Today’s Insight video focuses on bank foreclosures.

Are Foreclosures always a good buy?  Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren’t – you have to do your homework.  Look at comps, work with an agent who understands the market.  When you do your homework you are going to come out ahead.

Check out a list of the best of the best Hilton Head Island foreclosures and short sales!

Today’s Real Estate “Deal of the Day” is a spectacular bank foreclosure opportunity in Wexford Plantation at 37 Yorkshire Drive.

This builder’s masterpiece is good as new and has never been lived in.  This Mediterranean style home has over 6800 square feet of the finest luxury including 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths, 3 half baths, 3-car garage, 2 laundry rooms plus an office, theatre and game room.

Enjoy your beautiful private swimming pool which overlooks the golf course.

This bank foreclosure opportunity won’t last long – priced at $1,799,000!  See over 40 photos of 37 Yorkshire Drive…

Several years ago, we didn’t hear much of foreclosures and short sales on Hilton Head Island.  Now it seems like a common word in our vocabulary.

So, do you know the difference between a short sale and a bank foreclosure?  Sometimes people are confused by what might come from participating in a foreclosure or a short sale.  Hopefully the following link can help clear up some of the questions you might have.

*foreclosure vs short sale

*Information is deemed reliable, but should be verified by all parties

I recently had a foreclosure property listed for sale and we received 7 offers on the property.  After the property closed I had a client ask me why the sales price was higher than the list price. 

When putting an offer in on a foreclosure property, it is important to remember that the bank is usually most interested in an offer with as few contingencies as possible – usually “as-is” with no contingencies and a preapproval letter from a bank.  This is especially important when you are competing with other offers as in this case.  

My tip for someone who wants to make an offer with no contingencies but it worried about something being wrong with the property; get a home inspection prior to making an offer – if you are pleased with the results then your offer will look great and you will have some peace of mind. 

IInterested in buying a foreclosure?  Check out some of the best foreclosures and short sale properties available on the market. 

It amazes me that people automatically assume when a bank lists a piece of property as a foreclosure that they are going to take a significantly lower offer on the property.  For example, I have a beautiful villa listed at $299,000 and I recently received an offer from another agent for $150,000.  Everyone knows that this villa is worth significantly more than $150,000; in fact, it is probably worth more than $299,000.  At one point in time this villa was worth around $600,000. 

An agent I work with did a study of foreclosures looking at list price vs. sales price.  He found that these properties sold for 98.8% of list price.

One of the reasons that this percentage is so high is because several properties sold for over list price.  For example, I had an oceanfront home listed for sale in Palmetto Dunes.  Within one day of listing this property I had 9 offers which drove the price up. 

So you think you can offer a low price on a foreclosure; it’s a nice thought, but in the real world it doesn’t always work.

I filmed a television program on WHHI recently and the hot topic was foreclosures.  I have touched on this before, but I think that there are some misconceptions concerning foreclosures.  The press makes it sound like banks are walking into homes and kicking homeowners out.  I have not handled one foreclosure where this has been the case.  Actually, all of the property homeowners I have dealt with did not want their property because they were under water on their mortgage and they wanted to walk away. 

So in reality, the banks have been made out to be the bad guys when in some instances the homeowners themselves are the ones abusing the banks – living in their homes for months without making payments. 

What are your thoughts on foreclosures?

Here is a brief update on the Hilton Head Island real estate market during the week of October 18th – 24th. 

There were 43 sales last week in the Hilton Head Island MLS; 28 homes, 9 villas and 6 homesites.

Following is the breakdown by area of these sales: 2 in Sea Pines Plantation, 3 in Forest Beach, 2 in Shipyard, 5 in Palmetto Dunes, one in Port Royal Plantation, 2 in Hilton Head Plantation, one in Indigo Run, 5 in Hilton Head off plantation areas, one on Daufuskie Island, two in Bluffton off plantation areas, two in Moss Creek, one in Belfair, one in Berkeley Hall, four in Sun City, one in Oldfield, four in Hampton Hall, four in Hampton Lake, one in Jasper County and one in Barnwell County. 

Of these sales, 10 were foreclosures and 6 were short sales.  Click here to see a list of current foreclosure and short sale properties in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton.

I recently saw a study by RealtyTrac which looked at the number of foreclosures in the country; it stated that during the 2nd quarter of 2010 that 15% of all sales in our country were foreclosures.  What really amazed me were the percentages by state; 43% of California’s sales were foreclosures, 32% of Michigan’s sales were foreclosures, 27% of Georgia’s sales were foreclosures, 24% of Illionois’ sales were foreclosures and 20% of Ohio’s sales were foreclosures.   

I was quite surprised to see that Georgia had such a high percentage of foreclosures because I consider them to have a fairly stable economy.  In Fulton County there are 15,000 foreclosures and 11,000 normal properties on the real estate market, in Cobb County there are 7,200 foreclosures and 6,100 normal properties on the market and in Gwinett County there are 10,000 foreclosures and 6,000 regular properties.  If you look outside the Atlanta area the percentages become more reasonable.   

I don’t know the numbers for South Carolina, but Iowa had the lowest percentage with 4.43% of sales that were bank foreclosures. 

Unfortunately, these bank foreclosures will continue to have a negative effect on the real estate market – foreclosures tend to put pressure on prices. 

We have to work through these foreclosures to get the market turned around.

In the meantime, if you are looking for a great deal on Hilton Head Island there are some excellent opportunities available in foreclosure, short sale and normal properties.  Click here to see a list of foreclosure and short sale properties on Hilton Head Island.

We just listed a phenomenal bank foreclosure in Sea Pines Plantation; 6 Sylvan Lane is priced at $1,195,000. 

This almost brand new house was completed in the fall of 2007 , with over 4,900 square feet of fine craftsmanship with attention paid to every detail. Teak and stone floors, granite countertops, gourmet kitchen open to breakfast room and family room, master and guest suite on the first floor. Open floor plan perfect for entertaining friends and family. Large rear porch overlooking lagoon.

See all of my bank foreclosure and short sale listings in the Hilton Head Island and Bluffton area.