Charlottesville Real Estate Talk

Buying A Foreclosure In Charlottesville - How Much Should I Offer?

In the current real estate market I am often approached by folks who are interested in purchasing a foreclosure.  Bank owned properties can provide the opportunity to purchase a home at a discounted price.  However people are often surprised at what exactly that price may be. You have been hearing on tv about the glut of foreclosures.  You know that the banks need to get these homes off their books.  So it makes perfect sense that they would be happy to get anything for the properties just to get rid of them...wrong.  The banks want to get as much as they can for the properties.  They have a figure that they want to get for the home.  The home has been priced according to a brokers price opinion based on market value and condition.  This is usually less than comparable resales that are on the market.  The Charlottesville foreclosure is already discounted and the bank usually will not take 30 cents to the dollar on this discounted price. When the home comes on the market as a REO it is listed at a price based on a BPO.  If there has not been an acceptable offer, the bank will periodically reduce the price.  When the price of a bank owned home becomes attractive, offers come in.  It is not unusual to end up with multiple offers and we will see the home end up selling for over the list price. This graph shows the sold to list price ratio of foreclosures in the greater Charlottesville real estate market.  Note that this ratio is based on the sale price as compared to the original list price, not the final reduced price.  You can also see how much lower the REOs are selling for compared with the conventional sales. As you can see the foreclosures in the Charlottesville real estate market are selling on average for approximately 82 - 88% of  the list price.  Yes, you can make an offer, but don't expect to be able to get the property at 1/3 of  the list price.  I am not saying that it never happens, but it is not at all the norm.

Contact Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES, SFR, President Blue Ridge Chapter Women's Council of Realtors, Montague Miller & Company, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434 960-0161 to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore, Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek, Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County, Ruckersville. Email Pam Dent.

Licensed to sell real estate in Virginia.

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Copyright by Pam Dent all rights reserved "Buying A Foreclosure In Charlottesville - How Much Should I Offer?"  Written by Pam Dent.

The sale of this beautiful foreclosed home just closed for my homebuyer clients thank to a great team effort.

Getting a foreclosed home to closing is not just another real estate transaction.  There are deadlines that have to be met or the homebuyer can be hit with financial penalties.  Thanks to the professionalism of Cameron Marsh at Tucker Griffin and Barnes and Steve Hargett an Met Life, we were able to deal with all of the difficulties that cropped up and get this transaction closed smoothly for the clients.

If you are considering the purchase of a foreclosed home, it is important to use a Realtor who has sold and closed foreclosures.  You will find it helpful to have an agent who is familiar with these special transactions.

With all of the buzz in the media regarding the increase in foreclosures across the country, I get frequent inquiries from clients about foreclosed properties in Central Virginia.  While the Charlottesville area has been fortunate to not have the large number of foreclosures that are being experienced in some parts of the country we have started to see an increased number of  forclosed homes in our local market over the last six months.

In glancing through the local mls today I quickly pulled up several foreclosed homes ranging in price from $175,000 - $474,900; so you can see that we are seeing homes going into foreclosure in a variety of price ranges.  These are in no way the entire spectrum of foreclosures in the area; we have seen homes listed for much lower prices and have also seen several luxury homes as well.  

  If buying a foreclosure sounds like an opportunity for you to purchase the home you want at an affordable price, be sure to hire a REALTOR to guide you through the specialized process of buying a foreclosure and help you decide if this would be an option that would work for you.

For facts expaining the foreclosure process read here.

Contact Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate III, Charlottesville, Virginia at   434 960-0161  , pam@JumpintoGreenerPastures.com, to list your property for sale or to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore, Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County, Troy, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek, Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County, Ruckersville.

  To view all of the Charlottesville, Virginia and Central Virginia Homes for Sale click here and click on the mls search button.

 Visit my other blog Charlottesville Horse Farms and Country Homes for more information on Charlottesville homes, horse farms, events and real estate.