Foreclosures are hot and buyers want more of them... that's one obvious conclusion for the bidding wars that have broken out on bank owned homes priced under $250,000.
Having sold over 40 foreclosures since 2007, I have become pretty adept at figuring out the formulas that give buyers the best chance of beating out the competition for these aggressively priced homes.
While I won't give all of my secrets away, here is one... the best days to look for foreclosures and write offers and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Why is this?
Mostly it's because if you are trying to outsprint a dozen other buyers to the prize, you don't want competition. And when you submit an offer to the bank, best case is getting a response in about 24 hours. Sometimes it can take a week.
What you don't want is to have a listing sit open over a weekend, because the majority of buyers are weekend shoppers, and if you're competing against 10 or 15 other buyers, it's pretty much granted that even if you do win you're probably not getting much of a deal.
That's why "fresh" foreclosures which come on the market Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday give you the best chance for success. See the property before others see it... write the offer before others write... and (here's the key) get an answer before your competition doubles or triples in size.
The truth is, the asset manager sitting in Dallas or LA or Orlando doesn't care if the home sells for $162,000 to $169,000... they just want it gone. Most banks will take the first acceptable offer that comes along, as long as there aren't multiple offers. Once you've got multiples, you've got delays, more eyes on the property, and a lesser chance of ultimately getting the home.
So how do you find foreclosures that hit the market on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday?
The answer is pretty obvious - you work with someone who is totally focused on finding new inventory as soon as it hits the market. That's the formula for success.
