Tips for Selecting the Right Santa Monica Foreclosures
Santa Monica Foreclosures and The right way to Find Them Recommendation 944 There are countless homes which have been repossessed by creditors, usually meaning you can pick up a great deal, but how do you go about obtaining one? As a starting point there are numerous Santa Monica foreclosures which are undergoing foreclosure, so look into that.
Firstly, it is advisable to sit down and have a look at the statements listed below:
o In virtually all of the states the only method to get hold of a home which has gone to foreclosure is through an auction. It is also common practice that you will not be given access to the house prior to purchase. You should however endeavour to at least drive past the house. The home may be vacant or it may still have its occupants living inside right up to the time of the auction. A recent example of this was in Santa Monica, where there were several Santa Monica foreclosures due to foreclosure proceedings, where after auctions tenants simply refused to move.
o Generally in most states if the house is occupied, you will have to evict the current owners following the local laws. This throws open the chance that the previous occupants of the house may still be residing in the property. What is usually an attractive solution to this potential problem is to consider paying those still in the house a few hundreds dollars or so to move. After all, it is much easier to pay $1000 for someone to move out than to replace all the broken windows. This precise tactic was one which those with Santa Monica foreclosures recently utilized.
o It is also essential to check as to whether the house has been vacant throughout the winter period. You may be facing an expensive bill if there is evidence of pipe damage due to the cold weather and the lack of heating inside the building.
o You can usually get a listing of all the foreclosures that are going to be auctioned off at the Sheriff's office.
o In order to ensure a smooth transaction and that you pay a fair price, contact your local REALTOR for advice. This will enable you to know what sort of price the house will sell for.
o You must ensure that you know the liens against the property. (A lien is anyone who has a financial interest in the property for example a bank.) You can find this out using the Recorder of Deeds or the county office in your area that handles property registration. All liens on any property should be found recorded there.
o Liens are generally seen in this order of priority:
1. Federal Tax
2. State Tax
3. Local Tax
4. 1st. Mortgage recorded.(the first mortgage taken out)
5. 2nd Mortgage recorded (commonly a home equity loan or similar).
o Usually, when the higher ranking entity forecloses the lower ranking items are cleared unless they are TAX liens. But this is not always the case and the rules are worth checking. Please find below a handful of examples. Generally the case studies below use Santa Monica foreclosures as exemplars.
1. The house has 10K in tax liens, 200K in first mortgage and 50 K in second mortgage. The house auctions for $205,000. The tax lien is paid off, the first mortgage receives $195,000 (loosing $5,000) and the second mortgage and any subsequent liens would receive nothing. The new buyer would then own the home out right with no existing debts from the previous owners. (This is an example and is not guaranteed.) In the Santa Monica district the regulations regarding Santa Monica foreclosures are notoriously strict.
2. The next example I want to explore is when a house has $50,000 in tax liens and is foreclosed by the government. In this example the home also has 250k in a secondary mortgage. This will clear the tax lien that initiated the foreclosure process and usually all other loans ranked lower. When this occurs the primary mortgage creditor will bid on the property to protect their financial interests in the property.
o The common procedure if you win the house at auction is to pay around 10% up front. You will then have a set time frame to pay the outstanding balance.
o Another good piece of advice which you should follow is to hire the services of an experienced attorney and perform a title search on the property.
o If you don't find any other liens on the property then go ahead and pay the outstanding balance.
o However, if the title search does throw up some questionnable information then you should seriously contemplate whether completing the purchase of the house is worth it.
o If all is well and you are happy to continue then pay the remaining 90% and ensure that you record the deed, (your lawyer will help you).
o Now, if the house is vacant, you'll want to gain access, (you will not get any keys). You own the property though. (You may find that in some states there is a period of time where the existing occupants can reverse the foreclosure by settling the amount they owe This is particularly true of Santa Monica foreclosures.) You can still get access to the home; you just have a higher degree of risk for that period.
o If it is the case that the property is occupied then you will have to liase with the police and the courts in order to have the current occupants evicted, or you can pay them a set fee as talked about above.
I hope this information has helped to show to you the risks involved with foreclosure properties. It is not nearly as easy as it sounds. There are lots of other options you have.
1. Of course there is the standard option of just purchasing a house through the normal channels i.e. through a real estate agent. In this case banks will commonly lower their lien to avoid the potential risk of a foreclosure. This process could have prevented Santa Monica houses going up for sale.
2. Another little known way of getting a house is to actually contact banks and creditors and seek to purchase homes off them. Banks also commonly used realtors to advertise their properties available for sale, so contracting a REALTOR will aid you in this process. Before I forget to mention this, if anyone reading this article is looking for properties in California then please consider this Santa Monica foreclosures.
Foreclosure properties can be incredibly smart purchases. However it can also be extremely costly. It is fully necessary that you recognise the risks involved and fully comprehend what you are engaging in.
Make certain you hire the services of a licensed REALTOR. Your contract, which your lawyer should prepare must ensure that the property is clear of all liens or closing will not occur. You may have seen on the news the recent cases were those buying Santa Monica foreclosures were recently caught out by not carrying out proper research.
Best of luck if you are planning to buy a property through by this means. For anyone looking to buy a house in much less risky manner, call a REALTOR and let the shopping begin. Realtors have responded to the massive demand for Californai homes by finding many people Santa Monica foreclosures.
(Information contained within should be considered informative only. Local Laws and ordinances will dictate the exact foreclosure process in your area. You need to validate the local laws/ordinances as they will supercede any information contained here within.) On a concluding note, if you are looking for homes in California then be sure to check out Santa Monica foreclosures.
http://www.santamonicaforeclosures1.info - Sant Monica Homes for sale - Search the entire database of Santa Monica homes for sale right now. No hassle, no fuss. Get instant access and search for any and all Homes for sale.
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Trent Kenzler is a licensed broker serving the Santa Monica area since 1989.
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