Month-by-month increases in foreclosures are breaking records that go back 30 years, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The number of mortgage loans now in foreclosure has risen to almost three percent of total loans, up 76 percent from a year ago. The MBA expects the final total of foreclosure actions initiated during 2008 to exceed 2.2 million.

ìThe record number of foreclosures has grabbed the headlines, but buying one of these properties is not as easy as it looks,î says Clark W. Toole, III President, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. ìConsumers need skilled consultation from an experienced real estate professional to shop the market for a foreclosed home and navigate through a transaction that varies quite a bit from the norm.î

Toole commented that lenders are pricing foreclosed homes aggressively and buyers need to be pre-approved for a mortgage before they start their search so they can react quickly when they find the right home. ìBuyers also need to be realistic about fixing defects that come up during inspections because many of these homes have been neglected by their former owners,î said Toole.

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate has sales professionals across all Florida markets who specialize in representing lenders selling foreclosed homes commonly known as REO properties, which stands for ìreal estate ownedî by a bank or government lender.

The ability to buy a foreclosed home at a deep discount today is illustrated by Joyce Sundar, a sales associate at the Southwest Orlando office, who recently completed a sale. ìWith a first-time homebuyer on a single teacherís salary we found a 1,857-square foot home that was priced at $159,000. The previous owner had paid $306,600 for it just three years ago. The buyer is thrilled with their purchase and plans to live in the home for many years.î Jewell Bryant and Marianne Bartlett, Co-Branch Managers of the Southwest Orlando office, attribute the efficiency of the transactions to the expertise of their team in handling REO properties.

Sundar added that buyers interested in a foreclosure need to be patient with the transaction process because buying a home from a bank or government owner can take up to three months. According to Sundar, ìYou need time for a title search and an evaluation of the condition of the property. In many cases you are in a bidding situation and negotiating with an institutional owner can take time. But with a record number of properties on the market and prices down dramatically from two to three years ago, most buyers tell us the end result is worth the wait.î