We have a TON of foreclosures in Miami and I was just told one of the leading foreclosure attorneys for the banks has a backlog of 3,000 files that haven't even begun to be processed! Until the foreclosures slow and the inventory is absorbed, our "stabilization" is still a long way out.
The basic MO for a Miami foreclosure has been a stripped unit; at it's most "intact" stage, just the applicances were missing, next stage included the AC units and most destroyed included any and all metal the vandals/thiefs could make off with including the electrial wiring and box, the plumbing piping and even the window mullions. Stage 1, 2 or 3 was so much the 
norm that I would have to warm all of my new foreclsoure buyers what they should expect and make sure they had the financing to purchase a home that was 1) uninhabitable and 2) needing significant repairs.
Investors, for obvious reasons, have been the best candidates for purchasing the foreclosures as they often are cash buyers and have the funds to put into the property. Knowing they were the only game in town if the banks wanted to unload their properties, they would lowball the heck out of the price and buy at virtually pennies on the dollar furhter driving down the entire market.
The retail buyers, the ones who are truly looking for a home to live in, haven't been able to compete due to the inability to finance these properties (not even taking into consideration the credit crunch).
In the past few weeks, my investor buyers and I have stumbled across a new theme emerging in the Miami foreclosure market.... Habital foreclosures! The banks or corporate owners have actually gone in, completed the necessary repairs and have the properties still priced well. The investors won't bid on these properties as they know they cannot use the condition of the property as leverage and the retail buyers are no longer precluded from traditional fianancing due to the condition.
I guess the REO departments wised up and realized that the $5,000 to $20,000 they might invest into the repairs is far less than what an investor is going to hack off the list price. If this pattern takes off and spreads, we will start to see two benefits to the Miami Real Estate market; 1) retail buyers wil be able to take advantage of the disounted pricing and 2) the floor will begin to be established in our market as the investor pricing of pennies on the dollar is slowed.
If you are interested in seeing what foreclosures in Miami are like, follow the link to a
list of nearly 2,000 Miami Foreclosures!
If you are an buyer looking for a foreclosure property(s) in Miami, please give me a call, I'd love to help you with your search!
Janie Coffey, Broker, 786-252-4970
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