History on a house I want to buy. Any ideas what these prices mean?

Question

The house I am looking at is banked owned and listed for $70,104.00 and went on the market 6-13-08. In searching past sale history, I see ON THE SAME DAY the house went up for sale, it SOLD for 63k (aaproximately...maybe it was 68k, I don't remeber exactly). I am assuming the bank that owns this house maybe bought it for the lesser price and just listed it for the higher price of $70,104. I live in Ohio and the bank that owns it is supposedly in Cali for whatever reason.

The other thing that throws me, is when I googled this address for an exact match, it appears this house was sold at a SHeriff's auction in JUST MARCH of this year. The sheriff's auction webpage only lists appraisal value and weather or not the house sold. The appraisal value was 60k even. I'm confused.

This house was sold in March then again in July and now on the market again. What could be the reasoning? I am kind of, I'll admit, in love with this house, but it needs quite a bit of minor work (that I know of so far, I've been in it twice). I don't think it is worth 70k w/ the repairs that need done but if I could get it for say 59k, I wouldn't hesitate. For 70k, my payments would be too expensive to be able to afford the extra work. ANY explanation as to what's going on here would be great. I could get pre-approved for the asking price, but wouldn't even bother w/ the hassle unless I could get it for way Less. OH YEAH ONE MORE THING....This house has been on the market since early June and the price hasn't dropped yet. Wonder why? Thanks all, I'll appreciate answers from those who have experience in this field.

Answer 1

The house was foreclosed on.  It sold the same way homes do in foreclosure, all over the country.  The price it was sold at, was the amount of money the client/homeowner, owed on it.  Has little to do with how much the house is worth.  The bank sends someone to the auction, to purchase it.  Like a law firm, or someone.  They always "bid" the amount that whoever is losing it, owes.  It's not like a real auction, where people just come to bid, thinking they'll get it cheap.  

Answer 2

Get yourself a good loan officer and Real estate agent that knows how to research this information.  They can get all the history and then you can maek an offer based on what the owner has into it.  Most likely, the bank that now owns it didn't buy it, they foreclosed on it.  I don't know where you got the information that the sherffs sold it.  If that were the case, then a person or group of persons would then now own it.  Just put in a low offer and see waht happens.  They might accept.

Answer 3

You can get approved for the amount but would the bank loan you the money with the house in this condition???  That is your greatest concern.

Answer 4

There are lots of mysteries in the world of real estate.  Some foreclosures show a "sale" price of $63,104 but it was never a sale.  The owner didn't pay his $61,000 loan.  With back payments and late fees and attorney fees, the number is $63,104.  No one outbid the bank at the foreclosure auction because no one believed that it was worth that much.  The bank can put the house up for any amount they wish, of course.

One other scenario:   The bank loaned $61,000 on a 1st loan and $30,000 on a 2nd loan.  They only foreclosed on the 1st but they lost all the money on the 2nd.  So , at the $70,000 asking price, the bank is losing a lot of money. /

Answer 5

Here's what probably happened.  The previous owner was not only behind on his mortgage but also his property taxes.  The house went up for sale at the sheriff's sale and sold.  The bank that had the mortgage on the house found out about the sheriff's sale and redeemed the property which is showing up as another sale.  Whenever a property sells at a sheriff's sale for back taxes the owner has a certain length of time to redeem the property or pay back the person who bid on it at the sheriff's sale.  Not always, but usually.  That's why if you bid on a property at a sheriff's sale you should wait the pre-determined length of time to do any work to the property because the owner might come back and redeem it and you would be out the money for repairs.  The reason the sheriff's sale had it at a lower value is because a lot of counties don't base property tax on the appraised value of the house, but the assessed value of the house.  They usually have some weird formula to figure up how much the assessed value is and then they charge a slight percentage for property tax.  Another thing that could have happened is that the bank who had the original mortgage may have sold it to another bank or company that buys foreclosures.  I don't know for sure that any of the above is what actually happened, but I'm giving you possible scenarios of what might have happened.  The house has only been on the market for 2 months and banks want to get the most out of a house they can.  It's likely they won't drop the price for some time.  But, you can go ahead and offer $59k and see what happens.  They might accept it or they might counter offer.  Most banks want to have proof of funds submitted with the offer so if you have not gotten approved for a mortgage yet you need to do that and ask the lender for a letter showing pre-approval.  Also, since the house needs repairs you'll most likely have to get a conventional loan.  Get things lined up with a lender and make an offer on the house and see what happens.