I have been thinking on the same lines for a while, and seriously I am also looking for an answer.
I tried to have a conversation with a Banker friend regarding this a year ago, but I guess he was not very comfortable parting with any indside information. Well he needs to save his ass****etts as well.
I think this requires very good networking skills(I am yet to accomplish that) PR skills, and the main issue is th TRUST you can establish between you and the information provider. Though foreclosures do come up for sale through REA's, but then you need to be on the A list of the REA so that its offered to you before the property hits the stands.
If you find a way please share wiith us or atleast me.
I have a feeling that the banks must be seen to put the property to the market by way of auction and campaign with a licensed real estate agent to glean fair market value, and not do private sale deals with their customers or investors, who at the end of the day are buyers anyway.
I guess it's more transparent in this way.
Not sure of any MB's on the forum can shed any further light.
Having said that, I have noticed that valuations are coming in VERY low at the moment, so if all three valuations come in low then there may be a few bargains out there. I will say though, banks councils etc must be seen to not be favouring anyone so I would think it unlikely that sales like these are being snapped up by insiders. If anyone on the forum has been able to get a bargain from knowing the "right" people, please feel free to correct me.
NAB, Westpac and RAMS and probably a few more by now, use the services of one Company to handle their forclosures.
The Company , based in SA, handles the bailiff for the inevitable eviction, lockchanges, repairs, arranging valuations, and whatever else is required to get the property to auction. The property auction is usually handled by agents local to the property. So finding out where and when the auctions will be held is a little difficult.
I used to do IT work for them a couple of years ago, they handle forclosures in every state, it was quite an eye-opener as to what goes on behind the scenes.
Thats correct finance companies that handle forclosures hand ball all there properties to realestate agents in the given area to sell so as to ensure the highest amount is gained from the sale in the public domain. I don't believe there is an accessible list out there available to the public for obvious reasons. Can you imagine the 60 minutes stories and a current affair scandals if this were the case
I'm pretty keen to try and break into this area of the market and do a flip – although that's a long way off yet – but all my Australian searches were in vain. Heaps of stuff for the states though.
Really appreciate everyones input.
Michael – I searched and searched for something like this and had no luck at all. Thanks a lot for the info.
I think it's stupid to not have this stuff easily accessible to be honest with you. Like in the public notices section of the SMH or Fin Review or the like. I mean, doesn't it just help everyone out in the long run…or am I being too altruistic…?
I don't know why but I never thought to actually ask an agent friend of mine! Heading in that direction right now.
You're welcome AH.In the US they are common, even the signs out the front of properties for sale, boldly state FORECLOSURE.
As I mentioned above, I think banks here need to maximise their return and be transparent by going to auction with licensed agents. I read somewhere that they are also rely on two or three independent valuers findings in setting the reserve or at least being a guide to the reserve price.
I wonder if the borrower had LMI might make a difference to the sales process……although they would still need to be chased down for other assets to make up the loan if the amount wasn't satisfied at auction, and there was a short-fall, so probably not.
In the US the thinking seems to be that the buyer is helping out a situation by purchasing the foreclosed. It does not seem to be frowned upon.
In Aus the harvesters of tall poppies would be jumping up and down crying fowl-play and as Milt stated above, can you imagine the 60 Minutes stories and TT and ACA. As a nation we love to chop the rogue crooked manipulative property investor to shreds. Mr and Mrs average here don't see it as helping someone out of a predicament, whilst satisfying an investment purchase. It rarely is seen as win:win here. It sells more press and sob stories on the telly to paint it as WIN:lose.
Those who have ever seen Rick Otton's talk on warrior nations versus convict nations will understand what I'm talking about
Check out the post in the heads up forum or contact agents in the areas which you are interested – some will actually tell you what is happening (they aren't all bad- it is in their interest to achieve a sale after all).
My local advised that they have had the best and strongest month in July and there are still a few weeks to go!
Unlike the US, mortgagee sales are rarely advertised as such as the vendor is still the mortgagee not the bank – they just take possession and run the show.
I think Scotts last sentence is the crux of the difference between what happens in the U.S. and Oz. with foreclosures.
I believe that in the U.S. you are allowed to walk away from your house. This means that when the value of the property is lower than the mortgage people just hand the keys over to the bank and walk away. They can't be asked to make up the difference using their other assets. The loss is the banks problem. Correct me someone please if I am wrong.
This is not the case in Oz. Any shortfall on the mortgage is still the responsibility of the mortgagee. The bank can hardly expect to be allowed to sell the property ( on behalf of the mortgagee ) for a " friendly " price to make the sale easy and then go after the mortgagee for the rest.
So no, it's neither the tall poppy syndrum nor 60 minutes. It's that buying at less than fair market price is definately not a help to the distressed seller.
I personally don't understand the logic behind the U.S. system and think that it's this system that greatly exacerbated their housing meltdown.
Totally agree on the tall poppy syndrome. I have no desire to eat everything in sight – just to satisfy myself. It can be a win : win. But I agree with Milt – the media would have a field day with it. Don't get me wrong – no one wants to see a family lose their home but if it happens and there's an investor at the ready then why not let them step in?
" They put you on a pedastool then balme you for the crick in their neck when they look up to you". Rings true, doesnt it? We're all good till we decide someone's got it better than ourselves. Then instead of inspiring us to strive harder and achieve the same we decide we'll rip them to shreds. Lovely bunch, eh?
Well I shall not be deterred. You watch. One day I'll be just like all of you…fingers crossed!
Does anyone have any idea where or ho I can obtain lisitngs of foreclosure properties?…Or is that a really stupid question?
Interestingly, speaking to a mate the other day and the current theory around some of the banks is to ensure the properties are advertised as mortgagee sales as it has been creating greater interest and better sales results
I had a chat to one of my agents today, he noted that there were a few commercial sales by the banks and there were two sales listed in the local rag as 'MIP' sales. They are out there, just look for them. You have a better chance of negotiating if they fail to sell at auction.
You need to dig… for instance, this friday 25th July there is one at Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa for 40+ auctions in South Queensland. Most (all) of those will be foreclosures.
So I've spent hours looking for these things…..where and how do you find them? I have googled and googled, with all sorts of different search options and whilst I find lots of interesting information about the sales, I cannot find information about ACTUAL sales……so anyone care to point me in the right direction?
So I've spent hours looking for these things…..where and how do you find them? I have googled and googled, with all sorts of different search options and whilst I find lots of interesting information about the sales, I cannot find information about ACTUAL sales……so anyone care to point me in the right direction?
Thanks
Rudi
LOL…Rudi I did the same thing! That's why I put it to the forum. I HAVE seen some sales listed 'under instructions from the Mortgagee' and the like but there seems to be no 'catch all' site like the ones in the US.
The sites that I've seen the sales on are actually http://www.realestate.com.au and http://www.domain.com.au. And it's really a case of search and search becuase they aren't listed according to this status. But they ARE there. My last search for a cheap property in QLD yeilded about 5 of them – none of which were suitable for me to buy but it did show me they are there. Of course all were by auction.
Good luck with it. Let me know if you find a better way.
You need to dig… for instance, this friday 25th July there is one at Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa for 40+ auctions in South Queensland. Most (all) of those will be foreclosures.
Good luck !
Scamp. That's great. But when you say 'dig' how exactly do we do that? What do we look for, where do we look? That's what I'm asking. What are the words you use to put in the search engine? What paper do you buy? What column do you look up? What government/business body or website do you look for/call/visit? All good and well to say 'dig' but you're talking to a real novice here. I mean, most of the abbreviations used on the forum are like a foreign language to me…I AM getting better, thankfully.
HOW did you find out about the 40 auctions at the Marriott?
Why on earth would anyone want a list of foreclosure Properties. If you think that you are going to get any special deal here then guess again. Try following any Public Trustee auction and you will see that in many cases they get more than the property is worth just because so many people go to these auctions in the belief that they are going to secure a bargain and they continue to out bid each other to above real value.
The Seller/Auctioneer have a very strict duty of care to make sure that they obtain best value for the property in order to stop the Original owner sueing the forcloser for underselling their property. Stop and think about how you would feel if the shoe were on the other foot and it was your property being foreclosed. Would you like to think that the Bank did everything in their power to make sure that you got the best price? I'm sure you would.
Just wait a few months for the new foreclosures sites to pop up. Maybe, if you're lucky, you can even take the Foreclosure Touring Bus to see all these new upcoming foreclosures, and get tips on driving the prices even lower. You gotta love foreclosures Jon ? At this moment the last few suckers with money buy up at crazy prices, but soon those people too will run out of money. After that, it's southwards all the way. The foreclosures business is booming, time to invest
I've tried to track them down too .As someone said in US very common you don't even have to track but true to form – not good enough for Australia . I did hear a few times too that ours don't even really go any cheaper anyway unless you get lucky or have contacts because again in true to form , here they prepare them all properly and stuff about . By the end of it you just have an ordinary action anyway especially with the investor competition here these days. Forgot about it in the end , just shopping for bargains was easier.