The most recent report on area home sales offered good news to Puget Sound’s homeowners and a bit of hope that buyers are slowly jumping off the fence and writing offers and closing deals.
In June 2009 the number of closed sales on single family homes was up 4 percent over the same month in 2008. June’s sales totals marked the first year-over-year increase since the market peak of 2007.
One area to see a dramatic rise in the number of closed sales was the east King County neighborhoods of Juanita-Woodinville-Duvall which saw a 31 percent increase in the number of sales over the same time period last year. And the numbers show that buyers are not just 1st timers jumping into the market to capture the federal $8,000 tax credit that is set to expire in November. According to the NWMLS, sales in what is considered the most affordable areas of King County, the Southwest and Southeast actually declined while sales in traditional upper middle income neighborhoods in Seattle and on the Eastside actually saw the uptick in activity.
While it is too early to say if there is a trend developing, any increase in buyer activity is welcomed.
1 comment - What do you think? Posted by
Kristian -
July 15, 2009 at 1:30 am
Ryan Braun, the All-Star outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers knows a good deal when he sees one. Braun just closed escrow on a bank owned foreclosure property located in Malibu that was once listed during the peak real estate prices of 2007 for $8.9M. Braun picked up the Mediteranian styled ocean view villa for the bargain basement price of $4.85M
You don’t have to be signed to a Major Leage contract however to be able to pick up a bargain property that is in foreclosure. If you are looking to save 20-50% on the purchase of your next home or investment property then sign up to attend a free workshop presented by Real Estate Investment Firm in Redmond, Washington.
1 comment - What do you think? Posted by
Kristian -
at 1:14 am
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.
3 comments - What do you think? Posted by
Kristian -
July 8, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Real Estate Investment Firm is pleased to announce that Jared Higbee has joined our King County Foreclosure Auction team.
Jared brings over 12 years of Real Estate experience to Real Estate Investment Firm. He has been a licensed agent for 10 years with a primary focus of consulting clients and investors on the purchase of distressed real estate via the foreclosure process. Jared has been a part of more than 1000 foreclosure transactions since starting his career in real estate.
In 1997 Jared joined a team that was pioneering foreclosure investing in Washington State. Leading the way in the tracking and gathering of the necessary information about each property in foreclosure, Jared has become very knowledgeable in property title history, lien analysis, current market values and trends, and the unique live competitive bidding process at auction. These qualities, along with his unwavering commitment to his client’s success help to guide them and give them the edge needed to become successful bidders at auction.
Jared will be an amazing asset for our team. Our Thursday night investor meetings provide you with an excellent opportunity for you to meet Jared and to start taking advantage of his expertise.
5 comments - What do you think? Posted by
Kristian -
at 11:03 am
Real Estate Investment Firm, LLC anounced Thursday July 2nd 2009 the launch of their new online platform for real-time status tracking of foreclosure auction or trustee sales sales in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties.
The website, buyWAforeclosures.com, also provides clients with detailed property information, photographs, property condition reports, lien and judgement reports as well as direct to property links to various county and 3rd party web sites such as zillow.com and google maps.
Access to the site is restricted to members or clients of Real Estate Investment Firm. For information on becoming a member please visit Real Estate Investment Firm and register to attend one of their weekly foreclosure training workshops on how to buy foreclosures. At the conclusion of the workshop attendees will be given a username and password to access the site. Worshops are held every Tuesday at 5:30pm in their downtown Redmond, WA office.
8 comments - What do you think? Posted by
Kristian -
July 4, 2009 at 9:46 am
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.
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.
A man in Minneapolis, MN recently became a prisoner in what was formally his home after it was foreclosed on by the lender. As Ted Poetsch was working to get his pet cat into a pet carrier workmen were busy outside his home securing sheets of plywood over the windows and doors.
Luckily, Mr. Poetsch was rescued by his former attorney before long.
If you would like to read the story in its entirety please click the following link.
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.
Our wealth-building services help you confidently invest in properties facing foreclosure
Our dedicated team of investment & foreclosure specialists can help you build an intelligent real estate portfolio that capitalizes on current economic and market conditions to create long term and lasting wealth for you and your family.
Real Estate Investment Firm’s core purpose and mission is to become the industry leader in helping people create true financial success through the acquisition of real estate. We maximize efficiency and profitability for our clients through strategic systems and processes. We are leaders, innovators and educators. We help clients implement the strategies that will ensure they reach their financial goals and 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!
11 comments - What do you think? Posted by
Kristian -
June 2, 2009 at 1:36 am
Guaranty Bank recently foreclosed on 16 new and partially built homes in Victorville CA, a town 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Four of the homes were substantially completed and the other twelve were 50% completed or less.
Guaranty Bank, whose parent company, Guarantee Financial Group was recently issued a “cease and desist” order by the Federal Office of Thrift Supervision decided it was cheaper to just destroy the homes rather than complete and re-sell them. Home prices in San Bernadino County where the development was located have fallen 60% from their peak in 2006, according to the firm DataQuick.
The Seattle Times had a Foreclosure Q & A session on their website today with an attorney and housing councelor answering peoples questions about foreclosure and the foreclosure process. There is some very good information given.
Click here for the link to the Times web site and the story.
1 comment - What do you think? Posted by
Kristian -
April 28, 2009 at 12:43 pm
