Lake Geneva Real Estate Blog ? Lake Geneva Foreclosures

During the darkest of days buried deep in the darkest of years it was easy to make a real estate mistake. Foreclosures had not yet become widespread, or not at least as widespread as they could become, and what lay ahead was anyone's guess. After the tumult of 2008, it was a forgivable sin to pounce on a foreclosure or two in 2009, because during those foggy and dour days the extent of our real estate dilemma was far from known. Forward thinking buyers who were indeed thinking forward in 2009 were a bit premature, and many who were active then are quiet now. Getting too close to the flame too quickly will leave a mark, and we have a saying in Texas that says if you fool me once, fool me once... the point is you're not going to fool me again.

And so it is to be a buyer of REO property in 2009 is to likely be a watcher of real estate in 2012. While the cheer from the pundits is that real estate is a solid and stable investment today, it was also much of the same refrain in 2009, and those who bought into that chorus then are not well now. I bought an REO in 2009, perhaps foolishly so, but I choose to employ the tried and true method of dealing with unfortunate real estate decisions- I choose denial. My home? It's worth just as much as I think it is. Why do I think it's worth more than the house next door and the other one around the corner? Well, that's easy. It's worth more because it's my house. But now I'm sounding less like Dave Curry and more like Michael Jordan.

The foreclosure scene at Lake Geneva today is as it was last month which is as it was during any month in 2010- it is stable and it is fluid. I see pending sheriff's sales in many segments of the Lake Geneva real estate market, including at least one in Geneva National, another in Abbey Springs, one big one in Country Club Estates, and a handful of Abbey condotel units. I will refrain from mentioning how horrible condotels are, because I think by now you already know that. As does the rest of the world. Don't buy them, please. If you do, the upside may be inclusion of your folly on these pages, so that's something.

Aside from the typical foreclosure activity that I've been chronicling here for some time, there is a new trend that feel pleased to report. When searching Lis Pendens filings, that is, a notice of serious delinquency, I'm seeing several LPR codes, which are Lis Pendens Releases. These are good. These are the filings that the bank makes when you're no longer in big trouble, and a rash of LPR filings will grow as a market recovers and fewer foreclosures reach the point of the dastardly sheriff's sale. Why some people get in significant trouble and then find their way out I cannot know, but there is reason to believe that many are attempting to secure loan modifications, and that attempt is the only reason the property went into delinquency to begin with.

The existing REO inventory in our vacation home market is limited, at best. There is one REO in Country Club Estates that I've been watching, and at a touch over $200k it's getting cheap. Value minded buyers would do well to contact me if a vacation home in Fontana for that sort of number sounds intriguing. There is an REO property in Wooddale that hasn't yet come back to the market, though I expect it soon will, assuming the bank hasn't yet dealt that property directly to an investor. There is a foreclosure in the works in Cedar Point Park, and that home is quite unique in the market. It is large and it has a pool, and it is situated quite close to the parkway access. It'll be a good one if it makes it all the way through the cycle and onto the market as REO.

For now, the foreclosure scene here appears to be neither accelerating or ebbing, it just is what it is. What is it? It's a factor in our market that means something, but that something isn't enough to mean everything. Foreclosures exist, and they will exist in an elevated fashion for years to come. Finding value in foreclosure isn't particularly easy, but the search becomes a whole lot easier if you work with an agent who actually understands value.

Update: There is a new REO listing on the market just this afternoon in Club Unique. The
home is a straight deal at $550k and will sell very quickly. If interested please contact me immediately.

Source: http://www.genevalakefrontrealty.com/blog/index.php?itemid=1434

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