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Foreclosures - Naples, FL

Posted by Dan Boyle on Thursday, January 9th, 2014 at 1:04pm.

Foreclosures Naples FL

Foreclosures For Sale in Naples, FL

For the last few years now, the word "foreclosure" has been on the lips of half the buyers that contact us.  Now, the vast majority of those don't limit their home shopping to foreclosures.  In fact,  very few actually buy one but it certainly has been a well-worn topic.  These days, foreclosures have all but disappeared from Marco Island.  The Marco Island MLS currently shows only four foreclosures on Marco Island.  For any variety, you are going to have to look for foreclosures in Naples, FL.

Where have all the foreclosures gone?  Well, there were never that many to begin with - on Marco Island, that is.  Marco certainly took a hit when the market collapsed in 2006 and our foreclosure rate climbed significantly.  Compared to most other parts of Florida, though, it was never that bad.

If you are strictly in search of a foreclosure in 2014, you'll find yourself over in Naples.  You don't have to go that far from Marco Island to search for your diamond in the rough, though. South Naples will give you plenty to sift through.  

You Won't Buy a Foreclosure

Yeah, seriously. You won't.  We've seen it a thousand times.  People come to Florida grasping tightly to some anecdote they heard about someone buying a foreclosure for half of its true value. Don't get me wrong.  I'm pretty sure it has happened - like I'm pretty sure life exists somewhere else in the Universe.  I've just never seen it.  What I have seen is a bunch of junky houses with their guts ripped out selling for 95-105% of their true value.  Sure, I have a story or two of my own where one of our customers grabbed a great deal but they had to jump as soon as the bank listed the home and then pay over asking price to get it.  Even then, they might have realized a discount of 10% to true value.  I know what you're saying, "10% is 10%."  I would agree except I know the work that the buyer invested in staying on top of new foreclosure listings for a year. Add to that the fact that they were here and ready to move in the middle of our off-season.  They needed to get a 10% discount to break even on the work invested.  If you add up the total effort expended by all would-be foreclosure buyers and factor-in their gross savings, chasing foreclosures is a giant loser.

The Good News

The good news for buyers is that foreclosures have forced the prices of all properties lower.  If you shop around a little you'll see that foreclosures are rarely bargains.  Keep watching our blog for more good news.

1 Response to "Foreclosures - Naples, FL"

Stephen in Orlando wrote: Thanks for sharing the great insight here Dan. A recent report showed that there was a bit of a jump in the number of foreclosure filings towards the end of year in the Orlando metro area. Know this was most likely due to slower court dockets during the holiday season, but I am sure it has gained the interest of a few would-be real estate investors looking on the hunt for bargain deals. I think this is advice that should be heeded no matter your experience level.

Posted on Friday, February 14th, 2014 at 2:56pm.

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