California Foreclosures: An Easy Purchase?

Maybe not!

Buying a home is more than just a simple purchase, it's an investment! And with investments you have to plan accordingly:

1. 1. How much will it cost?


2. 2. What rate of return am I expecting and is that profitable enough for the risk I'm carrying?


3. 3. Do I have an exit strategy?

According to http://www.foreclosure.com/ there are currently 768 foreclosures and an outstanding 68,000 pre-foreclosed properties in the state of California. BUT..."Remember...everything that you do should contribute to a strategy!" -- RB So get your finances in order and prepare accordingly that way you don't run yourself into a bad situation.

The ol' Fix n' Flip strategy isn't as easy to carry out as it used to be. Homes simply aren't appreciating at the high percentage rates of prior years. Now you have to hang on to your investment for the longer term. Without proper planning and with limited investment capital, you run the risk of having your investment turn sour.

What do you do if you're the consumer interested in purchasing a foreclosure?

Conduct a proper Title search:

1. Who is/are the owners of the property? But more specifically, who is on Title to the property?
   


2. How many outstanding mortgages are on the land records of the property?
   


3. Are there any outstanding lawsuits against the owner(s) of the property?
   

Get Pre-Qualified:

1. Get appropriate qualification so that you have something solid to negotiate with. You'll be required to close expeditiously after obtaining a purchase contract.
   

Obtain a Purchase Agreement:

1. You'll need to evidence this to the lender in order to get an extension on the foreclosure process.
   

Ricardo Bueno, Your Residential & Commercial Investment Advisor
Ricardo Bueno is a Mortgage Advisor & Team Leader with Wilshire Financial, Inc. A diversified mortgage brokerage located in Pasadena, CA.

Pasadena Market Update

I asked Irina Netchaev, (your Pasadena, CA Real Estate Agent) to give us a Market Update. Here's what she had to report:

Question: by Ricardo Bueno

How do you see the market performing?

ANSWER: by Irina Netchaev

Great question - the real estate market just came out of its cyclical annual slow period - fall and winter months. Every year, we see a slow down as kids go back to schools and families are enjoying Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays.

As spring comes upon us, the market starts blooming just like the flowers in my garden. There are more homes on the market, but also more buyers.

The real estate market is definitely stabilizing. We are not seeing tremendous increases of 20 to 25% a year, but are tracking an average of 5 to 7% depending on the area. When you add these "modest" increases on top of the already high home prices, the sellers are experiencing a nice growth rate.

San Marino and South Pasadena are doing great since a lot of families are looking to buy into their award winning school district. Bungalow Heaven, Historic Highlands, Madison Heights and South Lake District of Pasadena are also "flowering".

It seems like homes in the range of $800,000 to $1.2 million are selling better than homes in the $500,000 to $700,000 range.

Buyers are not going through as many multiple offer situations which makes it a little easier on them. TAlthough, we are still seeing multiple offers in some areas. They also have a little bit more inventory to choose from.

It's a WIN WIN for all.

Overall, we're in for another great summer!

For information about Pasadena, please visit the following links:
Pasadena Real Estate Guide and FREE Multiple Listing Search
Everything you ever wanted to know about Pasadena and more!
Looking for condos near Pasadena? How about Monterey Hills?
Other interesting information:
Thinking of Selling Your Home - What should your Agent be doing?
Heard the Buzz about Staing? What is it?
--
Ricardo Bueno - Your Residential & Commercial Investment Advisor
Ricardo Bueno is a Loan Officer & Team Leader with Wilshire Financial, Inc. A diversified mortgage brokerage located in Pasadena, CA.