Foreclosure offers in Syracuse but with risk

Properties that fall into the foreclosure category are those that lenders have repossessed after homeowners fail to make timely mortgage payments; that is, they are properties of delinquent borrowers.

Undoubtedly, these foreclosed properties are highly sought after in the real estate market, especially by future buyers with a limited budget to acquire one of them.

Being considered true bargains for home consumers, there are few foreclosed properties available for sale today, and real estate agents and ordinary people know it.

Currently, foreclosure listings have dropped significantly to less than 358,000 properties, a situation not seen in previous years during the crisis when more than 2.8 million foreclosures occurred.

This decline was largely due to financial aid programs related to COVID. One of the most important aids was offered by the country’s Homeowner Assistance Fund, which provided multiple grants to those facing financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic. On the other hand, the government halted many ongoing foreclosure processes, causing the inventory of home listings nationwide to fall to 0.3%.

Although the number of foreclosed properties is still well below expected levels, the United States has four metropolitan areas where buyers are more likely to purchase a home in this category.

Both Syracuse in New York and Allentown in Pennsylvania had a foreclosure rate of 0.3% last year, the highest in the country. Meanwhile, Honolulu and Buffalo were the only two cities that recorded the highest foreclosure rates since before the COVID era.

Most buyers of foreclosed properties tend to be real estate investors or financial companies planning to remodel and resell or rent the home. However, ordinary people looking for good deals for the first time can also be seen in the real estate market.

What most of these first-time homebuyers do not know is that buying foreclosed or repossessed homes is a complex process and that they need extra money and time to remodel them if necessary. Therefore, it is advisable to have patience and be very careful with this type of property so that this purchase does not become a real problem or headache.

As foreclosed home listings become scarce, the available properties may not be what they seem. Finding homes with significant discounts or values well below the market may also indicate that the property has serious problems and not simply that its owner was delinquent on the mortgage loan.

One of the problems with buying these repossessed properties is that they are not legally required to disclose possible damages or less obvious issues; for example, a leaky roof, a moldy carpet, a terrible neighbor, an unsafe neighborhood, or a nearby nuisance. In this case, buyers cannot ask the seller to do anything about it, except perhaps a price concession if something is discovered during an inspection.

Another inconvenience that the first-time buyer may not consider is that they will have to pay all closing costs, which are usually split between the seller and the buyer. In addition to this, the buyer must pay any back taxes owed on the property.

The buyer must remember that they are purchasing the property as-is; hence, it is important and imperative to conduct a prior inspection of the home with qualified and knowledgeable people.

Finally, and not least, another aspect to consider for the person who is going to buy a foreclosed home, whether they want to acquire it in the city of Syracuse or elsewhere, is that lenders (private companies or banks) usually refuse or avoid offering loans for properties in this category.

Available foreclosures:

Syracuse: 0.3% homes available.

Allentown: 0.3% homes available.

By Elias DaSilva | September 20, 2024.