Yesterday we had our monthly Horry County Foreclosure Sale at the Courthouse. All the usual suspects were duly present: the "movers and shakers", the sharks and their agents, "the suits" (the lawyers) and many spectators. "The Show" was dry, especially now that the Presiding Judge, who is Southern, stopped calling "Deutsche Bank" - "Douche Bag, I mean Douche Bank"...
...So where's the beef? 
Out of 201 properties on the Foreclosure List, The Plaintiffs (the Banks) ended up with 112 of them (55.72%).
77 properties were "Pulled" from the auction (38.31%). Some got pulled due to bankruptcy, some managed to obtain loan modifications, a few were short sales, but the majority of them will be bid on at next month's Foreclosure Auction.
All in all, only 12 properties (5.97%) were acquired by new owners, investors who hopefully bought them for pennies on the dollar.
All the work and preparation that goes into getting ready for this Spectacle of sorts, for what: a mere 5.97% success ratio?
Hey, where's the beef?
7 comments • Myrtle Beach Real Estate by Mirela Monte • September 03 2008 07:53PM
You should have been here when the Judge had his way with the "Deutsche Bank" misnomer... Now, that was a show!
It's a sad sad state of affairs. I wonder how many of those banks refused to negotiate a short sale?
Mirela, You put some great statistics together. 5% is pretty pathetic success rate isn't it? But it doesn't surprise me; in the last two months I've put two offers in on a foreclosure only to have them turned down and the NEXT week, the property is reduced to less than they countered! House still sits on the market when I have a buyer who will buy it- take the risk- in it's present condition. Doesn't make sense to me.
Debbie: It is sad, isn't it?
Entire neighborhoods are becoming Ghost towns...
It's a shame we find ourselves in this situation. Agents often work hard to help clients avoid foreclosure and work on short sales. Way too often they run into a bank that is either difficult to work with or refuses to communicate with the agent forcing a property into foreclosure. I would think that banks would fare much better by working proactively with agents to accomplish a short sale rather than going the foreclosure route.
Jon: Destroyed people... destroyed properties... destroyed neighborhoods...
No one wins here.
the investors of course for the most part have not seen the properties. I am always surprised though that they do not make a bid, before the bank bids it in.
As far as short sales missed, are short sales presented to a high percentage of distressed properties. I know short sales are much more common that in previous years, but unfortunately so are foreclosures.
What percentage of distressed properties are presented a short sale offer?
Richard