Philly-Foreclosure.com

Found this online- answer a quick survey or two and qualify to get a $500 Home Depot or Lowe’s Gift Card. Not bad if you already own a home, and really useful if you plan on buying one soon. 

See for yourself here.

The next Sheriff Sale and Tax Lien auction will be held January 6, 2009 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. 

More detailed information can be found here.

SHERIFF’S SALE JANUARY 6, 2008 
253-301 to 253-858 
Properties to be sold by John D. Green
January 6, 2008 10:00 a.m. at The First District Plaza
3801 Market Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 
Judicial Mortgage Foreclosure Sales

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity. Get in now before the market recovers!

With the rise in gas prices and inflation, it doesn’t take a trend theorist to come to the conclusion that the era of McMansions an hour commute or more from an urban center are all but over. 

Instead of lamenting the change, Real Estate investors should be seeing dollar signs in foreclosed properties near urban centers.

Couples and young families are going to seek to mitigate their expenses by moving to an area that, 

1. Is closer to their jobs (saving time and gas money),
2. Has ample amenities and retail outlets nearby (again, to save time and gas money), 
3. Meets their basic needs but remains low-cost, so they have the more cash in their wallets at the end of the month (since they are the most affected by inflation), and
4. Isn’t a home. A recent AOL-AP poll indicates 60% of Americans WILL NOT buy a home in the next 24 months. 

The easiest way to become a successful entrepreneur is this: Deliver a Solution to a Problem.  

Good real estate investors know that the opportunity in buying foreclosed properties to refurbish into rentable units, whether a home or a multi-family dwelling, is a TOO huge to pass up. 

Brett Carmen struck upon this over at Trump Blog on 7/31 in a post entitled: The Opportunity is High in Rental Properties… 

Think about this…around the country, there are many areas that are experiencing a pricing downturn in home prices. Simultaneously, home loan requirements are on the rise making it more difficult for homebuyers to qualify. Add that to the millions of foreclosures causing families to be displaced looking for more affordable housing. Where are those families going?

The answer is simple. 

They are moving into rental properties that are more in line with what they can now afford to pay.

Riches await those who heed and answer a need before customers are even aware of it. 

Click here to check out available foreclosed properties in Philadelphia. 

An article from the Philadelphia Business Journal (7/25/08) outlines the ways in which foreclosures are increasing throughout the city.

Foreclosure filings in the Philadelphia metro area in the second quarter were up 47 percent from the same period last year, compared to a 121 percent increase nationally, and up 62 percent from the first quarter of this year, compared to 14 percent for the nation…

The legislation Philadelphia’s City government has passed to try to combat a citywide foreclosure epidemic is helping some of the most deserving homeowners get a second chance, but simultaneously gumming up the works in city government.

Investors would do well to monitor the Philadelphia Foreclosure Listings and, specifically, to target areas just outside of currently ‘hot’ markets. For example, the number of foreclosures have increased in the area just south of Bella Vista in South Philadelphia. As the South Street corridor and Bella Vista continue their southerly expansion, this might be a good buy-develop-and-hold market to consider.

The areas just outside of Philadelphia also present investment opportunities.

For example, Camden’s waterfront revitalization seems to have just gained traction in the last two to three years, and we predict will continue to do so as opportunities for young professionals and entrepreneurs increase. This once-blighted, now-promising city also has one of the highest rates of foreclosures in the nation.

Camden, N.J, moved up to No. 42 from No. 57, with one in every 177 households in foreclosure, compared to one in every 248.

Among the U.S. States… New Jersey ranks No. 12 in Foreclosures, with one in every 201.

Investment opportunities narrow over time, though.

This same article mentions that the increase in foreclosures this quarter likely stems from bank repossessions, or REOs, being up – indicating “that there is a progression toward purging the problem loans out of the system– at which point the housing market can regain some sense of normalcy.”

If you are reading this, you are interested in investing in foreclosures- and you have a window of opportunity right now that you are not likely to see again in your lifetime.

What are you waiting for?

Try out Foreclosure.com’s Listings for 7 Days- FREE!

You’ll be able to explore Philadelphia’s most accurate source of foreclosures, preforeclosures, bankruptcies, FSBOs, and tax liens in one place… and receive free daily email alerts about new properties in your area.

Remember- it’s free for a week! If you aren’t fully satisfied, you can cancel at anytime.

SIGN UP NOW.

What is a HUD Home?

A HUD home is a 1 to 4 unit residential property acquired by HUD as a result of a foreclosure action on an FHA-insured mortgage. HUD becomes the property owner and offers it for sale to recover the loss on the foreclosure claim.

Who can buy a HUD Home?

Anyone. If you have the cash or can qualify for a loan (subject to certain restrictions) you may buy a HUD Home. HUD Homes are initially offered to owner-occupant purchasers (people who are buying the home as their primary residence). Following the priority period for owner occupants, unsold properties are available to all buyers, including investors.

How are HUD Homes sold?

All properties available for purchase by the public are offered for sale at Internet listing sites maintained by management companies under contract to HUD. Any real estate broker registered with HUD may submit an offer and contract to purchase on your behalf. HUD pays the real estate broker’s commission, if included in the contract.

Should you get a home inspection?

Get an inspection after your offer is accepted. All HUD Homes are sold AS-IS, without warranty. HUD will not make repairs nor pay to correct any problems.

What about financing?

Although HUD does not offer financing directly, some of homes qualify for FHA-insured loans.

Text from HUD.gov

Foreclosure.com is putting on another free Webinar for bidding on Foreclosure auctions.

Here are the particulars:

ASK QUESTIONS. GET ANSWERS.
FREE FORECLOSURE AUCTION WORKSHOP

WHEN: Wed., Aug. 20, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

Learn how to buy homes at foreclosure auctions for significantly reduced prices, whether it’s online or in a ballroom in your backyard, during this FREE 90-minute Webinar educational session. Elsa Lewis — Williams & Williams Senior Vice President of National Sales/REO — will take you behind the scenes and show you everything that you need to know to make informed and confident purchase decisions on discounted real estate up for auction. Most potential investors don’t know what it’s like or what it takes to be successful at a foreclosure auction. Elsa will explain in terms that you will understand the simple steps required to successfully participate in a real estate auction. And she can make or save you thousands on your next purchase … she’s a foreclosure auction pro.

Elsa will go over these topics and more:

• What you need to register for a foreclosure auction
• What to look for before auction during property inspection
• How to bid at the auction without losing your shirt
• How to close fast and count your spoils

Mark Your Calendars. August 20th @ 9 p.m. Free Foreclosure Education. You have nothing to lose and a world of investment opportunities to gain.

Before you begin searching for a foreclosure as an Investment, the first thing to do is to check your own financial status and make sure you can prequalify for a mortgage (or have other funding available).

The best resource for learning and building up your credit score is the source itself:

• Get Equifax Score Watch Now!
• Suze Orman’s FICO® Kit Platinum

If your credit score looks good but you anticipate filling out quite a few legal documents or loan applications, take the extra measure of insuring yourself AGAINST identify theft. Lifelock™

has fast become the industry standard.

• LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention

There are a host of mortgage companies to choose from, but after the Subprime Mortgage fallout and Fannie Mae/ Freddie Mac’s tenuous state, it’s probably best to stick with a brand name.

Lending Tree, in this situation, is a perfect choice. Banks bid on you, giving you the power to take the most favorable terms.

—————

If you are an out-of-towner, or have been relatively isolated in your neighborhood for sometime, I’d recommend getting familiar with the median home prices in the area you are searching. The Philadelphia Inquirer put together a fantastic interactive map some time ago that I find particularly useful:

• Neighborhood Median Home Price Map

By every economist’s standard, the housing bubble has yet to completely burst and the falling real estate market will only ensure that those who avoided variable-rate home loans should be able to qualify for solid loan rates and have open season on foreclosures, bank sales and FSBOs.

During a recession, finding foreclosures is often as simple as calling up your local real estate agent, visiting a local bank, or submitting your search into the browser bar.

—————-

For Philadelphia, the first place I would search is:

• Philadelphia Sheriff Sale

Four times a month, the Philadelphia sheriff’s office conducts sheriff’

s sales, which are a way for mortgage companies and other financial institutions and the government to recover debts owed to them.

Often, the properties in question are sold to new owners. There are mortgage-foreclosure sales for mortgage companies, which are looking to recoup money from homeowners who have defaulted on their home loans.

Delinquent tax sales are how the city collects unpaid real-estate taxes, water and sewer bills. There are also twice-a-month tax-lien sales that cover a variety of liens on properties.

Note: Roughly a third of the mortgage foreclosures and one half of tax lien cases result in properties being sold.

————–

The Downside To the Sheriff Sale Website…

is that it doesn’t feature pictures or any advanced details about the properties.

If you wanted advanced information, it’s more than worth the investment to look into the two big foreclosure websites and set up monitors by geographic area (down to zip code). Check out:

————–

Government Auctions

Occasionally the Government repossess a VA-Loan or HUD home for auction. Unlike foreclosures, there aren’t the hassles of dealing with the homeowner or potentially negotiating settlement terms. The buying process is also fairly simple. State/ City listings can be searched here:

• Government Home & Real Estate Auction Site

—————-

Many pre-foreclosure homes that were once offered as short sales end up as foreclosures, which are eventually deeded to the bank. These are properties to be wary of, and to inspect thoroughly prior to purchase. Any of the following problems could exist:

• Homeowner vandalized the property.
• Homeowner stripped the foreclosed home’s assets (wiring, light fixtures, etc.)
• Bank refuses to accept a balance less than the present value of the mortgage.
• Home may be located in a dicey neighborhood.
• The homeowner didn’t qualify for a short sale.

For every story of a fantastic rehab and flip foreclosure purchase, there are at least two that spiraled into investment nightmares. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Research every property as exhaustively as you can before buying it.

Don’t be intimidated by naysayers and sites devoted to horrible foreclosure purchases.

There are diamonds in the rough, and Philadelphia is The Next Great City.

Housing prices are already low, the city is attracting young talent put off by the expense of living in New York or Washington D.C., and commercial real estate in Center City is developing at an all-time high.

Buying in, rehabbing and reselling a foreclosed property in Philadelphia might just be the best investment ROI you ever make.

A list of resources to get you started in your search for the perfect investment opportunity.

Internet Foreclosure Companies

Foreclosure.com is a web-based foreclosure aggregator that, in exchange for a small monthly fee, provides a list of foreclosure properties in your area.

• Foreclosure.com

Philadelphia Real Estate Agents

Major bank Web sites

Many banks maintain online lists of foreclosed properties. Here are a few national lenders who maintain Web sites of bank-owned properties:

• Bank of America
• Chase Mortgage
• U S Bank

Asset Management Companies

Some lenders hire an asset management company to handle foreclosures on the lender’s behalf.

• Keystone Asset Management

Government Agencies

Some government agencies require you to retain the services of a realtor to purchase. Others will let you submit offers on your own. Read each site for more information.

• HUD- Housing Urban Development foreclosure homes.
• Fannie Mae foreclosure homes.
• Department of the Treasury- homes seized by the Internal Revenue Service.

Real Estate Signs

Driving through neighborhoods where you want to buy is another great way to find foreclosures. The riders on the sign posts might say:

• Foreclosure
• Bank-Owned
• Bank Repo

Call the agent’s whose name is on the sign and inquire about other foreclosure listings that may be coming on the market. Agents who specialize in foreclosures sometimes wait weeks while bank management approves the list price, so you can get a jump on other buyers by asking about new foreclosures not yet listed.

If you are working with a buyer’s agent, you can ask your agent to get this information for you.

FYI: The Sheriff Sale is tomorrow, August 5th @ 10 a.m.

Location: The First District Plaza, 3801 Market Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA

List of homes for sale can be found here.

The conditions of sale/ buying a foreclosure are:

Ten percent of the highest bid for each property auctioned off shall be deposited in cash, certified check, attorney’s check or money order with the Sheriff by each bidder when his bid is registered, provided that in no case shall less than Six Hundred Dollars ($600.00) be deposited, otherwise upon failure or refusal to make such deposit, the bidder shall lose all benefit of his bid and the property may be immediately offered again and sold unless a second bid has been registered, then, the second highest bidder will take the property at the highest bid price.

Additionally, where there is active bidding, the highest bidder, and the second highest bidder, if any must post the entire amount of the cost of the distribution policy for the property at the time of sale by cash, certified check, attorney’s check or money order with the Sheriff.

The balance of the purchase money must be deposited in cash, certified check, attorney’s check or money order together with a Deed poll for execution by the highest bidder to the Sheriff at his office within 30 days from the time of the sale. An extension of time for an additional 30 days may be granted at the discretion of the Sheriff upon receipt of written request from the buyer requesting the same, except when a second bidder has been duly registered. Also, if the first bidder does not complete settlement with the Sheriff within the thirty (30) day time limit and a second bid was registered at the sale, the second bidder shall be granted the same thirty (30) day time limit to make settlement with the Sheriff on his second bid. Thereafter, the Sheriff shall be at liberty to return the writ to court.

A second bid must be registered on any property immediately after it is sold. The second bidder must present the same amount of deposit that the highest bidder delivers to the Sheriff at the sale. An extension of time under no circumstances will be granted or honored by the Sheriff whenever a second bid is registered on a property at the sale.

The first bid or opening bid on each property shall be a sum sufficient to pay all Sheriff’s costs including advertising, all taxes, water rents and municipal claims due to the City of Philadelphia. If there is no other bid price above the opening bid price, the property shall be sold by the auctioneer to the attorney on the writ at that price.

The deposit by any bidder who fails to comply with the above conditions of sale shall be forfeited and the funds will be applied to the Sheriff’s cost, then to any municipal claims that the City of Philadelphia has on the property. Finally, if a balance still remains, a Sheriff’s Distribution Policy will be ordered and the money will be distributed accordingly.

No personal checks, drafts or promises to pay will be accepted in lieu of cash, certified checks, attorney’s checks or money orders made payable to the Sheriff of Philadelphia County.

The Sheriff reserves the right to grant further extensions of time to settle and further reserves the right to refuse bids from bidders who have failed to enter deposits on their bids, failed to make settlement, or make fraudulent bids, or any other behavior which causes disruption of the Sheriff Sale. Said bidders shall be so refused for the sale in which said behavior occurred and for said further period of time as the Sheriff in his discretion shall determine.

The Sheriff will not acknowledge a deed poll to any individual or entity using an unregistered fictitious name and may, at his discretion, require proof of identity of the purchaser or the registration of fictitious names. The bid of an unregistered fictitious name shall be forfeited as if the bidder failed to meet the terms of sale.

All bidders are advised to remain at the sale until after the last property is sold. The Sheriff reserves the right to re-sell any property at any time before the end of the sale, upon the successful bidders’ failure to tender the required deposit. The Sheriff reserves the right to postpone or stay the sale of any property in which the attorney on the writ has not appeared and is not present at the sale.