Posted on Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Sell the old one before you buy the new one – good advice in these times – but what if you sell the old one and the new one takes too long to close and you have nowhere to live for a while?
Some of our Naples real estate clients would like to take advantage of lower priced properties in a foreclosure or short sale, but they are concerned over closing delays – delays that may cause them to be without a place to live if they sell their current place first. Don’t necessarily shy away from a foreclosure or short sale just because of potential closing delays … here are some ideas that may help.
One idea that often helps is to work on the timing of the sale of your current Naples property. For example, you can ask for a delay in closing – sometimes the buyer of your current place is facing timing issues too and a delayed closing might work for them. Another idea is rent your current property back from new owners – they may be investors looking for a renter anyway. A final fall back idea is just rent a new property somewhere else for a while until you close on your new place. Not the end of the world. All of these simple ideas can free you up to go after a foreclosure or short sale when facing closing delays.
Let’s take a look at these foreclosed and short sales and our observations of current closing timing today in Naples. It is true that short sales can take 90-120 days to close, or longer. But Naples properties have been moving more quickly of late – we will see if this trend holds. Initially the banks were not set up to process these transactions – particularly negotiating – but in some cases the banks have improved processes to deal with these purchases. Some title companies have also improved. Our Naples Best Addresses team at Coldwell Banker uses an attorney’s office that may guarantee a close in 90 days. Foreclosures may close in 30 days or less.
In our opinion, the real disadvantage to a short sale or foreclosure is the bank will not repair any issues that show up on the inspection. So as long as you are ok with paying the repairs – and there can be quite a few if the property was abandoned – then consider giving these properties a good look.
We often criticise the banks for slow movement – you need to be prepared to act quickly too. Any well priced property (not just short sales and foreclosures) in our reduced inventory market in Naples is selling more quickly, sometimes with multiple offers. Buyers need to be prepared to act quickly to acquire the Naples best address for them.
Get your pre-qualification in place (see our prior Blog article on this) and work with a Realtor who has some experience navigating the foreclosed and short sale market. This market is not for every buyer so be careful, but if it is for you, find ways to manage the risks.
Tell us what you think.
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No legal advice or suggestions are being given in this Blog and the writing of this Blog are intended for the sole use of our clients.
Mark Goebel, PA is a REALTOR with Coldwell Banker on 5th avenue in Naples, Florida with 35+ years of visiting and living in Naples. After 25 years at Accenture, Mark retired as a managing director and spends his time helping non profits and building a Naples real estate team with his wife Nan. Talk to Mark and Nan about life in Naples and why they chose this place to live full-time over all others.
Mark Goebel, PA
REALTOR
Mobile: 239.595.3921
Email: mark.c.goebel@gmail.com
NaplesBestAddresses.com
Facebook: NaplesBestAddresses
Twitter @mcgoebel
