I was doing some backtracking today from my blog to see rankings and foreclosure list research.

I stumbled upon a wikihow article stating that the best website available to find free foreclosure lists is emailforeclosures.com. I figured this would be a good chance to see if there really is a good website that has reliable forelcosure lists. In addition, I wanted to see if this search was better than the search system I’ve developed for central Ohio’s MLS Service which has been very reliable for me.

So , I figured I would pull a list of my county (Pickaway) and run through and see how accurate the information was.

These are the listings that I found :

631 ELM STREET
CIRCLEVILLE, OH 43113

5008-5010 W 2ND ST
S BLOOMFIELD, OH 43103

13850 SPANGLER RD.
LAURELVILLE, OH 43135

9117 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE
ORIENT, OH 43146

175 THIRD AVENUE
CIRCLEVILLE, OH 43113

251 SHADWELL DR
CIRCLEVILLE, OH 43113

26910 ARMSTRONG ROAD
LAURELVILLE, OH 43135

35 BAZLER LANE
SOUTH BLOOMFIELD, OH 43103

305 SCHALL RD
COMMERCIAL POINT, OH 43116

12445 PARK RD
ORIENT, OH 43146

13076 TARLTON RD
CIRCLEVILLE, OH 43113

553 NORTHRIDGE ROAD
CIRCLEVILLE, OH 43113

1647 ATWATER AVE
CIRCLEVILLE, OH 43113

65 S MAIN STREET
NEW HOLLAND, OH 43145

Now, I traced all these listings to the MLS and tied them in with county records. These were my results.

Out of the 14 total listings provided by this service.

7 Had accurate/curent information
1 Listing was under contract and not available for viewing
5 Properties were under contract , one property has been sold for 6 months, shortest was 1 month.
I was unable to find the status of one property (Park Rd).

So, out of everything, only 50% of the listings had accurate information, In addition, I do think that this is another company that sells information on listings.

Would you like to buy a foreclosed home in your local area? If you are SERIOUS about buying a Foreclosure property, we are serious about helping you with the process! Fill out our form located at http://www.realestatecircleville.com/foreclosurerefferal.html and we will help you with the process!

Find out why you should donate, Click here!

As a update to my previous post, I have now visited my gem in Dayton that was purchased from a tax lien investment group for a small, 4 figure number.

Well, I knew the home was in rough shape, but i wasn’t expecting a complete opening in a wall that you could walk through.

The structure overall is in good condition, but the home has been stripped of everything , no kitchen whatsoever, no bathroom (or flooring for the bathroom for that matter).

Here’s what the house looks like on the inside, there is also a junk car on the lot, which I need to get rid of somehow.

And yes, You can buy this gem off me for around $5,500 , I’ve decided Dayton is a little out of my range, and would like to not spend time to 100% rehab it (Although I’ll be doing some work maybe on Saturday to secure it and do some small fixing).

Are you SERIOUSLY Interested in buying a foreclosed home or property? If so, then we’re serious about helping you buy one. Fill out our form located at http://www.realestatecircleville.com/foreclosurerefferal.html and we will help you with the process!

Find out why you should donate, Click here!

I’m really , really trying to add more local content to my blog ,and this was one idea I had – Let’s take pictures of Pickaway County!

So , I went out yesterday evening and took pictures of Hargus Lake in the evening (also known as AW Marion Park) It’s really a great park, I don’t know why I don’t go out there more often. It was very senic during the evening hours, which adds to the photos a good deal.

If you haven’t been there, I sugguest you go there as soon as possible, it’s a great place with a 5 mile walking path around the lake.

In addition, I have had several inquiries concerning this area and homes for sale around it. There are a few available usually at any given time, so if you are looking to live close to Hargus Lake, send me a email at Brandon.Schlichter@RealLiving.com and we’ll work something out!

Welcome to my Real Estate & Community Blog.

Here you will find plenty of information regarding 2 subjects – Real Estate Issues, and Pickaway County.

Many of these subjects will intertwine, some will not. Please use the section on the right titled “Sections” To see my various topics.

I have been reciving thousands of visits regarding my national Foreclosure topics, and will continue to update this blog as events happen.

As of recently, I’ve started to blog about my personal ventures into investment properties. In addition, I will be increasing my level of blogging about Pickaway County & Circleville, where I live.

I wanted to post a update on what I’ve been doing this week, I’ve been really quite busy with real estate , I closed my first USDA loan property 2 weeks ago, which was really interesting. I will be posting more information on that at a later date, but I’ve been working on something a little more interesting.

This week, I bought (or at least went under contract) on a Tax Lien property.

If you don’t know what a tax lien property is , there’s a few explanations, the most simple is that Tax Lien Properties are the ones you may see on TV ads that say “Homes for $500, No Gimmicks”.

I’ve researched this topic for about a year, origionally I wanted to de-bunk these commercials and promos saying they were 100% false. After all this time, I’ve come to the decision that they’re not 100% false, but more like 50% (That makes it half truth).

Tax lien homes are properties homes that are foreclosed on by a party that holds overdue taxes, every state has different rules and regulations on buying them. In Ohio, they will only have tax lien auctions once or twice a year in a county that has over 200,000 population. This limits sales to very few counties in the state, and most counties choose to sell them in bulk. Unfortunately, that means unless you want to drop several million dollars in a package of these things, you’re out of luck buying them directly from the governments.

There however are a few resellers of tax liens, I’ve been dealing with one that’s quite friendly and the one I got this specific home from.

The commercials on TV (maybe they talk about them in seminars) is that you may own a tax lien on a property for a set amount (2-3 years of back taxes), you still have to foreclose on the homeowner. This is where things can get expensive, if the homeowner fights the foreclosure, you may easily have $10,000 invested in the legal action outside of the tax lien itself.

Unfortunately many new tax lien investors end up spending $15,000 on a property that’s worth $500 (or even worse, will cost them money due to violations, enviormental concerns or the such). This is why most large scale companies will buy tax liens for the interest paid on the back taxes, which is 18% per year in Ohio.

The immediate issue with tax lien properties is most of them are purchased sight unseen. Till the foreclosing entity actually acquires the property from legal action, they are not able to access the inside of the property. You may have a absolute gem, or you’ll have one that’s absolutely gutted and worthless.

I will post updates on the “gem” I purchased from the tax lien company, if you want to try your hand at this, you can email me and I’ll sell you one of them for cheap (or better yet , sell you groups of tax liens themselves).

Without further wait, here’s the property I bought in Dayton :

I’m not going to say exactly how much I paid for it, but it wasn’t much at all (4 figures) , I bought it sight unseen, and had a friend that is a REO specialist in the area go and check it out for me (Which is more than most people do).

I try to figure that I know what I’m doing with this, and estimated it was a wreck, and it is. The walls have been taken down, subflooring tore up ,ect.

The lien company from my estimation spent around $6,000 on this property, lien + attorney costs + wages of liquidation manager. I bought this home for less than the $6,000 estimate, so they most assuredly lost money.

This is where investors can loose their shirt, so this post is as much as a warning as it is a story of my purchase.

I will update as the process goes on.

Answers to questions/comments -

I am going to rehab the property (Obviously it needs it bad) , my preference is to mortgage it at repaired value and then rent it out. I may rent the property and then sell it to a investor at a favorable cap rate.

Jack, you’re about right, it’s very similar to the way a bank forecloses on a home (This is my understanding). And then all prior liens are wiped out in the foreclosure auction.

Are you SERIOUSLY Interested in buying a foreclosed home or property? If so, then we’re serious about helping you buy one. Fill out our form located at http://www.realestatecircleville.com/foreclosurerefferal.html and we will help you with the process!

I wanted to post what I have recieved concerning this bill that has should be approved by the senate.

I’ve already started calling first time homebuyers to tell them about the potential $7,500 credit they may recieve for buying their first home.

Highlights of the FHA portion of the Bill & Tax Credit Provision

Cash investment requirement

• Cash investment requirement on FHA mortgage loans increases to 3.5%
•  Gifts will be permitted from family members, unions, and state and local bond programs, etc.

Seller funded downpayment assistance programs are eliminated

• Seller participation in downpayment assistance loans is being terminated. 
• Any downpayment assistance programs involving sellers or other interested third parties will be terminated on October 1, 2008
• Borrowers must be approved on or before September 30^th.  

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit up to $7500

     Here is the latest information that we have obtained.

• We have been told that the tax credit should be able to be claimed on an eligible homebuyer’s 2008 tax return. By the time the 2008 tax return is filed, the person’s income will be determined for this year.
• The credit is available for purchases not only this year, but through June 30, 2009 as well.  We have also been told that the rules will permit a qualified person who purchases a home in 2009 to claim the credit on their 2008 return — either when filed April 15, or in conjunction with an extension or an amended return.  
• There is a repayment feature to the tax credit provision effectively making the tax credit like an interest-free loan.  We understand IRS is not sure how this repayment feature will work.

Risk-based pricing moratorium 

• Risk-based pricing moratorium is effective October 1^st

•  
  1. HUD must stop risk-based pricing by FICO score by that date
  2. HUD is permitted to charge different premiums by program or LTV

Mortgage broker approval & eligibility criteria

• No changes to FHA’s current broker approval requirements are included in the bill.

Mortgage limits

• FHA base limit (“floor”) is increased from 48% to 65% of GSE limit (65% X $417,000 = $271,050)
• Properties in all counties are eligible for FHA for mortgages to at least 271,050 with higher loan amounts available in select counties when the median sales price X 115% is greater than [271,050.]

Condominium project processing 

• FHA will have the authority to streamline condominium project approval requirements.

Reverse mortgages 

• Raise the maximum loan amount to $417,000 nationwide (apparently up to $625,000 in high cost areas)
• Allow reverse mortgages for purchase transactions
• Cap the origination fee at 1.5%
• Restrictions on mortgagee/loan originators from selling other financial and insurance products

The President is expected to sign the Bill tomorrow, Tuesday, July 29.  It is unclear as to how many of the provisions could be technically effective on the day the President signs the bill.  Based on past history in the FHA program we believe that a phase in period is likely.

Below is the link to the complete bill. The FHA provisions start on page 477.

http://www.rules.house.gov/110/text/110_atostohto3221.pdf

One of the largest parts of this is the 10% tax credit up to $75,000 for the purchase of a home. From my understanding ,it’s more like a interest free loan that is repaid over the next 15 years worth of tax returns. Hopefully this thing will help first time home buyers purchase a home of their liking.

Personally, I’ve found there to be a few great programs out there that coupled with this, would mean a phenominal opporunity for buyers.

As always, if you’d like to buy a home in central Ohio , send me an email! Brandon.Schlichter@RealLiving.com

I wanted to take a little bit of time and do a general analysis of the Columbus market, to see how appreciation was being effected by foreclosures.

As of this year with the Franklin county market -

Overall sales are down by 711 units, which represents a 15% Decline overall from 2007, and a overall decline of 1006 units from 2006 (a 19% decline).

Total days on market has actually improved from last year by 2 days. This sample period has a lower days on market of 2 days (Representing a 2.1% decline, which is a good thing). In addition, this figure is 13 days higher than 2006′s average time, which was 80 days , or a 16.25% increase.

Total average home sales price is $157,931 , which is a drop from last year’s $166,364 , or a $8,433 decline in median  values (A 5.06% Decline) and a total value decline of $15,269 from 2006 (8.8%).

These values are gathered from the Columbus Board of Realtors MLS System, and taken from 4/1/2007-7/1/2007. Another impact on Ohio’s market has been weather. Feb-March pendings were down quite a bit from 2007 which had a more mild feb-march as compared to this year.

Foreclosures are definately having a impact on the market, but thankfully Columbus isn’t seeing as much of a impact as some west coast and east coast markets (Florida and California).

On a interesting note, I reviewed the house price index (Alternative) indices from standard and poors to find that metro Cleveland has had a slight increase in average home sales more so than in 2007 from the cold weather season.

Are you SERIOUSLY Interested in buying a foreclosed home or property? If so, then we’re serious about helping you buy one. Fill out our form located at http://www.realestatecircleville.com/foreclosurerefferal.html and we will help you with the process!

I figured that I would share the method that I’ve used successfully to located Pre-Foreclosure properties AND locate Foreclosure properties before they’re on the market or listed (Government Auctions).

First, I’ll explain how to locate pre-foreclosures, This process took me a week or two of digging, and talking to local authorities.

Pre-Foreclosures are properties where the homeowner has become delinquent and/or deflated on their own loan. These properties can be worthwhile for real estate agents who are looking at listing short sale properties effectively. In addition , investors may want to purchase the non-performing loan off of the bank, perform a workout for the bank as loss mitigation , or negotiate a short sale for a investment.

In my state of Ohio , properties are almost always announced in the local newspaper 3 weeks prior to the sheriff’s sale. Unfortunately, many times you will find out that something has happened to the homeowner or loan when they hit the newspaper.

To find them, I went to my local county courthouse and asked around, many people told me online that I could get these lists from local title companies. At least in my area, this is totally untrue, I had talked to a minimum of 5 different title companies and not a single Representative had any ideas on how to find this information. After a while, I found out that the local Court of Common Pleas handles the def alt notices, and keeps track of the litigation. Thankfully , with a quick google search , my local court was found and they did have a searchable database.

The database was GOOD ,but unfortunately I had to tweak my settings to get it working right. Many local government entities have similar systems so I hope my configuration works. I normally sort by “court ID number” This allows me to get lists in chronological order. In my county this year’s list is something like 2008ci0001 and then increases by number. Unfortunately this could be quite tiresome looking for each listing. I use an Asterisk (*) instead of the last 3 or 4 digits to represent a wild card. This little tweak gets me the entire year’s litigation, and find the foreclosures. In about a hour, I was able to get the names and address of all current homeowners that have defaulted.

As for pre-REO Properties, another government entity that sells property is the sheriff’s department. They handle the auctions of foreclosed homeowners. Properties only become a lender owned property (REO) when and if they buy it back at the sheriff’s sale. The general public is allowed to buy at the auction, and there is a potential for a good deal to be had on these properties. Unfortunately you assume a few risks when buying a property at a sheriff’s sale, the biggest is the fact that you’re buying sight-unseen. It’s not legally permissible to get access to the property prior to the foreclosure auction (That is unless you contact the homeowner and they give you an OK.) The second major risk is that most lenders will bid the property to the price they have as a mortgage on the property. A home may only be worth $50,000 yet have a $100,000 mortgage on it. This means that the bank will usually bid up to around $100,000 on the home. Unfortunately some individuals figure that whatever the price is that the bank bids up to is worth it , and loose quite a bit of money on the property.

In addition, most sheriff sales require a 10% down payment the day of the auction, this for some people makes it unreachable. You then have 30 days to finance the property if you are not going 100% cash in.

Are you SERIOUSLY Interested in buying a pre-foreclosure home or property? If so, then we’re serious about helping you buy one. Fill out our form located at http://www.realestatecircleville.com/foreclosurerefferal.html and we will help you with the process!

Find out why you should donate, Click here!

Seeing as how my topic on contacting Deutsche Bank’s REO Department has been such a great hit, I figured that I would try to publish contact information for other banks.

Ok , as many of you know, Wells Fargo is definitely one of the heavy hitters when it comes to REO Listings, and everyone seems to want a piece of this action.

So , without further delay…..

Wells Fargo , from all my sources OUTSOURCES the vast majority of their REO Listings and Asset Management to a company called Premiere Asset Services. I do believe this is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, and they handle MOST of their listings, if not all.

I’ve never had a problem with dealing with them at all, as with everyone, they’re under-staffed, so contacting them can be a hardship at times.

They do publish lists of their REO property if you are so inclined, or you can contact them via phone or email to get information on a property that hasn’t been listed yet. Address , City & Zip code seem to work relatively well in terms of getting a response from them.

Their website is – http://www.pasreo.com/pasreo/public/content.do?pageID=2000576

The only contact email I’ve been able to find has been - pasagents@wellsfargo.com  Although it is supposed to be for agents, I’ve used it for property inquiries without issue.

Now , having given this information out……

If you’re an agent looking for REO listings, you’ll have a very slim chance with PAS as they’ve got a huge backlog of agents wanting to list their properties. I talked to one Representative and she said she receives a few HUNDRED emails per day from agents in the US looking for listings.

In addition, if you’re a individual that’s just wanting to buy foreclosed real estate, send me an email at brandon.schlichter@realliving.comand i’ll set you up with a PROFESSIONAL In your area that can help you with the entire foreclosure buying process.

Well, After talking to something around a hundred individuals about bulk REO sales, and what’s going on the market I’ve learned quite a few things about bulk REOs.

Unlike what I’ve said earlier, deals have closed, quite a few have closed but they’ve been much different that what you’ve been reading on line. Plenty of deals UNDER 5 MILLION have closed, I’ve talked to a few people who have bought properties at a severe discount. Surprisingly enough , you won’t get to pick where the properties are or what they’re like (Surprise, surprise). In fact, I PERSONALLY just picked up a home in Dayton for $2,000 from a servicer who is liquidating their portfolio. I’ll be blogging on it once I close and process it. I’ve already had a agent perform a BPO on it, and behold , my purchase price was 25 cents on the dollar. It’s in an awful part of town, but I still bought it.

I could buy more like this one, which I think I will.

In addition, brokers and actual sellers of bulk REO packages know one simple thing, and all you buyers and mandates should take heed….YOU HAVE TO HAVE MONEY TO BUY! If you’re considering a package, you better have a title company , attorney and a bank onhand to perform on your end, or you’ll get alot of slammed phones from sellers. There are so many liars in this field it boggles the mind, but we ARE IN REAL ESTATE.

The GOLDEN RULE of real estate applies to bulk REO Sales too and those rules are :

#1 Buyers Are Liars

#2 Sellers are Story Tellers

I don’t know exactly why there’s so many people in this field that have no idea what they’re talking about , but they’re here and will stay around for quite some time.

Most people who are wanting to buy bulk portfolios greatly need to re-evaluate what they’re doing. Sure, $100,000,000 in real estate sounds like a good investment, but when it comes down to it, you most likely can’t handle it.

Brokers need to re-evaluate too, there are plenty of deals under $5 million that are closing, and you’re missing out on the action trying to get the mytical $5,000,000,000 deal done as your first closing.

As always, you can email me at brandon.schlichter@RealLiving.com And I will be more than happy to send you to the sellers (That is if you’re a buyer) who have performed thus far. And if you’re a seller…..you better of closed some deals, and have people I can call to verify.

Find out why you should donate, Click here!