Free Access: Real Talk Real Estate: Investors, get ready for foreclosures

According to Finance Buzz, Georgia is ranked in the top 10 highest foreclosure states. They have reported that, based on data from ATTOM, one of every 1,702 housing units was foreclosed on in Georgia in the first quarter of 2022.

Flippers and investors have been patiently waiting on the day when they could get back in the game and that day is close at hand.

Why does Georgia always have so many foreclosures?

The answer is pretty easy: We are a non-judicial foreclosure state. This means that the bank doesn’t have to take you to court to foreclose on your home. If you are more than 30 days late on your mortgage, they can run an ad in the paper giving you notice of officially defaulting on the loan, and then boom! Foreclosed. The bank officially owns your home.

Obviously, this is a bit of an unfair practice. So now, before it can be finalized and resold with a clear title, they have to give you time to legally repay the defaulted amount plus penalties before they can do anything with the home. This is the redemption period. Generally, it is a minimum of one year. This is why you see empty homes that just sit when you know it’s a distressing situation.

The best news is, the sales values for our area really have not seen a significant or noticeable drop. If you can get your hands on a highly coveted distressed property, you still are set up to see maximum profits.

So, where can you find these homes? There are a few great ways to buy foreclosures.

Realtors. The best way is to have a great realtor because 90 percent of these properties will be listed on the local MLS, or an online real estate bidding site, once the bank has a clear title. A good realtor will be able to submit your offer right away and help you navigate how to make the best offer. This is still an extremely competitive purchase arena!

Wholesalers. Another way, but a little riskier, is to work with a wholesaler. A wholesaler identifies owners of distressed homes and tries to help them sell without going on the MLS market and before the foreclosure process has been started. They will have a written agreement with the owner that they then assign to you.

These homes will tend to be in poor condition and are much harder to get to the closing table than an official bank-owned foreclosed home. I’m going to say once again, that having a good realtor is also important if you work with a wholesaler. You should always be represented by someone who understands the ins and outs of title issues, probate problems, and property liens when you work with wholesale properties.

Tax Sales. The riskiest option is to buy homes at the county tax sale and then foreclose on them yourself when you are legally able to. Tax sales offer a great way to buy a home for significantly less than the fair market value.

The big risk is that you cannot see them before you buy them other than a street-front drive-by. You also can’t go inside them at any time after you purchase it until the previous owner’s right to redeem the home has legally expired and you have hired an attorney and completed the foreclosure process on the home. This is going to take a minimum of one year to even start the foreclosure process.