Buying foreclosure in Arizona when living in Canada

[Andrea Murray]

I am a Canadian and considering buying foreclosure property In Arizona. I have contacted Real Estate Agent, but she doesn't seem to keen to help out as I'm assuming it's a lot of work for them without a guarantee sale. First of all, I guess I need to know if this is even doable if I am obiously, living in Canada and not being in the location. This is my first time so very green and cautious. Also I would love to hear of anyone's experiences in my situation.

[Jon Holdman]

Certainly you can buy a property.

Can you pay for it?

Are you willing to travel there?

[Andrea Murray]

Yes - I can pay for it. Yes - I can travel there. just wondering of the logistics. I am going for a few days in November however not sure it is possible to buy foreclosure during a short stint. All of the reading I have been doing seems like it is a longer process and very likely to be unsuccessful.

[Jon Holdman]

I would really recommend looking at the properties yourself. Foreclosure could cover several transaction. You could buy a pre-foreclosure via an agent. Probably a short sale. You could go to a sheriff's auction and buy there, especially if you have cash. Or, you could buy a bank owned, also via an agent. Assuming y ou mean the first or third, you would want to go and look at as many properties as possible. If you're only going to be there a few days, I'd try to look at 30-40 properties in those few days. That should give you 10 or so good candidates. Make offers on all 10. Don't worry, they won't all be accepted, unless you're offering too much. From that point, everything can be handled remotely.

There's no possible way to actually get an accepted offer in a few days with banks involved. A week maybe. But only the looking needs to be in person. Everything else can be done by e-mail, fax, or Fedex.

[Scott Hubbard]

In Arizona, you can hire a consultant who may be a real estate agent or investor who will go to the trustee sales (auctions) and purchase on your behalf. Your money is funded through and titled through an escrow and title company so the agent or investor never sees the money. The property is purchased either with a trust or an LLC.

You pre-approve the purchase of several properties based on the published foreclosure lists. The bidder will inspect the properties you choose (as much as possible). Since it is a numbers game, several properties should be preselected since you never can tell what will actually be available and when.

You pay an upfront fee for this "bidder" service, but usually it costs less then RE commissions. For that fee, you get an experienced buyer of auction properties which is incredibly key since you need to know what your bidding on.

I know of several buyers, including foreign investors, who have used these successfully. Since your pre-selecting the properties, you have a price limit, the funds are held in escrow, and title is made in an entity you control, your only risk is the upfront fee.

Of course, one of true risks, which is common with most properties purchased on the court steps, is your buying As-Is and you may never get to see the inside.

Good Luck.

[Scott R.]

Trustee sales in Tucson seem to be a joke, last month I think one of the properties actually sold as all the rest were over priced, i think short sales would be better in Tucson, but I'm assuming your looking to invest in Phoenix?
-Scott

[Scott Hubbard]

Originally posted by Scott Ricenbaw:
Trustee sales in Tucson seem to be a joke, last month I think one of the properties actually sold as all the rest were over priced, i think short sales would be better in Tucson, but I'm assuming your looking to invest in Phoenix?
-Scott

Yes, they are a joke here in Tucson. I prefer the Phoenix market for short sales, REOs and auctions. I am very active in short sales in tucson too.