foreclosures in Florida

[stillhere]

We are off to look at Florida again . We are looking by Palatka, Hawthorn, and down to Fort McCoy and Citra. There are still so many foreclosures .
So anyone in Florida with any advice. We have lined up Realtors made appointments this time much more serious.
There are many manufactured homes which we are not interested in.
This is a huge project to move the homestead . Thanks for advice.

[Darren]

Do you understand the difference between a modular and a double wide? In WV a modular is assessed as real estate. A double wide comes with titles just like a car.

[stillhere]

Yes they call the double, triple wides manufactured.
I would not mind a modular.
It is tough moving from a house built in 1860.
Guess the question is about the Florida housing market. Is it getting better?

[sisterpine]

Well I for one wish you the very best luck in finding what you want. That seems like a bunch of major changes to work out at the same time. You are in my prayers. Sis

[dfr1973]

Putnam County has pretty low property taxes, IMO. Do check on the property tax rates, and any arrears. Check any foreclosure out very carefully structure-wise as well.

I'm not sure what you mean by the housing market "getting better"? Prices likely won't be near bubble year levels for quite some time - except maybe Hawthorn. That town is a smidge too close to Gainesville for my tastes, but to each their own.

[Harry Chickpea]

That area would be extremely low on my list of places to be. Parts of Citra can be, to put it kindly, "very rough." The notorious speed traps in the area speak of corrupt police and municipal entities. There is no light at the end of the tunnel in the area either. A lot of the land is swampy or scrub that given the increasing restrictions on waterlands will never see any development or increase in value. The area around Ocala has at least some hope of recovery.

[DEKE01]

I'm in the Ocala area. I bought a foreclosure last year and got a great deal. It was only 5 acres, but almost adjacent to my farm. A nice 6 year old house that had been lived in for only 4 - 6 months.

I can help you with the Ocala area. Depending on what you want to do, it can be very good. Land prices are high, $15K / acre on the west side in horse country but $4500 on the east side in the forest. Palatka is good if you want ready to plant crop land.

Tell us what your plans are and we can probably help a bit more.

[Nevada]

Originally Posted by stillhere

We are off to look at Florida again . We are looking by Palatka, Hawthorn, and down to Fort McCoy and Citra. There are still so many foreclosures .
So anyone in Florida with any advice. We have lined up Realtors made appointments this time much more serious.
There are many manufactured homes which we are not interested in.
This is a huge project to move the homestead . Thanks for advice.

To be clear about foreclosures, a real estate agent can't help you with a foreclosure. Once the foreclosure process is complete and the bank owns the property then a realtor can help you, but it's no longer a foreclosure at the point. It's a Bank REO (real estate owned). Most of the financial advantage of dealing with a foreclosure is lost by the time the property becomes a bank REO.

The opportunity in foreclosures is the assumption of risk. When a bank forecloses on a property they don't know what they have. The public foreclosure auction is the place to take advantage of risk assumption.

The public auction is where a mortgage company (a bank) either takes the property back by nobody bidding more than the starting bid (set by the bank), or the property is sold to someone. The thing is that there is a huge volume of properties sold at auction, so it's not practical to see the properties in person before bidding. Here in Las Vegas they auction between 300 and 700 properties each weekday, and average about 500 properties per day. That all happens in about a 4 hour period. The auction moves very fast.

To prepare for a foreclosure auction you will have to do your property research online, usually 30 or 40 properties each day because you won't know if your limit will be outbid. County records will indicate if there are any liens or taxes owed. County records will also give you property size, house size, heating & cooling type, and even whether it has a pool or fireplace. But there is still risk. If you buy a property then learn that the house was copper stripped, then you're stuck with it.

On the upside, foreclosure properties can be purchased for tens of thousands less than bank REO properties.

As an example, the auction in the Orlando area is held online, so you can do both the research and bidding from home.

http://www.myorangeclerk.com/enu/Pag...ure-sales.aspx

I bought my home at a foreclosure auction (trustee sale). I really came out well on it.

[DEKE01]

Originally Posted by Nevada

To be clear about foreclosures, a real estate agent can't help you with a foreclosure. Once the foreclosure process is complete and the bank owns the property then a realtor can help you, but it's no longer a foreclosure at the point. It's a Bank REO (real estate owned). Most of the financial advantage of dealing with a foreclosure is lost by the time the property becomes a bank REO.

The opportunity in foreclosures is the assumption of risk. When a bank forecloses on a property they don't know what they have. The public foreclosure auction is the place to take advantage of risk assumption.

The public auction is where a mortgage company (a bank) either takes the property back by nobody bidding more than the starting bid (set by the bank), or the property is sold to someone. The thing is that there is a huge volume of properties sold at auction, so it's not practical to see the properties in person before bidding. Here in Las Vegas they auction between 300 and 700 properties each weekday, and average about 500 properties per day. That all happens in about a 4 hour period. The auction moves very fast.

To prepare for a foreclosure auction you will have to do your property research online, usually 30 or 40 properties each day because you won't know if your limit will be outbid. County records will indicate if there are any liens or taxes owed. County records will also give you property size, house size, heating & cooling type, and even whether it has a pool or fireplace. But there is still risk. If you buy a property then learn that the house was copper stripped, then you're stuck with it.

On the upside, foreclosure properties can be purchased for tens of thousands less than bank REO properties.

As an example, the auction in the Orlando area is held online, so you can do both the research and bidding from home.

http://www.myorangeclerk.com/enu/Pag...ure-sales.aspx

I bought my home at a foreclosure auction (trustee sale). I really came out well on it.

As usual, your experience is very different than mine. I bought a bank owned 5 acres, 1400+ sq ft, built in 2008 for about $220K including the lot and I paid $80K total. It was at least $40K below market when I purchased.

The purchase was the easiest, smoothest I have ever done and I've bought about 15 properties.

[mreynolds]

Originally Posted by DEKE01

As usual, your experience is very different than mine. I bought a bank owned 5 acres, 1400+ sq ft, built in 2008 for about $220K including the lot and I paid $80K total. It was at least $40K below market when I purchased.

The purchase was the easiest, smoothest I have ever done and I've bought about 15 properties.

I agree with you. I am not sure how banks do it in Nevada but most banks here in Texas do not want to own property. An REO can be a great opportunity here. And you don't have to stand in the rain to get it.

[Nevada]

Originally Posted by DEKE01

As usual, your experience is very different than mine.

Before attending the auction I tried to buy a REO for up to $50,000, but banks refused my offers. No doubt that banks were trying to get all they could. The typical REO deal was for them to list the property for $25K and sell it for $60K. The listed price was pretty much meaningless.

I paid $30K cash for a house at the trustee sale. I couldn't do that on the open market.

[DEKE01]

Originally Posted by Nevada

Before attending the auction I tried to buy a REO for up to $50,000, but banks refused my offers. No doubt that banks were trying to get all they could. The typical REO deal was for them to list the property for $25K and sell it for $60K. The listed price was pretty much meaningless.

I paid $30K cash for a house at the trustee sale. I couldn't do that on the open market.

well you have to admit, the LV market was and maybe still is topsy-turvy crazy. The lesson you learned there may not apply nationwide.

[Nevada]

Originally Posted by DEKE01

well you have to admit, the LV market was and maybe still is topsy-turvy crazy. The lesson you learned there may not apply nationwide.

My point was the difference between a foreclosure and a bank REO. I also know that assuming foreclosure risk isn't for everyone. I just wanted him to be looking from a position of knowledge.

[DEKE01]

Originally Posted by Nevada

My point was the difference between a foreclosure and a bank REO. I also know that assuming foreclosure risk isn't for everyone. I just wanted him to be looking from a position of knowledge.

I too want him to be deal a position of knowledge and in my limited experience, several of the things you said are wrong, at least in the markets I have operated in, South and Central Florida.

[MO_cows]

Originally Posted by Nevada

Before attending the auction I tried to buy a REO for up to $50,000, but banks refused my offers. No doubt that banks were trying to get all they could. The typical REO deal was for them to list the property for $25K and sell it for $60K. The listed price was pretty much meaningless.

I paid $30K cash for a house at the trustee sale. I couldn't do that on the open market.

I'm sure there were some things unique to Vegas going on in your situation. We bought 3 foreclosures after they went to a realtor, still saved a ton over market value. And had the security of being able to inspect them before the deal went thru.

[Bellyman]

Can I ask what might seem like a forward question?

Why Florida? Family? Job? Or just a place you picked where you think you'd like to live?

Hurricanes and population density would be major issues for me but I just wondered. I know we all look at things through our own perspectives.

[DEKE01]

Originally Posted by Bellyman

Can I ask what might seem like a forward question?

Why Florida? Family? Job? Or just a place you picked where you think you'd like to live?

Hurricanes and population density would be major issues for me but I just wondered. I know we all look at things through our own perspectives.

Every state has bad weather of some sort and we haven't seen a hurricane since 2004 (I think). The population density in the areas he's looking a fairly low, unless you are comparing it to AK, WY, etc. Orlando is an hour or two away is the closest major metro area, and yes, it is dense in more than one way. Jacksonville is an hour or two in the other direction.

I like it in central FL because we still get seasons (it hit the high 20s twice this winter) but can garden 9 - 12 months depending on how much effort you put in, all big city stuff is within an easy drive if you need it, costs are low, taxes are low.

[happycat47111]

After the last few weeks of pure misery in KY, we're looking again. One of the places we're looking? Florida. If we hadn't had obligations holding us back the last week or so, I'd have been in the car driving that way.

What is a good area of the state if you want a more rural feel but not too far from the conveniences? And what Florida-specific challenges should one be aware of? Hope it's okay to ask this here.

[DEKE01]

if you want even more rural, go to the panhandle west of Tallahassee. But the weather gets much colder longer. Nothing like KY, but the same as AL and GA. You can easily find a place that is within an hour of a Walmart and Home Depot or Lowes, which was one of the required items on my list. Walmart was not as important as hardware/lumber, but if a town has a Walmart, you can be fairly sure it will have most everything else you need.

We looked at a great deal an hour west of Talla on 500 acres and the owner was taking a huge loss, but DW decided it was too remote for her. She likes horse clubs and activities so in the Ocala forest was a better fit for us.

[Harry Chickpea]

Ocala and parts of the panhandle are good. In general though, hurricanes are less damaging once you drive away from the coast for about 45 minutes or more. Areas around Milton and Ft Walton Beach might be possibilities. Marianna is OK but too isolated from other possible shopping, which reduces competition and selection. The central part of the state is a steam oven in summer - worse than Miami.