Article
Foreclosure Bus Tours
Recently, I came across a very interesting promotional text by Columbus Foreclosure Bus Tours. It was advertising a bus tour workshop for first time home buyers interesting in bank owned and foreclosed homes. The bus tour included guided tour of foreclosed homes and exploring different corners of Columbus. It was like a crash course about HUD, VA, short sales and pre-foreclosures and a lot more about investment property. “
It so clearly defined the state of real estate market as well as the financial savvy required to convert a negative situation into a positive one. It really seems like a very creative and innovative idea for those who are unfamiliar with the real estate jargon.
The truth is that real estate agents everywhere have jumped on the foreclosure bandwagon, and many are dealing only with lender owned investment properties. Bank owned properties are great for investment as the asking price is far below the market price and they close quickly making it a win-win situation for the buyer, bank and the agent.
In fact the bus tours are catching on like wild fire in cities throughout the U.S. including Orlando, Columbus, Phoenix, Detroit, Kansas City, Jacksonville, and various parts of California - The Great American Foreclosure Bus Tour. These bus tours offer an excellent way to see otherwise unknown listings.
In March 2008, foreclosures jumped to 57% from the previous year. That translates into 234,685 foreclosures, or one in 538. This means there are no shortage of inventory and no sign of any decrease anytime soon.
Joseph Iliac, a Las Vegas agent who specializes in foreclosures can barely keep up with his over 500 listings with a staff of 22 to service his customers. He arranges monthly bus tours of the latest foreclosures including some areas where five out of seven homes on the same street are lender owned. Carla Co show, a San Diego agent feels that banks hold back listing many of the investment properties on the multiple-listing service in the hopes that the prices may eventually rise.
Carla, also at times organizes a pre-tour breakfast meeting with all of the participants, supplying them with a "Repot Express" name tag and a list of all the investment properties to be viewed along with financial details.
These tours are a complete package in themselves as; sometimes these tours include other resources also like a mortgage broker, home inspector, or lawyer who provide their personal expertise in between stops along the way. The home inspector offers his opinion on the conditions of the various homes and what can be done to bring them up to par. Then the mortgage broker advices on home loans and answers questions. This way the people gather more information by practically seeing themselves which was otherwise difficult to gather.
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