Search all Bank Owned Foreclosures & Short Sales – Distressed Property in Squaw Valley, Truckee & North Lake Tahoe by communities
Here are links to the Distressed Properties in our various communities. Due to the reduced number of Distressed Properties currently listed in our market (see below) you may not see any listings on some of these pages.
North Lake Tahoe Tahoe City Westshore Lake Tahoe
Alpine Meadows Squaw Valley Truckee River
Truckee Tahoe Donner Martis Valley
Northstar Donner Lake & Donner Summit
Sierra County Surrounding Area
Our market has changed! It appears to be returning to pre downturn conditions. Prior to the beginning of the economic downturn in 2008 Distressed Property listings (Bank Owned and Short Sales) were very rare in our market. From 2009 through 2012 that was not the case, Distressed Property listings were generally between 30% and 33% of the total number of active residential listings in our market and sales of those Distressed Properties were between 26% and 31% of total residential listings sold. Currently only 3% of our active residential listings are Distressed Properties! What is also interesting is that escrow closing on Short Sales has increased by 16% over last year while Bank Owned closings have declined by 5%. What is happening nationally is also happening here. More banks seem to be allowing Short Sales and more quickly processing them which is resulting in fewer Foreclosures.
Bank Owned Listings are properties that have either been foreclosed on by the lender or the owner has deeded them back to the lender.
Short Sale Listings are properties that have a market value of less than what the seller owes the lender and the seller has gotten the lender to agree to consider accepting a payoff that is less than the amount due on the mortgage.
Pros and Cons of Bank Owned and Short Sale Listings
Purchase of either of these type of listings can often give the buyer a property at less than current market value, and in some cases, substantially less. However there can also be issues that are worth considering before making an offer.
Bank Owned properties usually come with unencumbered title, which is assured by a policy of title insurance, but due to the large number of foreclosures that lenders have been dealing with, some lenders have used questionable practices (robo-signing) in processing foreclosures. These practices and the fact that many of these mortgages have changed hands many times from investor to investor has brought into question who really has the right to foreclose and therefore, is the title on the sale of a Bank Owned property really unencumbered! Also, when somebody is loosing their home they often stop adequately maintaining the home and property and in some cases deliberately damage the property. Bank Owned properties come with no warranties, they are sold as is. So, buyers should be very cautious and very thorough in their due diligence.
Short Sale listings are still owned by the seller and usually do not have title issues. The problems arise in dealing with the lender (or in some cases, lenders). Just because a lender has agreed to consider accepting a lower payoff doesn’t mean that they have agreed to the list price or will agree to the price in an offer to purchase. In many cases the seller is behind on payments and may also be delinquent on HOA dues and taxes. Most lenders (not all) are overwhelmed by the number of loans that are delinquent and are not adequately staffed to deal with the offers they get, and often it appears that they do not have specific guidelines for this process. In many cases the buyer and his agent get conflicting information from the lender (although lenders do seem to be improving their processing of Short Sales). I have had several Short Sale escrows that have been quick (14 days to 28 days) and easy but many that have been drawn out for as much as 8 to 12 months. Some of those closed escrow, some did not. So, the buyer of a Short Sale must be prepared to be very patient, deal with many obstacles and realize that even if the offer is accepted by both the seller and the lender that does not mean that the escrow will close. Also, as with Bank Owned properties, there are often similar maintenance issues and usually sellers will not negotiate those issues.
Distressed Properties have brought the whole market down. Prices for Standard Listings (non distressed properties) on average are substantially lower than similar listings were several years ago. Smart buyers do not have to purchase a Distressed Property to get a good buy, they look at all listings that fit their criteria. In many cases a Standard Listing will be close in price but will not come with the issues mentioned above.
This information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
