Warming up to Charlotte Foreclosure Homes.

Charlotte Foreclosure Homes just got more attractive to the wary investor and home buyer, waiting for the market to turn in their favor. The real estate market (and season) has the first touch of cold.

Summer has ended in Charlotte; the skyline is tinged gold as the deciduous trees lining the streets display their autumn hues. It’s said to be a “balanced” real estate market in Charlotte this fall. Markets are balanced or neutral when interest rates are affordable, loan liquidity is normal, and the number of sellers and buyers in the marketplace are about equal. Owners/borrowers experiencing a financial squeeze, facing readjusted mortgage payments and unable to refinance, are going to find it tougher to sell their homes to avoid foreclosure. It may take a lot longer than expected.

In a balanced market median sales prices are flattened. Mecklenburg County is already seeing clusters of foreclosed property in some neighborhoods, and this tends to pull prices down in the immediate vicinity. The barometer on the west, north and east sides of the county, where much of the lower priced housing and land is to be found, will have turned from “balanced” to “cold.” In a cold market sellers under pressure, determined to sell to resolve their squeeze, will be very willing to negotiate.

A local rule of thumb says that 40 to 50% of pre foreclosures in Mecklenburg go on to auction suggesting that those are the homes where there is little or no equity, or with borrowers “underwater” as declining prices mean a home’s value is now less than the mortgage debt. That indicates that many home buyers and investors successfully negotiate that extra discount off market value directly with the owner/borrower before the auction.

Work out a deal that makes all parties more comfortable, a little cash for the seller, a load off the mind of the lender, and instant equity for you, the smart buyer of a pre foreclosure home in Charlotte.

Philip Smith is the writer of http://www.foreclosureconnections.com. Your Source of Charlotte Foreclosure Homes online.