I was driving into the office this morning and heard an ad on the radio. Maybe you’ve heard it too, and it just really makes me shake my head in disbelief.
It goes like this: A lady has invited her friend over to see her new home and the friend comments about how nice it is. The lady then says, “Yeah, and can you believe this was a foreclosure? I bought this house for $29,900 and my payment is only $190 per month!”
Then the ad goes on to say you should call them for a list of foreclosures in your area.
OK. Here’s where I have to set the record straight! Sure, you can purchase a foreclosure for $29,900. In fact, there are over 100 homes priced between $29,000 and $30,000 in the Heartland MLS right now. What they don’t tell you on the radio though, is that these homes are super tiny and in just poor condition or they are larger homes in absolutely terrible condition. Take it from me, the majority of these homes smell terrible!
Secondly, no bank is going to loan you less than $50,000 unless it’s an FHA 203k loan in which case you would be borrowing additional funds for the repairs and your monthly payment would no longer be $190. Which, by the way, does not include taxes and insurance.
Bottom line, there is no such thing as a $30,000 move-in ready home for $190 per month. Oh, and to get the list of foreclosures, you likely have to pay a fee. You can easily get the list for free from a Realtor®. Just don’t expect them to show you every home on the list!
-Elizabeth Gilbert, Licensed Administrative Assistant
A typical $29,900 foreclosure looks like this:
Comments