With the continuously rising rate of foreclosed home on the market, some business savvy real estate agents are running regular bus tours of foreclosed homes for prospective buyers. Showing foreclosed homes as a method to promote sales, is evidently working in the favor of the agents and the bargain seeking buyers. Real estate agents from coast-to-coast are helping potential clients discover great deals on homes that are in relatively good condition.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on one foreclosed home tour organization—Foreclosure Finder Tours , which runs weekly tours of foreclosed homes in the cities of Antioch, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, and Pittsburg—Contra Costa, California. In December of last year, a group of nine real estate agents at Intero Real Estate Services in Brentwood put together $20,000 to purchase a ten-passenger van; they now run four tours each weekend, where they usually visit around six homes per tour.
Cesar Dias a Realtor and loan agent with Approved Financial & Real Estate Center, located in Stockton, California, is reported to be one of the first real estate agents to begin running bus tours featuring foreclosures. Dias began operating his foreclosed home bus tour in September of 2007 with one bus. He now runs three bus loads of potential buyers on two trips every Saturday, between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; which visits about 10 homes per tour.
In Marlborough, Massachusetts DCU Realty charges its bus-riders--$20 for members of its affiliated Digital Federal Credit Union, and $25 for nonmembers. DCU Realty foreclosure tours visit Northborough, Westborough, and Shrewsbury. The weekly tours feature homes in varying stages of disarray and both modest foreclosed homes and luxurious foreclosed homes for sale.
It is no coincidence that the areas experiencing the highest reports of foreclosures are the same areas that are running the most tours of foreclosed homes. Contra Costa, California has the worst foreclosure rate in the state. Similarly, Framingham, Massachusetts has experience the region’s highest level of foreclosed homes.
Some homes are in considerably good condition, perhaps experiencing some overgrowth in the yards and dust collecting on fixtures within the house. Other homes have been reported as having been trashed, littered with unwanted belongings, damaged floors, holes in walls, broken doors, appliances and fixtures removed, etc. However, the fact that the homes are recently listed as foreclosed, tells the potential buyer that the home was recently inspected and deemed to be in sound shape and a habitable living space by the previous owner’s home inspector.
While the majority of these homes lack any major repair issues, the fact that many of them are fixer-uppers is something that the potential buyer must take into consideration. These homes are not move-in ready; in fact, these homes are far from ready for occupation. Be prepared to spend additional money to return the home to its original form. So before running out and purchasing a foreclosed home, be sure to do the math and add all expenses up before making that foreclosed home purchase.
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