the listing agent and the buyers agent to go into the property prior to closing and do some fix up work.

The buyer stripped wallpaper, repainted, then.. hired a home inspector.. The home inspector inspected the property and informed the buyer that her $45,000 bank owned home would cost $45000 more to bring to a point where the bank would actually finance the property.. missing copper, structural issues, etc. The buyer was brought to tears by this news. She already spent in excess of $3000.00, had a $5000.00 kitchen on order ( paid for and to be installed the following day).

She also had an earnest money deposit on the home.

This whole situation could have been avoided had the buyer had the right guidance.

1. Bank owned properties.. most of them cannot be financed conventionally, except for some HUD owned properties where HUD will allow FHA 203k repair loans. Most bank owned sellers want to see cash deals.

2. When buyers need to gain entrance to a property after their offer is submitted, they MUST always be accompanied by their agent

3. Agents should inform their buyers that repairs done prior to closings puts them at risk that the bank could sell to another buyer at a higher price based on the improvements made to the property buy the current buyer. This goes back to my second point. Why in the world would anyone sit back and let a buyer put themselves in this situation. Why would anyone want to create liability for all parties involved?

4. Bank owned sellers force buyers to sign addendums that give the buyers virtually no rights. Some banks even indicate that they can sell to someone else for a higher price right up to the day of closing!

5. Buying bank owned properties is not for the faint of heart and ..most of the time.. not for first time home buyers who need financing.

6. If you make an offer on a property, get a home inspector to the property within 3 days.

7. With all that is stated in the above points, good, solid, bank owned homes are few and far between, and there are some good deals out there. Just be careful!

Get a good buyers agent who understands the REO/foreclosure/bank owned market to help you and guide you every step of the way,save you money, time, and aggravation. Don't go it alone.. definitely use a good buyers agent!

Agents.. can't find a solid foreclosed property for your buyer?? Do your first time buyer and yourself a favor, encourage them to spend another $5..$10.., $15.. a day to own a nice first time buyers house in good shape. The $7500.00 credit can help them pay off other bills so they might be able to afford a little extra.

They will thank you later.

If you would like to know more about buying a foreclosed/bank owned home in the Greater Taunton/FallRiver, Rehoboth, Assonet, Dighton, or surrounding city or town, please call me.

Thank you for viewing my blog

Lori Lincoln

Keller Williams Realty

lorilincoln@kw.com

508-878-0917

http://LoriLincolnTeam.com

Foreclosures, REO's, Short Sales- The market of the moment.

If you are buyer, you are probably intrigued with purchasing a foreclosure/bank owned property. I think I've seen all the bank owned properties in Taunton this week!

First time homebuyers who use FHA loans must be advised that FHA has strict guidelines on the homes condition. Many homes in the $100,000 dollar range-$190,000 urban Taunton- Need substantial work.

There are still some good ones out there. I know which ones you should stay away from if you'll be using an FHA loan.

Items that will not meet FHA guidelines:

Most of the foreclosed homes I've been showing have no heat due to copper pipes being removed by vandals. Copper, apparantly has value as scrap metal and can be sold easily.

Second, if there are holes in the walls, missing sheetrock

Holes in Roof

Severe peeling paint

Faulty electrical

If the property is in an area where title 5 septic is in need of testing or repair, or replace this is also usually the buyers responsiblity.

If a buyer with an FHA loan wants to buy a home in dis-repair, the buyer, in most instances would be responsible for the work in order to make the house FHA compliant. This is a HUGE Risk! It would mean

a. obtaining permission from the bank that owns the property to repair the home.

b. getting the bank that owns the property to accept an offer like this is really tough.

If you are looking for a bank owned property, it is more important than ever to have an experienced buyers agent represent you and who is " in your corner".

Many times, the listing agents don't even see the properties they list!

Research and due diligence are the key to buying any property. With foreclosures/bank-owned.. all the more!

With all the negatives out, I have helped many buyers purchase bank owned property this year. There is a process to it and buyers need to know that buying bank owned properties is done differently than a traditional transaction.

You might even consider foregoing bank owned and pay a little more for a house that doesn't need major work.

Please contact me for more information about buying in today's market. Take advantage of the low rates.

Lori Lincoln is a Realtor serving Taunton, MA, Rehoboth MA and surrounding cities and towns.

Free home search at http://www.LoriLincolnTeam.com

email: lorilincoln@kw.com

direct access line:508-878-0917