The first thing you should know is that buying a Pagosa Springs foreclosed home is fraught with risks. Before you decide to head down this path, you should determine whether you are a good candidate to buy a foreclosed home as well as the risks and benefits of buying at each stage of the foreclosure process.

At a minimum you need to consider three factors: your homeowner experience, your present financial situation and your access to qualified Pagosa Springs real estate professionals who have experience with Pagosa Springs foreclosed homes. If you are lacking in any of these three areas, do not proceed any further.

By owning Pagosa Springs foreclosed homes you gain experience about the cost over ownership beyond the monthly payments. You understand property taxes and insurance, and know your way around what it costs to maintain a foreclosed home. Your financial condition is equally important because you may need substantial cash reserves to handle the repairs and clean up required to bring Pagosa Springs foreclosed homes up to required standards. It is often difficult, especially in the current Pagosa Springs lending market to obtain mortgage money for foreclosed home repairs and upgrades. You should also ask your Pagosa Springs real estate broker to help you shop for and obtain pre-approval for your Pagosa Springs home mortgage before writing an offer. You also need to work with Pagosa Springs professionals that have specific real estate experience in dealing with foreclosed homes. You can read more about our Team here. These foreclosed home transactions are not the same as buying a Pagosa Springs home from a private party, builder, or bank. There is much more risk involved with foreclosed homes and the services of a Pagosa Springs real estate professional will help you effectively navigate the risks. Buying a Pagosa Springs foreclosed home is not a good opportunity for the inexperienced “do-it-yourselfer”.

Properties may be purchased in Pagosa Springs in one of several stages of the foreclosure process. You may negotiate with the seller that is in default on their home mortgage for a “short sale”, provided the lender is in full agreement. Here again, I strongly advise you to utilize the services of a Pagosa Springs real estate broker with experience in the arena of foreclosed homes. You may be able to negotiate with the existing homeowner to bring their payments current, greatly reducing the damage a full foreclosed home will do to their credit rating. In exchange for this, your real estate broker should be able to structure a very favorable purchase price. You could choose to purchase the foreclosed home at the Trustees Auction at the Pagosa Springs county courthouse. There are specific requirements regarding payment and participation in the auction. Often times, the lender will be the only bidder due to their mortgage balance being in excess of the market value. If this is not the case, you may do well to bid at the auction for Pagosa Springs foreclosed homes.

You may also choose to wait out the foreclosed homes auction and purchase the Pagosa Springs foreclosed home after the bank has taken it back and any statutory redemption period has expired. Often times the Pagosa Springs bank will discount the asking price of foreclosed homes too far below what they sold at the auction for. Working on foreclosed homes requires much more patience than buying conventionally from a private party. Banks typically take longer to make decisions and their paperwork is more complicated and lengthy. This is where a Pagosa Springs real estate broker with ample experience dealing with Pagosa Springs foreclosed homes can save you time and money.

Whichever way you decide to proceed when buying a Pagosa Springs foreclosed home, it is imperative that you do your homework. Have your Pagosa Springs real estate broker help you gather accurate, comparable sales data. Be sure to look at the trends of prices and levels of inventory before determining what your offer on the foreclosed home will be. As a rule of thumb, most Pagosa Springs foreclosed home investors will not buy foreclosed homes unless they feel they will be buying them with at least a 20% discount below where they foresee the market being 90-180 days out. Be sure you have the foreclosed home inspected by a reputable Pagosa Springs home inspector. Check for mold, radon, and other potential hazardous conditions. Carefully check the title documents, including anything recorded under the owner or borrowers name to uncover any potential title problems with the foreclosed home. Be certain that you obtain an Extended Coverage title insurance policy. You may call our Pagosa Springs office to discuss the advantages to this type of policy, especially with foreclosed homes.

Buying foreclosed homes in Pagosa Springs can be a financially rewarding experience, if done right. Be sure you have a sufficient level of homeownership experience to understand what you are getting into. Remember, carefully consider the financial commitments from a borrowing and cash requirements perspective. Equally important, be sure you are working with a Pagosa Springs real estate professional that has experience with foreclosed homes. You should also consider having a qualified attorney review all documents ahead of signing anything.