Buying Phoenix Foreclosures

How to make an offer on a Fannie Mae home

Buyer Help

This is a post about how to make an offer on a Fannie Mae-owned (foreclosure) home in metro Phoenix, Arizona where I’m a licensed Realtor. If you’re reading this from out of area, or long after Summer 2011, please consult a professional in your area.   Need a metro Phoenix-area Realtor? Contact me! To make an [...]

2 July 2011 Read the full article →

Phoenix not in Top 10, but investors still buying here

In The News

Inman News reports on “The 10 Best Markets for Real Estate Investors” and here’s some takeaways from that report: Tucson is in the Inman “top ten” best real estate markets for investors, but Phoenix is not. Investors usually pay cash for homes (61% compared to just 20% of owner-occupant buyers who pay cash Most investors [...]

5 June 2011 Read the full article →

Do buyers of bank owned homes pay for back owed HOA dues?

Buyer Help

Got this question from a current buyer client: Hi Heather: Silly question, we are not responsible for back HOA fees, are we? Jennifer This isn’t a silly question at all. The short answer is “no”. The longer answer is below. Keep in mind I’m talking about buying a bank owned foreclosure (“REO”) home in the [...]

21 April 2011 Read the full article →

Buy Phoenix foreclosures 30% below market!

In The News

Riffing off what Chris posted yesterday… In Phoenix, the winter tourist season is here. Every year this means a new wave of newbie real estate investors who are convinced that you can buy investment property in metro Phoenix for 20% or 30% below market value. Here’s the real deal… I’ve been helping investors in the [...]

21 February 2011 Read the full article →

Buying a foreclosure is hard

Foreclosures

Sometimes buying a bank owned REO foreclosure home is well… hard.  Sometimes it’s very hard. It’s not that the homes are sketchy (sometimes they are).  It’s not that the homes come without any disclosures of condition (they do). It’s not that the seller won’t guarantee anything during or after the sale (they don’t). It’s not [...]

10 December 2010 Read the full article →

Bank owned home for $11,000?!

Foreclosures

Yep. You might remember my periodic series The Highs and The Lows? This is a definite low. Within the past 30 days, some lucky buyer got a bank owned REO foreclosure house for $11,000. It was a 2 bed, 2 bath home built in 1947, located in Avondale. So my Canadian friends and other out [...]

7 December 2010 Read the full article →

Not all banks are utterly moronic

Foreclosures

Last December our buyer clients found a house online that they loved in a big way. It was priced at $2,195,000 and their budget was $1,800,000 max. It was a short sale, headed for the foreclosure auction block in 2 days. We saw it in person. They fell in love. I checked the tax records:  [...]

28 June 2010 Read the full article →

Thinking about being a landlord?

Investors

If you’re thinking about becoming a landlord, The Landlord Protection Agency website is a great resource for you. Besides offering a chat forum, advice and free legal forms, they even have a funny Excuse of The Day feature where website members post their tenants’ most ridiculous excuses for not paying the rent on time. RentingAuthority.com [...]

21 June 2010 Read the full article →

Scary Condo Statistics

Market Analysis & Stats

52% of condos* for sale in the metro Phoenix MLS which are priced under $75,000 are in some stage of foreclosure (they’re listed as either “short sale” or “pre-foreclosure”). . Here’s a handy chart for the visually oriented. “SS” equals Short Sale and “PF” is for Pre-Foreclosure. List Price $75,000  & Under List Price $75,001+ [...]

31 March 2010 Read the full article →

Update: Home Buyer Tax Credit

Buyer Help

It looks like the fat cats in Washington, D.C. will pull it together and extend the home buyer tax credit. But it’s really anybody’s guess. Here’s a Facebook message I sent just a few minutes ago to a friend who asked. Q: Will the tax credit be extended? A:  My gut says probably. Handing out [...]

4 November 2009 Read the full article →

FHA Game Changer

First Time Buyers

Aug 5, 2009, 11:56 am. This just in, from one of our favorite lenders – mortgage broker Kevin Reiser of AmeriFirst Lending: The FHA loan game is going to change completely. Mortgage giant Taylor, Bean & Whitaker just lost their FHA funding accreditation. They are: the 3rd largest FHA lender in the US the nation’s [...]

5 August 2009 Read the full article →