by Sean Hess (www.SeanHess.com), Broker and Manager for St. Augustine Team Realty (www.StAugustineTeamRealty.com). Join us on Facebook.
How will the recent foreclosure halts affect me?
The foreclosure halts caught us all a bit by surprise. But from the standpoint of a buyer or seller I think the affect will be minimal. Prices will actually rise a bit for buyers, and sellers may get the extra time they need to close a short sale.
If you’re looking to buy a foreclosure, the process in the near future may more resemble a short-sale. Short sales are notoriously long and drawn out, and as the banks sort through their paperwork mess you’ll just have to wait it out. If you don’t already have a contract on a foreclosure, and since many of the existing foreclosures have been pulled from the market, a short sale might make more sense. To sell a short sale you have to have the consent of the seller, so this absolves the lender from being sued over a fraudulent foreclosure. Plus everything that I’ve heard is that a foreclosure is much more expensive (on its face) than a short sale, so it should make sense for lenders to go this route (this is nonwithstanding the “shadow profit” banks get from insurance, government bailout/subsidies, and deficiency judgments on the back end when they foreclose).
Want to know more? Read the entire post, How Will the Foreclosure Halt Affect Me?, at the St. Augustine Team Realty main site. I hope you enjoy it!