When we last left our intrepid house-hunters, they were planning to reevaluate their housing budget, do some research on a lovely home, and possibly make an offer.
Budget determination: We can definitely afford more than we could a year ago, and felt it was close enough to make an offer, especially in light of the information we found on the home...
Home information: Anyone purchasing a house should always take a trip the the county's Register of Deeds first! I went in there with an address and came out know when the property was purchased, how much was spent, and the amount of the mortgage for the house itself. I also learned the house is in the process of foreclosure, how much the owner needs to get to have it not go to the bank, and when the bank will take it away if he doesn't get said amount of money. Oh yeah, and we also now know the name of the attorney with whom he is working regarding the foreclosure.
Offer outcome: In keeping with our budget, we were only able to offer the owner $20K less than he owes on it. He turned us down because there is no incentive for him to take a loss like that. His credit is already shot and he really has nothing more to lose (other than a sense of pride) by letting the foreclosure proceed. Still, we felt we should give it a shot. Unfortunately for him, with the decreased values in the Michigan housing market (up to 30% decreases in the last year), it's unlikely that he will be able to unload the home for the price he needs.
So what now? Well, because we know the attorney's name and approximately when it will go on the market as a foreclosure, we've put the realtor with whom we've been working on the trail. With all luck, she will be able to let us know as soon as it becomes available through the bank, which should be in December, and if the price is right, we may be homeowners shortly after the New Year. In the meantime, we plan to move to an apartment in St. Johns. I have three, possibly four, places to check out on Thursday on the way back to Alma.
1 comment:
Hooray for taking another step forward! I can't believe all that stuff is public information--but it's really helpful to you, which is great.
I agree with you that the guy should have accepted your offer. I know it must be incredibly galling, but with the housing market in MI the way it is now, he really should cut his losses--plus this way, he wouldn't have to foreclose right?
I've even read some predictions that it'll be another 10 years before the MI housing market gets better, so I don't think this guy made the right choice.
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