Archive for the ‘Foreclosures’ Category

The Factoria foreclosure auction was the place to be on Friday (August 20th 2010) where Real Estate Investment Firm clients purchased 5 properties that were sold via auction at the trustees sale (foreclosure).  Of the five properties, two were in Seattle, two in Renton and one was in Bothell.  Pictures of the five properties are below:

The average price/value on these foreclosure auction purchases was 74 cents on the dollar!  Imagine purchasing your next home or investment property at a discount of 25% or more!

The Seattle Times recently wrote a story about a multi-million dollar mansion in Kirkland’s upscale West of Market neighborhood that has been taken over by squatters.  The home, currently listed for $3.3 million and owned by First Citizens Bank (through their acquisition of Venture Bank from the FDIC) recently saw a family consisting of two adults and two children move into the property and claim ownership of it entirely.  A notice has been posted on the door claiming that “all rights, interest and title in the property” has been transferred to Priority Rose Children’s Outreach of Bothell.  A two week old Charity according to the article.  Coincidentally, the charity shares the same listed phone number as  a Bothell company called NW Note elimination.  A company that “specializes” in “eliminating mortgages” through what many would call dubious practices.  When police were called in to investigate they were shown a document by the new occupant claiming ownership.   Since the police don’t often involve themselves in these type of cases, it will be up to the bank to evict the squatters through proper eviction proceedings and eventually physical removal from the property by the King County Sheriff.

You can read the entire article here.

What are your thoughts regarding this story?  How long do you think it will take the bank to evict the squatters? Post your comments below.

This heat map, provided by RealtyTrac, shows the hot spots for foreclosure filings in the USA for calendar year 2008.  A quick look at the data and you can easily see that there was not really any significant region that went unscathed as the housing market nosed dived.

Redmond, Washington – Real Estate Investment Firm, the premier distressed property consultants in the region announced a new flat fee pricing structure for their clients and investors who purchase properties at the foreclosure auction in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

The latest news from REIF comes on the heels of their recent successful launch of their acclaimed online foreclosure tracking platform, a state of the art website which tracks and provides real-time updates on properties in foreclosure exclusively to REIF clients.  In today’s announcement REIF implemented a pricing policy that instead of charging buyers the customary 3% commission, REIF has decided to drastically cut that cost by only charging a low flat fee that is based on the county in which the property was purchased.  The new price their clients will pay when they purchase a foreclosure auction property is $3,500 in King county, $3,000 in Snohomish and an astonishing $1,500 for all foreclosure auction purchases in Pierce county.  

REIF is the first and only full service foreclosure auction group in Washington to adopt the flat fee pricing model for their clients.  Savings for a buyer on a typical $350,000 foreclosure auction purchase in King county would equal $7,000 by paying REIF’s flat fee verses paying the typical 3% commission still being charged by REIF’s competitors.

Those interested in learning more about the services REIF provides their clients are encouraged to attend one of their free weekly foreclosure buying workshops held every Tuesday evening at 5:30 pm at their downtown Redmond office.

King County Foreclosure Auction Sales Statisics for	July 6th 2009
Total # of Properties Scheduled for Auction	78
Discontinued/Sale Off	43
Reverted to Beneficiary	29
Sold to 3rd Party	6
Unknown?	1

The iconic Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C., made famous during the Nixon administration and the resulting scandels was sold today at a foreclosure auction for $25 Million dollars.

The Seattle Times just published an article this morning on the bidding wars that are erupting between potential buyers for foreclosure and bank owned properties in several areas around the country.  Most of the frenzy is taking place in the hardest hit ares for foreclosures such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Southern California and South Florida.

Investors, flush with cash to spend are flocking to pick up newer built homes in the lower prices neighborhoods popular with first time home-buyers and those with families.    Prices on these foreclosed properties are in many cases over 50% less than their peak prices of 2006 and 2007.

With all the attention being paid to these foreclosures, many first-time home buyers in these markets are finding it hard to compete and are making offer after offer in an attemp to land their first home.

While the Seattle foreclosure market has not had the sheer numbers that other major markets have had in terms of total foreclosures and existing inventory, it is still a lucrative market for both investors and those looking for a terrific deal on their next home.  Most of the properties sold to a third party at the foreclosure auction recently have been sold in the range of 65-75 cents on the dollar of todays already discounted prices.  For investors, it is now common to see several homes available each week at the foreclosure auction that would be cash flow neutral or slightly cash flow postive with a 20% down payment from the buyer and typical financing terms for the balance.  Two years ago, that was virtually unheard of in King County.  Now is the time to strike if you are looking to pick up a great investment property or personal residence drastically under market value.

When your looking for the most experienced and knowledgeable short sale and distressed property consultants look no further than Real Estate Investment Firm.  To learn more, you are welcome to attend one of their free workshops on “how to buy foreclosures” held weekly at their downtown Redmond office.

“Can we really make money in this real estate market flipping houses?”

We hear that question quite a bit around our office.  Usually it comes up on Tuesday during our weekly workshop for new clients & investors on “How to buy foreclosure auction homes, short sales and bank owned/REO’s”.

The answer is most definitely YES!  With accurate property research and due diligence combined with a keen knowledge of current market conditions and throw in a little luck for good measure you can make consistant and sizeable profits time and time again. 

Below are the details on a recent foreclosure auction purchase made by an investor working with Real Estate Investment Firm, LLC. 

Rosario Place, Renton WA

This property was purchased on March 27th 2009 at the King County Foreclosure Auctionfor $1.00 over the lenders opening bid of $364,650.00.  When this property was reviewed in our Auction Investor Meeting the night before, the REIF Auction Specialist told the group that a cash buyer could purchase and flip this property in under 90 days and make a net pre-tax profit of approximately $40,000.00.  In the end it only took 67 days from the purchase date until escrow closed on the re-sale.  When all the costs for acquisition, fix-up, holding and re-sale were calculated, the net profit to our client was $39,463.00  Below is a breakdown of those figures and a chart that shows the ROI (return on investment) for this transaction.

Rosario Place Breakdow
Purchase Price	$364,651
Purchase Comm.	$10,940
Fix-up costs	$3,500
Total Purchase Cost	$379,091
Sale Price	$454,950
Sales Costs	$36,396
Net Sale Price	$418,554
Minus Purch Cost	$379,091
Net Profit	$39,463

Return on Investment Calculation
Amount Invested?:	$379,091.00
Start Date?:	03/27/2009
Amount Returned?:	$418,554.00
End Date?:	06/02/2009
Gain or Loss:	$39,463.00
Percentage Gain or Loss (%):	10.4%
Annualized Return on Investment %:	56.7%

 

If we extrapolate this data out to a 12 month time-frame, it would roughly work out to an anual net income before taxes of $240,000.00.  Keep in mind as well that the investor who bought this house only spent approximately 30-40 hours of his time working on the property. 

If you would like to learn how you can help secure your financial future by investing in foreclosures and distressed real estate then I encourage you to attend one of our free foreclosure investing workshops.  They are held every Tuesday at 5:30 pm at our downtown Redmond office

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Buying or investing in properties that are in the foreclosure process is your wealth building opportunity!

Did you know that NOW is the best time to invest in foreclosure properties?

Many people are interested in investing in properties that are in the foreclosure process, but are unsure of the steps to take to get started. 

 The market conditions of today have converged to create a “Perfect Storm” of opportunity for the savvy real estate buyer or investor.  The opportunity is there to purchase your next property at discounts of 20-50% under today’s market value.  Never again will the same market conditions exist that precipitated our current liquidity crisis, stock market crash and subprime mortgage meltdown.  The opportunity to take advantage of this unprecidented market is now!  If you are qualified, committed and motivated we will provide you with an inventory of efficient and profitable assets to meet your short and long term financial objectives.

  

Come and learn how to “Never Pay Retail” again and purchase real estate at 50-80 cents on the Dollar!

Some of what we will cover in the workshop

• The foreclosure process and timeline
• Recent sales data and market statistics for the region
• Foreclosure trends and market analysis
• Lien priority in Washington State
• Investment Strategies to maximize your return on investment (ROI)
• The importance of establishing an exit strategy before you buy!