Every week I have practiced real estate, I get asked about foreclosures.
People want my list of foreclosures.
I am going to tell you something really profound. Are you paying attention?
JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS A FORECLOSURE, DOESN'T MEAN IT IS A GOOD DEAL!(Repeat 3 times for full effect)
I once paid $50 for the secret that I am going to tell you.
The truth is that the fastest way to find the cheapest home on the market is to search by square footage.
So what you do is take the list price and divide it by the square footage.
The cheapest home on the market might be a foreclosure, and it might be just a regular home that someone has put on the market.
I have sold many foreclosures. It has been my experience that they are sometimes fixer-uppers, and sometimes they really aren't a good deal.
FORECLOSURES DOESN'T NECESSARILY EQUAL A GOOD DEAL.
So if you want to find a bargain home or something that may be a foreclosure, ask me to send you all the homes in a square footage range.
For example, "Burke, I would like all the homes that are at least 2000 square feet or bigger in Bonneville county." You can even get more specific like, "Please send me all the 2000 square foot homes that are at least 3 bedroom, 2 bath homes, with a 2 car garage, on one acre." Email me at
burkebennett@hotmail.com with this request.
Target Home
I always recommend that you buy at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. If you can afford a two car garage, I recommend this also. I recommend you try and get at least 1000 square foot per level of home.
If you get any smaller, the home just seems too small.
I realize every one might not be able to afford this, but this is the median home that is the "bread and butter" home that I sell the most of.
I send you the email with the list of homes. Right before your eyes and within seconds, you will have found the best deal on the market.
Write down 5 to 10 multiple listing numbers that you want to go see. We can take some afternoon and hit all of them in 1 to 3 hours.
Of course, I highly recommend you walk through about 5 of them. If a home is $53 per square foot, but needs $10,000 worth of repairs, you can add that to the list price and then divided it by the square footage.
Is it still a good deal?
Questions you ask yourself are what about floor plan, neighborhood, repairs, etc etc. Sometimes I wouldn't touch the cheapest home on the market square footage wise with a ten foot pole, and you shouldn't either.
Remember, some day you are going to want to sell this home to someone else. You need to think neutral colors, practical floor plans, location, location, location.
I have advised some of my clients to not buy homes. They insist. Then two years later they call me and say sell that home. Can I sell it? Maybe, but sometimes the answer is no.
One home for example has the kitchen right as you enter the front door. I told the buyer don't buy this home, it really has a crappy floor plan. The rest of the home was awesome, but you walked right into the kitchen which say to the woman, "no way no how."
Then I tried to sell it. The owner wanted immediate feedback. What do you think everyone who walked through that home said? They all said that they didn't like the kitchen being right by the front door.
Another client, wanted a home in Bel Aire. Bel Aire is kind of a run down neighborhood in Idaho Falls. I told him not to buy it because of the location. What is the feedback on this home?
Noone wants to live in Bel Aire. Imagine that?
So, you need to look for a home where other people want to live that has a practical floor plan that almost anyone would love. Price is important, but not as important as the floor plan and location.
You may not be able to find the perfect home, but I have given you some really good suggestions to help you find a better home than most people would pick out on their own.
I use to kind of let the person do their own search plan. I still will, but if your goal is to buy something that you can get in and out of, let me coach you a little bit.
In my opinion, fixer uppers kind of tend to drain your cash, and really don't end up being that great of a deal.
People have this vision of putting in all this work into a home, and that some how it will raise the value by a gazillion dollars. Some of these guys are lucky to break even. Yes some make money, and that really depends on the deal.
I have had multiple people believe differently. Don't believe me. I will help you find out for yourself to find out what I am telling you is true.
I have found that banks (as sellers) really don't care if the home is a good deal. They sometimes will stick it on the market for what ever the home accross the street is.
They get a broker's price opinion like everyone else when they price their home. They hire a realtor.
The truth is I can't even search by foreclosures. Bank owned properties are listed side by side on the market with homes that aren't foreclosures.
I can tell you if any of the homes you picked are foreclosures.
I swear people sometimes pile up 10 deep to get this wonderful deal, "The foreclosure." When really this is probably one of the most over hyped words in real estate history.
So if you want me to find you a good deal, be specific. Ask me to send you homes by square footage, or by acreage. Email me your request at
burkebennett@hotmail.comI bought a brand new brick home on the market that was 5000 square feet with 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms with a finished basement on 2.3 acres for only $53 per square foot.
This was not a foreclosure. It was the best home on the market for the price though, and magically enough has gone up in value over $100,000 since I have owned it because I bought it right.
Homes that are newer that are in a good location, and that are priced to move will appreciate a lot faster than an old home that needs tons of updates and repairs.
Sometimes the cheap old home is really not that cheap. Make sure you get a nice line of credit at the home depot if you don't believe me.
I have walked through total disasters of homes, and they only want $77 per square feet. People see the list price and think well, it's still $4000 cheaper than the home across the street.
When in reality, the home across the street is 800 square feet bigger and for only $4000 more dollars you are getting a better deal that will appreciate faster.
People look at the price tag, when really the formula needs to be List Price divided by square footage.
Right now we have several realtors who only deal with foreclosures. I have analyzed some of their listings and conclude that some are good deals, and some are just money pits that need a whole lot of work to get the home so it is saleable.
If you want a good deal, team up with me. I can find it in minutes.
I have had multiple classes on foreclosures, shortsales, wholesaling etc, but the formula that really makes sense is :TAKE THE LIST PRICE AND DIVIDE IT BY THE SQUARE FOOTAGE. (Repeat 3 times for full effect)
I just saved you $20,000 in educational costs.
Believe me that there is no magical secret. It is what I have stated above.
I look forward to working with you. Let me help you pick out the best home in your price range.
I can help you get financing and coach you on other things that are important.
Email me your request today at
burkebennett@hotmail.comThanks Burke Bennett
208 589 5599
http://www.seidahohomes.com/
Our MLS (Multiple Listing Service) finally gave us the power in our software to search for foreclosures and short sales.
