Posted by John Sheflin on Fri, Apr 02, 2010
Buying a short sale home has never been easy. I've heard many real estate agents over the years say, "The banks take forever to get back to you, and they are completely inflexible regarding the deal. If you have plenty of time to wait, and plenty of patience, go right ahead." Often I heard people say that the bank would rather hang onto that property until it falls down.
No more. Thanks in part to the troubled economy, most banks are becoming more flexible and almost eager to sell their short sales to your self-directed real estate IRA. Catherine Wynne, real estate investor for many years said, "I've never seen so many short sales move so quickly through the banks. They clearly want to get real estate off their books."
And now the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) will hopefully make short sales even easier and faster. The HAFA provides financial incentives: $1,500 to help relocate the borrower, $1,000 to the bank, up to $1,000 to investors who share a total of up to $3,000 of the profit with subordinate lien holders.
That last one could be especially helpful. Often a junior lein holder will stop a transaction if they think a short sale isn't profitable enough or profitable at all. The extra cash may help move that short sale into fruition.
Another very helpful new aspect: Lenders must approve or deny the offer for the home within 10 business days of receiving the offer.
With your real estate IRA and mine buying up foreclosures and short sales, there will be less on the market, thereby strengthening the real estate market in general. If your IRA can buy a short sale or foreclosure, and hold it as a rental property long enough to wait for the likely gradual upswing in the real estate market, your road to retirement can become a little shorter and a little more comfortable.
Posted by Amy Sheflin on Fri, May 01, 2009
The Denver Post reports that Denver metro foreclosures are down 46% in the first quarter 2009 compared to first quarter 2008.
This is good news and bad news for the savvy investor. Good news if you have real estate already in your self-directed IRA or HSA since this likely indicates that prices are on the upswing. The bad news is for those of you who wanted to pick up a (or another) foreclosure property - the pickings are slimming!
The Post article is based on a report released by RealtyTrac which details foreclosure rates around the country. The front range Colorado is besting the national average by far - national rate is up 23%.
Boulder area is down 20%, Greeley down 23%. Colorado Springs and Fort Collins had slight increases, but overall the front range seems to be standing strong.