Has anyone bought a foreclosed home in The Villages?
 

Would like to hear your experience of buying a foreclosed home in The Villages. Is there a lot of red tape, or do you just write a check? Do you get to go thru the home before bidding? Do you need an attorney before bidding?

I am only considering this to get a home in my 1st choice location. I do realize that I might have to replace everything.

Thank you.

No different than buying any home. Have the home inspected by Frank DeAngelo, and make sure to do a Title Search. Most foreclosures have liens against the title. If all is clear take your contractor thru to give you a rough quote. Use these numbers to figure your offer price. Between my son and I we have done this over 75 times. (Not in the Villages) Good Luck Len





ns against the title

Rarely will you find a foreclosure in The Villages.

Go to any of the foreclosure web sites and you will find many foreclosures, pre foreclosures, deceased Estates, etc. Do a little research on the internet and you will be surprised what's out there. We bought our house at the peak of the Real Estate Boom. We bid 55 thousand below asking. After doing some research and finding out the seller was buying a new condo that was under construction with a balloon payment due upon completion. She called every month lowering the price. 11 months later she met my price. When the bottom fell out of the market our house was priced right. She still made a profit. Len

Thank you.
 

I am learning to search foreclosures now. May be a mistake, but signed up for hud foreclosure site.

I am fairly sure that there was a foreclosed property that is in the location I want, but can't find it again.

Will keep on searching. Thanks for your help.

Pat

I was just on one of The Villages Facebook pages and someone mentioned they lived next to a foreclosure in the Village of La Zamora and it's listed with ERA for $219K. Here's a link.

123 Chula Vista Ave, Lady Lake, FL 32159 | MLS #G5024556 | Zillow

https://photos.zillowstatic.com/cc_f...000000000.webp

Just make sure the foreclosure isn't under HUD Guidelines 24 CFR 206.125 from a reverse mortgage. It would be stated on the sale. My father passed away 2 years ago and had a small condo in Pembroke Pines (S. FL). It was a rev mortgage property with no value to us and is under HUD Guidelines 24 CFR 206.125 by the bank The rules are crazy. Price is NOT negotiable and they are asking about $35,000 more than it is worth which is why it never sold after over a year, have to pay all back taxes and condo fees and a lot more. It was just taken off the market for some reason by the bank. If electric is off you have to pay to turn it on to look inside and lots more stuff. What are HUD Guidelines 24 CFR 206.125

We bought one 3 years ago. Fannie Mae was involved it got kind of hectic. They have a lot of say even if you do not mortgage it through them. My advice stay away from the Mortgage Firm! If we knew then what we know now would of just went to Citizens First Bank or some other local Bank but live and you learn. Yes I viewed the home before hand and stay away from Tyler Jacobs as a Home Inspector personal opinion on him he is out for the $$$ only there were things he said worked and there was no way he knew if they did or not without some of the utilities being connected. Also make sure the bond is actually paid!! It got to be very interesting at times but do not regret buying in The Villages.

FWIW - here's the little I know.

A house for sale through foreclosure is usually auctioned on the court house steps and advertised via publication in local papers. Usually, the bank that holds the mortgage is the opening bidder, opens somewhere around the outstanding mortgage amount, which usually makes them the "winner".

Prior to the sale on the courthouse steps, no entry or inspection is available. You buy as a pig in a poke.

Then the property is off the market until the bank, HUD, or some other entity puts it up for sale as an REO (real estate owned property. At this point, the transaction is pretty much the same as any other purchase except the selling entity may have some additional "rules and restriction". Also, the real estate commission on an REO is usually fixed lower and less motivating for the agents.

As with any home purchase, you need a thorough title search for liens or other debts that may encumber the property.

Hope that may help.

We never bought at auction, but worked with the banks and realtors. Banks are not in the real estate business and are willing to sell to clear their books. Locally we worked thru Buddy Clark with Re-max. He handled the foreclosures for HSBC. The houses sold at auction never interested me because people who watch HGTV think they can make a fortune. They over Bid and end up losing their Shorts. I inspected every house I've ever bought. We always got a Title Search and after the first few years always made all cash offers. We never flipped in Florida, and worked for Buddy as contractors. I am now happily retired and watch HGTV for amusement. Len

I bought a preforeclosure here directly from the credit union. Check bank and credit unions web sites, some list their REO properties and their preforeclosures and they will let you go out and look at it. REO properties do not have any liens against them. We bought title insurance before closing on our preforeclosure, well worth the 200-300 dollars. A lien showed up 3 years later and since we had title insurance the title insurer took care of all expenses to remove it. We paid about 50,000 less than other homes in out village. It's more work and time, but money saved is well worth it. We paid cash.

My experience with foreclosures is that they are usually not a good deal, unless you really know what you are doing. Banks don't want to own houses, but they also won't give them away. Most foreclosures I have seen are overpriced and the bank is not willing to do much negotiating. I think they rely on uninformed buyers to pay more than the house is worth, thinking that they are getting a bargain because it is a foreclosure. I would especially avoid reverse mortgage and VA foreclosures.

Buying foreclosures in The Villages is similar to buying a regular home, some will be exactly the same as a regular home others will be a federal bid procedure. Does not mean you are bidding against anyone, you might be but maybe not. There are plenty of foreclosures in the Villages. Please get your own buyers agent. The foreclosure companies pay the buyers realtor. Get someone who understands all of the issues. It could take a little longer to close and you have to be patient. I would live to help you. I have 2 decades of experience and have represented buyers on foreclosures in The Villages. Most foreclosures are reverse mortgage situations. Good luck Andrea Bonivich, Sellstate Superior Realty 281-513-1250

By the way it could be foreclosed, but now they list the properties before they become available. You will not be able to find anything more on HUD that you will not find on any other sites. Have someone monitor and research the house you are interested in and try to get an estimate as to when it might come on the market. Also be aware the deals are not the same as they were a few years back. Some are overpriced. You need to know the comparatives.

All reasons to use an agent. Utilities can be turned on