A Guide to Understanding Delray Beach Short Sales and Foreclosures
A Guide to Understanding Delray Beach Short Sales and Foreclosures
Now that South Florida's housing recovery is underway, the number of Delray Beach foreclosures is plummeting; however, as short sales become more prevalent, many potential buyers are unsure of the difference between short sales and foreclosures. Both of these Delray Beach home buying options offer unique advantages to savvy consumers, and now that South Florida home values are on the rise, interest in local short sales and foreclosures is likely to gain momentum. Investors are notorious for scooping up Delray Beach short sales and foreclosures to use as rental properties, but now that home prices are accelerating, real estate analysts believe that investors may back off from the market. Now, many first-time buyers are jumping at the chance to buy Delray Beach short sales and foreclosures.
Delray Beach short sales take place when home owners can no longer make their mortgage payments and owe more on their home than it's worth on the market. In order to avoid foreclosure, these home owners list their homes at the current market value and the lender agrees to accept the price even though it's below the mortgage amount.
One of the things buyers need to keep in mind when bidding on Delray Beach short sales is that lenders don't have to accept the offer; it must be approved by the bank before the transaction is complete. Thanks to new, improved guidelines, short sales usually take as little as 30 days to 90 days to close, or between 3 to 6 months to close, but the efficiency of short sales varies on a case-by-case basis. Paying for a short sale in cash is one way to accelerate the process, which is why investors have a competitive advantage when it comes to buying short sales in bulk purchases to use as rentals or to flip for a profit in the near future.
Delray Beach foreclosures, on the other hand, are lender-owned properties that are auctioned at the county courthouse where the property is located. Usually, investors are the predominant buyers of foreclosed properties since they must be paid for in full at the time of purchase with a cashier’s check.
However, Delray Beach foreclosures have become popular among traditional buyers since they are offered at prices well below market value. It's important to find out whether foreclosed properties have structural damage, IRS liens and clean titles before moving ahead with the transaction since these issues are liable to cost the buyer a substantial amount of money to resolve once the sale takes place. Foreclosures now provide less of a discount since there are fewer left on the market, and the competition between investors and traditional buyers for the remainder of foreclosed properties is causing their prices to rise.
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