Tara Camp

Thinking of making an offer on a Bellingham Bank Owned property? Well, if you've made offers on distressed properties before, you're probably aware that banks & lenders have their own set of rules. One of them being the bank's request of your "highest & best offer" on the Bellingham bank owned property. Usually the "highest & best" phrase comes into play when there are multiple offers. Instead of the bank countering each offer individually, they will counter all offers verbally by asking for "highest & best" from each bidder.

As a buyer, there's no way of knowing at what price the other offers came in at, not to mention the fact that for all you know there might not even be other offers on the table. The weight of certain factors can make or break an offer, so the highest doesn't always mean the best. Financing terms, as well as, how the offer is written will also make a difference in whether your offer is accepted or not.

If your looking for a Bellingham bank owned property have your Realtor run comps., determine the property's after repair value, & bid out any repairs that are needed, so that you don't offer to much for a property. Have an idea of what your exit strategy is before you start negotiations. For instance are you going to live in it for 5+ years, fix-n-flip it, or hold it as a rental? These factors will help you determine how much the property is really worth to you and help you define your margins.

As always, I'm here to help you reach your real estate goals. Let me know if I can help.

Tara

About the Author: Tara is a full time Realtor in the Bellingham, Wa. As a buyers agent she specializes in finding you under-valued properties: good deals, bank owned real estate, short sales, estate sales, etc. As a Seller's agent your home will reach millions of buyers via internet, virtual tours, and target marketing to buyers looking to buy a property like yours. She is well versed in real estate values, finance, and negotiation. Whether you're looking to relocate, buy, sell, or invest you're in good hands with Tara.

Learn more about the 1st time Home buyers tax credit (1st time doesn't really mean 1st time)

Buy a Home or List your property today - Contact Tara at 360-296-3244 or tara@taracamprealestate.com

If you're shopping for Bellingham Real Estate you might have noticed that there is a bit of excitement around the topic of Bellingham Bank Owned Properties & you might be wondering what the fuss is about. Well, Bellingham Bank owned properties are usually priced at or above fair market value, but occasionally there are some that have a really low listing price. The low listing price can mean one of two things...it may mean that it's a great deal, priced-right or it could mean that it's a real dump in a bad location. We've seen it all here in the Bellingham Real Estate market.

If, in fact, they are great deals, they may seem to-good-to-be true...& sometimes they are. Bank owned, low listing prices, is a strategy that some banks use to create bidding wars in order to get buyer emotions involved so that they'll pay more for a property. Sometime it works, sometimes it doesn't. Here in the Bellingham real estate market I've only seen a few bank owned deals that actually sold for more than they we're listed for.

If you're shopping for a Bellingham bank owned property, know what you're willing to pay before the negotiations begin. Don't get caught up in a bidding war, as there will be others. Also, base your offer on other distressed comparables in the area & know your exit strategy.

Tara specializes in Bellingham Short Sales, Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate, Lease options, & Seller financing. If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Bellingham, give her a call. She's honest, reliable, and well educated in the realm of real estate.

If you're currently looking to buy Bellingham bank owned real estate, you might have seen or heard the phrase sold "AS IS". If so, you're probably curious and maybe concerned about the "AS IS" phrase, as you should be. After-all, it sounds pretty foreboding and kind of implies that something could be wrong with the place. Well, while there could be something wrong with this particular bank owned property, "AS IS" just means that the seller (the bank/lender/note holder) is not going to do any repairs before they sell.

How do you protect yourself from this "AS IS" clause, when buying Bellingham bank owned real estate? Well, a home inspection is always recommended, as it's a good way to find hidden problems that the seller may or may not know about. This is important because banks do not occupy the dwelling therefore, they don't fill out/include a seller's disclosure, which would typically disclose issue(s) with the property. I recommend an inspector that is ASHI Certified, which insures that they are qualified, as well as, insured in case they miss something in the inspection. The appraisal, which will be ordered & required by your lender also has guidelines to protect their investment, which should also spot any potential problems.

When it comes to negotiating Bellingham bank owned real estate, you should negotiate with the "AS IS" clause in mind with your initial offer. Some agents & buyers have the mind set of putting a high offer in, getting an inspection, and then asking the bank to lower the price or fix problems that came up in the inspection. This may work with normal sellers, but the banks usually refuse to do any work to bank owned properties and they are most often not going to reduce the price. If you decide to choose this route you could be wasting your inspection money especially if you're banking on seller concessions or a price reduction...negotiate the "AS IS" clause into your initial offer, enough said.

To make a long story short, when buying Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate the "AS IS" clause shouldn't make you run the other way with your tail between your legs, but heed caution, do your due diligence, & utilize your real estate team to help you make wise decisions.

Tara specializes in Bellingham Short Sales, Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate, Lease options, & Seller financing. If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Bellingham, give her a call. She's honest, reliable, and well educated in the realm of real estate

There is a lot of mystery in the Bellingham foreclosure process surrounding the topic of the deficiency judgment, so I'm going to regurgitate some information regarding this topic.

As per the Washington Foreclosure Rules and Regulations unless your foreclosure is a Judicial Foreclosure, your lender cannotsue you for a deficiency judgment. A deficiency judgment is the difference in the amount you owe and the amount your lender agrees to let you sell for, which is a result of a short sale or a public sale at a Bellingham Foreclosure auction.

Another protective mechanism is "The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, which generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief."

These are a few things that are often misunderstood or unknown to the general population, so I thought I'd share...hope this helps. I'm not an attorney, nor an accountant so please seek council regarding the specifics on this topic.

Tara specializes in Bellingham Short Sales, Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate, Lease options, & Seller financing. If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Bellingham, give her a call. She's honest, reliable, and well educated in the realm of real estate.

For the sake of this blog & SEO purposes, I'm going to give the specifics for the Bellingham Foreclosure process, although this process applies to all of Washington State & the Washington State Foreclosure process.

The Bellingham area and Washington in general, for the most part is a non-judicial foreclosure state, which means that due to a "power of sale" clause in the deed of trust, your lender has the right to foreclose in order to recoup the defaulted amount that is owed.

If the Deed of Trust contains specifics on the method/terms of foreclosure then those rules/guidelines will trump, but if there are no set guidelines within the Deed the non-judicial power of sale is carried out as follows.

1. Notice of Sale must be delivered and received via certified mail at the home owners last known address. Notice must also be give to the home owners attorney via snail mail. Both shall be delivered 30 days prior to the sale of the property at the Bellingham Foreclosure Auction.

The sheriff must publish a notice of the sale once a week, consecutively, for four (4) weeks, in any daily or weekly legal newspaper of general circulation published in the county that the property is located. The sheriff must also post the notice in two public places, on the courthouse door & in the county where the sale will take place. Notices must be posted 4 weeks prior to the sale date up until the sale takes place.

The notice must include the time/place of the foreclosure sale, the names of the parties on the deed, the date of the deed, recording information, a property description, terms of the sale, & the borrowers rights (or lack of) redemption.

2. The Bellingham Foreclosure Process can be stopped (up until 11 days before the auction) if the borrow pays in full any defaulted amount plus fees associated with the process, such as trustee and attorney fees.

3. The Bellingham Foreclosure sale takes place via auction at the courthouse between 9:00 - 4:00 on Friday, unless it's a legal holiday...in which case the sale in on the next business day. The sale cannot take place sooner than 190 days from the first day of default.

For more information on the Bellingham Foreclosure process, feel free to give me a call or drop me an email...or visit the Bellingham Foreclosure site for videos & information on stopping foreclosure.

Tara specializes in Bellingham Short Sales, Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate, Lease options, & Seller financing. If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Bellingham, give her a call. She's honest, reliable, and well educated in the realm of real estate.