Foreclosure Bargain Hunters Find Their Quarry Elusive / WaPo

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301985.html?referrer=email






Foreclosure Bargain Hunters Find Their Quarry Elusive

By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 14, 2007; D01



Bargain-hungry house hunters have turned their attention to the growing pool of foreclosures on the region's market. But the sweet deals, if they find them, come with plenty of challenges, in part because many buyers have unrealistic expectations about what it takes to buy a house owned by a lender.

Some potential buyers don't find the rock-bottom prices they expect. Others can't get the banks to promptly respond to offers. Many give up before they get that far because they're overwhelmed by the repairs some homes require.

The lenders, usually large corporate entities based far from the homes they're selling, may not be eager to strike a deal, said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication. Some may want to hang on to a home so they can avoid reporting it as a loss. Others may be less motivated to sell in areas like Washington, where the volume of foreclosures is relatively low, than they are in more economically troubled areas.

There are 16 foreclosures for every 10,000 properties in the Washington area, compared with the national average of 37, according to George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis. In Detroit, Las Vegas and Atlanta, the rate exceeds 100.

"When lenders start seeing foreclosed properties coming in faster than they're going out, that's when they're most motivated to sell," Cecala said. "In this area, we're probably just at the start of the rising foreclosure market. In another six months, there may be more deals."

GOOD PRIMER FOR INTERESTED PARTIES.