Distressed Property Sales – The New Traditional Alexandria Transactions

The real estate market, nationally and locally in Alexandria, Virginia, has been flooded within the last three years with foreclosures, short sales and bank owned(real estate owned) properties. This was a result from the sluggish government policy regarding the financing process, the predatory lending that occurred and the artificially created housing boom in 2005 and 2006.

With so many distressed properties in inventory the real estate market has suffered to revitalize and prices have fallen dramatically. During the last year we have seen more stable prices due to two first time home buyer credit incentives and large number of discounted distressed properties sold. Based on the latest statistics from the National Association of Realtors, short sales and bank owned properties made over 40% of all sales nationwide.

Short sales and bank owned(REO) deals are very different than the traditional regular sales. In order to protect the public the National Association of Realtors offers classes and specialization to all Realtors that will give them the edge when dealing with distressed properties. Alex Pachedzhiev and his team at Realty USA hold the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource(SFR) certificate and are very competent to advice their clients when navigating them through those complicated transactions.

I found it very interesting for majority of home buyers to understand the purchasing process of Alexandria bank owned homes, or also called REO(Real Estate Owned). It is strongly recommended to have your own Alexandria VA settlement attorney to do a preliminary title search to make sure that all late fees, judgements or liens are paid off at closing. Also you get a special warranty deed instead of a general warranty deed. The HOA may not be paid off in full and the association can come after the new owner(if the property is condominium or in a home owners association). Other debt may have been missed or paid off and not recorded.

I think that beyond the legal and title issues people need to have a really good inspector licensed in Virginia if they are buying an Alexandria REO. You basically buy them “as is” and so you need to do everything you can as a buyer to make sure that you know the house inside and out. That can be hard, but it can save you thousands down the line in unexpected repairs. Most Alexandria VA agents have a few good inspectors that they can refer and in some cases it is also worth getting a more specific inspection of the foundation, plumbing or electrical if there are any questions about before you buy.

Some of the Alexandria Virginia properties in foreclosure process could be sold twice. Once through a short sale and the second time, maybe a week later, through a foreclosure. It happens sometimes because banks are overwhelmed with paperwork and the loss mitigation department(short sale department) doesn’t communicate well with the foreclosure department.

At last, but not less important, a home buyer needs to do a very good real estate research about the current local market conditions so he is aware of the market trend in Alexandria VA. You can get a FREE Market report at http://www.alexandriarealestatemarket.com/marketreport

Also contacting a real estate agent who is a true foreclosure specialist is a vital part of your home buying process that can save you thousands of dollars. I think one of the big myths is that home buyers can get a house in a perfect condition for 25 to 50 cents on the dollar. Most are going to be scratch and dent type of situations. Also, they will be good buys but not steals. In order to find the best bank owned deals you need to understand very well these transactions and be able to determine the most suitable negotiating strategy based on the particular property. For more details please visit http://www.BestPlaceForRealEstate.com

The point that I would like to make is that every home buyer or home seller needs to hire a real estate professional who specializes in distressed property transactions and must be exclusively represented by this agent to be truly protected.