Bank Owned Properties Mean Opportunity for First Time Home Buyers

First time home buyer activity is on the rise in Oceana County. A significant reason for this is the number of bank owned properties currently for sale in the Hart, Shelby, New Era, and Pentwater areas. Bank owned properties, often referred to as foreclosures, are often sold well below market value, and create unique opportunities for first time home buyers.

I recently had the pleasure of writing an accepted offer for a young engaged couple from Hart, MI. They are getting married this summer, and wanted to start looking for a home now. They have decent credit, but relatively low income, and the majority of what they could afford consisted of manufactured housing, which they hoped to avoid if at all possible.

I sent them to one of my preferred lenders, and had them prequalified. Prequalification is vital when attempting to purchase a bank owned home. Once the lender had them preapproved and through underwriting, and we had established a monthly payment that was affordable and comfortable for them, I began my search in earnest.

I was looking for a home that would meet their needs, and their budget of about $60,000. I ran searches daily, as I knew that when the right one came up, it wouldn't last wrong. I searched for about three weeks, in which time we looked at a handful of bank owned properties. The majority of these properties were going to require too much work to make them livable, so I continued to search.

Last week, I found a listing that was just unbelievable. It was a bank owned property in New Era, listed for $60,000. I was familiar with the home, and the location was perfect for what my buyers were looking for. I made a phone call, and told my clients that we needed to act fast, and see the home that night.

My buyers rearranged their schedules, and we went to see the home. The curb appeal was great. The home was less than ten years old, and was in great shape. The yard was just over an acre, and even had privacy fence built along the neighbor’s property line. This was a three bedroom home with a two car attached garage, and 1300 square feet of clean, well kept living space.

My buyers were instantly excited, and quite frankly, so was I. This was exactly what we had been praying to find, and we immediately submitted a full price offer. Since I already had them preapproved and through underwriting, our offer was solid and attractive. As it turned out, there was another offer made the same day, so we submitted an addendum offering to bump our price by $1100.

Earlier this week, I found out that that little bump sealed the deal. Our offer was accepted, and this previously bank owned home will soon be owned by two wonderful people. When they return from their honeymoon, they'll be coming home to a home that they own. I couldn't be happier for them.

Young Engaged Couple Pursue Home Ownership

What a great evening! I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with a great couple in their early twenties this evening. I talked with them over the phone last night, and they agreed to come in to my office today. Before our appointment, they had already scheduled a visit with a local lender. The lender went over various payments on different loan amounts, and analyzed their budget to tell them what they could afford to spend per month. Overall, I agreed with the lender's numbers, as I had done my own calculations based on a conversation with them. He even suggested a Rural Development Loan for them, which I was happy about, since so few people are knowledgable about this loan. I was a little disappointed that he told them prices of homes to look for, rather than explaining to them to buy based on what they wanted their monthly payment to be, but I went over it with them, so they understand now. For those of you reading this that haven't bought a home before, knowing what the millage rates are for the municipalities in your area are is of great importance. The difference in what you pay in taxes from one municipality to the next could equal tens of thousands of dollars in purchase power. Now, instead of looking for homes not to exceed $80,000, we are looking for a home in a municipality that will allow their PITI payment to stay under $650. We will find homes in one municipality that are 90,000, but has low taxes, and still be able to come up with the desired monthly payment. It's all about whether you want to spend your money on taxes, or put it into equity in your home. These folks left my office armed with some valuable knowledge, and are excited to see some homes this weekend. I'm excited for them, and can't wait to help them buy their first home. I love my job!

Semper Fi!