The Secret List

This is a popular topic I just couldn’t resist writing about and some words of advice for all home buyers out there.

Have you ever come across a website or link on social media that says, “CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF ALL THE FORECLOSURE PROPERTIES IN YOUR AREA” or “Register here for a secret list of all the foreclosure properties”?

Well here is a little secret for you….. Psst….There is no such thing!

Every Realtor® has access to all properties for sale in Greater Sudbury and Area. It would take me a few minutes to send you a link showing all the current Power of Sale properties (CLICK HERE if you'd like the current list sent to you with no strings attached.)  Don’t be fooled by a click bait ad. Call your trusted Realtors®….ME and my teammates will work with you to find the perfect home and it takes us literally seconds to send you the updated link!

But there are a few things you should know about a bank repo, foreclosure and power of sale:

• Foreclosure is extremely rare in Canada as banks never want to be in the home ownership game and it requires a massive amount of court intervention unlike a Power of Sale situation. This term is often used as the “click bait” attention getter just to get your info plugged into the agent’s database.

• In most cases in Canada, the bank doesn’t own the property and it’s being sold under Power of Sale. You’re probably wondering “well how is it possible for the bank to sell a property they don’t own?”  Title to the property is still registered to the person who is in default on their mortgage up until the last day when title transfers to the new buyer. At anytime prior to close, the current owner can make a full payment or negotiate with the bank for repayment terms and, if the bank is willing to accept the current owner’s terms, they can terminate your Agreement of Purchase and Sale without liability to you the Buyer and you’re back to square one even though you’ve already made commitments based on a specific closing date you thought was going to happen!

• The major misconception with buyers is they think “there’s a deal to be made and I can get this house for a low price”.  The bank will negotiate with you but, if a home is listed for $200,000.00, don’t think you’re going to steal it for $100,000.00.  The bank has a legal obligation to the current owner to get the maximum sale price they can for the property.  There is a long lead in before the bank lists a property under Power of Sale as they have to do their own homework.  They hire a Realtor® and an appraiser to give them values to fulfill their legal requirements and, once they have received those numbers, then they decide on a list price.  They often list high and, after a series of price reductions, they have the proof to the courts that they made all efforts to achieve and have received the maximum value. 

• Another misconception is that you’re negotiating with the bank. You’re not.  You’re actually negotiating with a lawyer and a calculator with zero emotion on the other side who simply makes sure the bank has completed all the necessary requirements under the law and minimized their loss before accepting an offer.  Sometimes it’s not even the first or the highest offer that gets the deal done, but rather the one that lands on the desk at the right time when all legalities have been satisfied.

• The home is always sold “as is, where is” and the bank makes no representations or warranties on anything in the home. It is very important that you do your due diligence with the help and guidance of your Realtor®. One of those things being a Home Inspection by a qualified home inspector. This will help you determine if there are any major issues with the home and if you are willing to take them on or not.
• A lot of times when someone has been ordered to vacate their home because they are in default on their mortgage, they inflict damage to the home as payback to the bank. We have seen it all – kitchen cabinets removed, light fixtures gone, bathroom mirrors shattered, broken toilets, large holes in the walls, half finished DYI renos and so on. When viewing these homes with your Realtor you want to make a list of the damage done and what the added costs would be associated with those repairs.

In conclusion, if you are interested in finding out more about bank repos or power of sales, my teammates and I would be happy to sit down and go over the process in more detail.  We have extensive experience with these matters to help you navigate through these situations.  Until then, I hope you enjoyed my blog this time and stay tuned for the next one!

Never hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments and suggestions, including any topics you’d like to see us discuss on here.  You can reach us anytime through our team email account – caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com – and keep coming back to see what’s new and exciting in Greater Sudbury!

Contributed by:

Amanda Gervais

Cell - 705.929.1930

agervais@realtyexecutives.com

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other salespersons, staff or affiliates of Realty Executives of Sudbury LTD. Brokerage, Realty Executives International, the Sudbury Real Estate Board, Ontario Real Estate Association, Canadian Real Estate Association or any of their subsidiaries.  For any concerns pertaining to the content herein, please contact us immediately at caswellteam@realtyexecutives.com.