Foreclosures Offer Rare Chance To Snap Up Luxury Houses

Posted on June 13th, 2008 by hinson

Foreclosures are offering a rare chance to snap up luxury houses at a discount of 40% or less sometimes. The story of one house in Las Vegas will tell the story of the trend. A 4,00 sq ft house with a three-car garage in a gated locality in Las Vegas was bought for $1 million towards the end of 2006. Today in May the lender that foreclosed on the property is agreeable to sell it for $500,000. This calculates to $32,900 below the already discounted price that was being asked for.

The banks are the main lenders. They are ruthlessly slashing prices in the foreclosure intense areas of Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada. Buyers are being tempted so as to lessen the weight of the inventories pressing down on the banks. Bargains are abundant. Those in the building sector finding the collapse of their houses are vying with banks to woo buyers. It is a free for fall for buyers with good credit, ready money and a keenness to take a chance in a market that is continuing to fall.

The Las Vegas house mentioned above was just one of 25 others high-ended houses for which heavy discounts are being offered. It is overwhelming to walk into a subdivision with 20 houses and find 8 are foreclosed. Those who could never have dreamt of walking around in these elite zones are now hoping to move in. Las Vegas and South Florida are two such hot spots. Increase in housing activity will give a push to the real estate – it is hoped.

Days have changed. Potential buyers do not have to pour over lists of houses up for grabs. All they have to do is to click on web and be connected to avail of visual tours with details of the units sitting on the shop shelves. One can gauge the general health of the neighbourhood from such a bird’s eye view of the foreclosure scene. Many agents are organizing bus tours for buyers to physically check on the units and make internal inspections of bank-repossessed houses. Some dealers specialize only in such types of houses. It is advisable to hire an inspector to get an estimate of the damage related expenses required. The banks make only cosmetic repairs and are not expected to literally open the running water taps in the bathrooms. In one instance the bank had to spend $2,000 just to clear the garbage left behind!