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South Lake Tahoe Foreclosures vs Re-sale Homes

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about foreclosures and how they are such a great deal. I thought that I would do some reaserch to compare the latest new foreclosure listings to the latest re-sale listings.

Since the first of the year (20 days) there have been 47 new single family listings on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. Out of the 47 new listings there were 14 foreclosures, 32 re-sale houses, and 1 new construction.

Here are the statistics for the recent  non foreclosure listings:

• 33 new listings
• Average listing price $644,301
• Median listing price $573,500
• Average price per square foot $301.75

Statistics for the recent foreclosure listings

• 14 new listings
• Average listing price $308,375 (52% less than re-sale homes)
• Median listing price $288,000 (50% less than re-sale)
• Average price per square foot $219.64 (27% less than re-sale)

After looking at the previous statistics it seems like foreclosures are great deals. Why not target foreclosures if you are a buyer looking for a good deal on a long term investment?  Lets look a little closer at some of the differences between foreclosures and non foreclosure single family homes.

1. Age- The average age of the recent foreclosure listings is 43 years old. This is 17 years older than the non-foreclosure listings which have an average age of 26 years old.
2. Size- The average square footage of the recent foreclosure listings is 1404 square feet. This is 736 square feet smaller than the non-foreclosures which average 2140 square feet.
3. Condition- The average condition of the non-foreclosures is better than that of the foreclosure listings. Most of the foreclosures are in need of minor to major repairs, maintenance, and/or upgrading and updating.

Although most foreclosures are priced less than non-foreclosures, there are other factors to take into consideration. If you are the type of buyer that is not afraid to build up a little sweat equity, a foreclosure is perfect for you. If you are looking for a home that is meticulously maintained and ready to move right into, you may want to expand your search.

Click here to view a list of foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe.

For more information about South Lake Tahoe Real Estate and information about any property on the South Lake Tahoe MLS, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

Wikipedias definition of a foreclosure is:

Foreclosure is the legal and professional proceeding in which a mortgagee, or other lienholder, usually a lender, obtains a court ordered termination of a mortgagor‘s equitable right of redemption. Usually a lender obtains a security interest from a borrower who mortgages or pledges an asset like a house to secure the loan. If the borrower defaults and the lender tries to repossess the property, courts of equity can grant the borrower the equitable right of redemption if the borrower repays the debt. While this equitable right exists, the lender cannot be sure that it can successfully repossess the property, thus the lender seeks to foreclose the equitable right of redemption. Other lienholders can also foreclose the owner’s right of redemption for other debts, such as for overdue taxes, unpaid contractors’ bills or overdue HOA dues or assessments.

The foreclosure process as applied to residential mortgage loans is a bank or other secured creditor selling or repossessing a parcel of real property (immovable property) after the owner has failed to comply with an agreement between the lender and borrower called a “mortgage” or “deed of trust“. Commonly, the violation of the mortgage is a default in payment of a promissory note, secured by a lien on the property. When the process is complete, the lender can sell the property and keep the proceeds to pay off its mortgage and any legal costs, and it is typically said that “the lender has foreclosed its mortgage or lien“. If the promissory note was made with a recourse clause then if the sale does not bring enough to pay the existing balance of principal and fees the mortgagee can file a claim for a deficiency judgement.

Short sale:

In real estate, a short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from the sale fall short of the balance owed on a loan secured by the property sold.^[1] In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s Loss mitigation department. The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale. Most Short Sales leave a deficiency balance for which the Mortgagor / Borrower is still liable. In 99% of all cases it is not a settlement-in-full. A deficiency balance will remain while the mortgage broker, real estate agent / broker, loan officers, title and closing agents retain their profit. No regulatory agency governs this hybrid transaction.

Extenuating circumstances influence whether or not banks will discount a loan balance. These circumstances are usually related to the current real estate market and the borrower’s financial situation.

A short sale typically is executed to prevent a home foreclosure. Often a bank will allow a short sale if they believe that it will result in a smaller financial loss than foreclosing. For the home owner, advantages include avoidance of a foreclosure on their credit history and partial control of the monetary deficiency. A short sale is typically faster and less expensive than a foreclosure. In short, a short sale is nothing more than negotiating with lien holders a payoff for less than what they are owed, or rather a sale of a debt, generally on a piece of real estate, short of the full debt amount. It does not extinguish the remaining balance unless settlement is clearly indicated on the acceptance of offer.

Short sales are common in standard business transactions in recognition that creditors are not doing debtors a favor but, rather, engaging in a business transaction when extending credit. When it makes no business sense or is economically not feasible to retain an asset, businesses default on their loans (called bonds). It is not uncommon for business bonds to trade on the after-market for a small fraction of their face value in realization of the likelihood of these future defaults