Foreclosures in Colorado Springs- things to do, NO MATTER WHAT.
I have worked with buyers for many years who consider that buying a foreclosure is the always the best way to save money. Well, unfortunately many factors have to be considered. I have sold foreclosures in Colorado Springs for the last five years and find that many of them have had unforseen expenses associated with the purchase. There are some very important things you should have done:
- Do have a home inspection from a reputable company. Choose an inspector that has experience in the trades in his background. It can be very complicated to get all the utilities turned on for the inspection, but make sure and get them on. The problems I have had have all been related to a buyer not opting to have the utilities on because of the difficulty.
- Understand the restrictions on property condition that the lender imposes. Even though you might be ok with a certain property condition issue, the lender may not be ok. FHA, VA have there own requirements. Most of the time the agency who owns the property won't do any work to it for closing. Of course, an experiened agent can help with this one. Some investors (banks) require there own conditions above and beyond the requirements of the loan program.
- Prepare an accurate cost analysis to bring the property up to the condition you want. Even if it looks like a great deal, you need to accurately figure all of the costs to bring it up to satisfactory condition---than add another 25% for unseen issues.
- Look at an accurate market analysis prepared by a professional Realtor that is an expert in values in the area you are purchasing. This is critical so that once that you add all the costs up you can really determine if it is a good deal or not.
- If there is a concern on something structual-- DON'T buy it. Don't say "I'm sure it's OK"-- just walk away. Too many buyers think it's easy to fix structual issues but they always end up costing way more than you think.
- Owner Occupied- buy neighborhood. You can change the house but not the location. Real Estate ABC. I just see way too many buyer's buy the "best deal in town" just to discover they hate the area once that they move in.
This is just a partial list. Take a look at my web site for additional info at www.dbcolorado.com/foreclosures.htm.
I look forward to answering any questions about purchasing forclosure properties- just drop me a note!
Darren Bryce- Broker Associate/ Realtor
WWW.dbcolorado.com dbryce@dbcolorado.com 719-659-4000
