The Bethesda BANK Foreclosure I wish we could sell…but we can’t…

There are several banks and servicing companies that hire our group, Rozansky Realty Group, to manage and market for sale their REO properties. REO stands for Real Estate Owned.

On occasion we have a Bethesda foreclosure – currently there are only 5 active foreclosure listings and 2 foreclosure listings that are under contract in all of Bethesda.

We have been managing a property for a Mortgage Servicing company – AHMSI – for almost a year and still can not legally put it on the market and make it available for showings because the previous owner left behind some personal property in the garage before we ever visited the house.

The process is complicated but here’s some basic “Foreclosure 101”

Two things can happen to the occupants and their belongings when a property goes to foreclosure:

1. If they currently reside in the property they can get evicted. An eviction is the removal of a tenant from a property owned by another person. In each state there are different laws regarding the actual procedure of having some one evicted. In an effort to oversimplify the process for our purposes – assume the property notice has been given to the occupants (tenants).

The Sheriff, as well as a representative of the owner (in our case some one from our office) and possibly a moving crew come out to the property and escort occupants out of the home and place all personal belongings on the curb for 24 hours (any remaining items left on the curb can be hauled away after the time period passes).

2. They can leave on their own terms before the posted eviction date. Some banks even offer a “Cash for keys” program in which they offer financial assistance to occupants in exchange for keys to the residence.

On occasion, occupants abandon a property and leave behind personal property. They might leave before we are able to make contact with them and there is no one way of knowing if they will come back. When they leave personal property (beyond trash) the bank or servicing company is forced to pursue a personal property eviction.

The particular property that I want to tell you about (but I can’t…at least yet) is stuck in that very personal property eviction stage. It has been there for a year!
It seems safe to assume if the previous owners haven’t come back for the small pile of personal items in the garage that they have managed to live with out for the past 365 days that they probably don’t want them. The foreclosure attorneys have advised that we are finally approaching the end of this process and hopefully will be able to market this home before the end of the year! It’s a pretty one in a great neighborhood…I will be certain to post more information as it becomes available.

Market Update: It’s a Great Market to Sell!

If you are contemplating selling, NOW is the time. I have buyers who are actively looking but there is very little well- priced inventory on the market right now. I have clients who are interested in one particular location, and no listings have come on the market there in the last 60 days. (In fact, the number of new listings in Montgomery County for the month of August is down 10.5% from last year, according to MRIS statistics.)

I am taking a pro-active role in meeting my buyer’s demands, and have been calling owners and sending out notes to see if they are considering selling their home. It is an unusual position to be in, (a buyer’s agent soliciting listings for my client to buy) but that’s where we are in this market.

Though there is no real way to track the number of active buyers in the market, I can say based on my personal experience as well as my colleagues’ experiences that there are more buyers looking for homes right now than there are good homes. We attribute this to several factors, including the low interest rates and the $8,000 first-time homebuyer federal tax credit. Some highly qualified buyers are still trying to take advantage of this credit, but time is running out. The legislation expires on November 30, and at this writing we have no indication that Congress will extend it.

The moral of the story is, if you have been contemplating selling, now is a great time. Buyers are looking to move in before the holidays and before the tax incentive expires. A good agent will show you how to price your home well and how to stage the property so that its best features are maximized. If you don’t have a good agent but are interested in pursuing your selling options, please don’t hesitate to contact me. In today’s market your home will sell faster than you think!