After 22 years in the real estate business I can tell you that the foreclosures are offering opportunity like we have not seen since I have been selling property. Atlanta narrowly missed being on the top ten list for the highest foreclosure rate in the country in 2007. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, 2.5% of Atlanta homeowners were in the foreclosure process in 2007. In every price range, in every neighborhood, we can see the stark reminders of those poor folks who reached too high, didn’t pay enough attention, or had the unfortunate luck to get an expensive illness without insurance. Many of these houses were simply vehicles for loan fraud. Whatever the story, there are so many that it is really pretty amazing. Many are beaten and bruised and will take a lot of elbow grease too bring them back to life. On the other hand, there are some still have tracks in the carpet where someone vacuumed and cleaned, they still have their appliances and window treatments and are ready for their new homeowners.
It’s really pretty amazing in the some areas. Neighborhoods like the West End, South DeKalb, East Point, Mechanicsville, Lakewood, Stone Mountain and many more have literally hundreds of homes on the market today under $50,000. These aren’t shacks or mobile homes. These include brick homes in quiet neighborhoods with hardwood floors, and are frequently livable and rent-able as they sit. As you look in other areas in every price range you see the same thing. If there ever is a time when it might make sense to take the step into home ownership this really may be it.
While the big lenders are tightening up on the 100 percent loan products, both HUD and Fannie Mae have really great loan products available for people who buy their foreclosures. HUD is financing homes for owner occupants with $100 down payments. They are only doing this with their insured loans and some of them come with escrows for repairs. Fannie Mae’s Express Path financing offers 100% conventional loans to owner occupants and these are the only options for this kind of loans out there that I am aware of!
If you are ready to look at foreclosures as a home buying option you can see my foreclosure page here. There are links to search for foreclosures by neighborhood and suburban city. There are also links to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD foreclosures.
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