FORECLOSURES - Coweta County Georgia

September 16th, 2008 Chris Helton Posted in Foreclosures & Best Buys No Comments »

Coweta County Real Estate

FORECLOSURES in Coweta County
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As a Coweta County REALTOR, I get asked all the time, "How can I find a Great Deal on a home?"  Well, it has never been easier than now.  There are several homes on the market that are cheaper than it cost to build them.  At the rate of increase that we are seeing in Coweta County, you should be able to find a great deal very quickly. 

Foreclosure Coweta County Newnan Georgia

The key factor is working with a real estate agent with the right tools and the know-how.  You have to have the right tools in order to be the first offer on the table (you have to get there before everyone else does).  The best deals go quickly, sometimes even before they hit the MLS.  If you do not show up ready to play, the best deals will be under contract before you step a foot inside the home.  So now your asking "well how do I do that?"  

  • Step 1 - Fill out the little box to the left (under the Foreclosure Photo)
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  • Step 3 - We will meet for 15-20 minutes to create your game plan.

 

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FORECLOSURES

 


  • The Weekly Top 10 Best Buys in Coweta County

 

 

Here is an article that was in the Newnan Times Herald on Foreclosures in Coweta County…

177 Coweta Homes in Foreclosure - (The most ever in Coweta County)

The number of foreclosures in Coweta County continues to rise, and it has now reached an alarming new high, with 177 homes in foreclosure this month.  The foreclosures take up more than 16 pages of The Times-Herald’s 18-and-a-half-page Legal Advertisements section today– which had to be printed in two separate sections of legal ads.  That’s an increase from 137 foreclosures advertised last month, and it also tops the previous high of 156 in January of this year. 

Just one year ago — in September 2007 — there were 109 foreclosures, so the new figure represents an increase of 62 percent. Foreclosures have been significantly up from the previous year every single month in 2008.  The 2007 numbers were also up from the number of foreclosures in 2006, although not as significantly. The number of monthly foreclosures in 2006 hovered between 60 and 85, while just a few years earlier, when refinancing of homes was still common, 15 to 20 per month was the general average.  Here’s a month-by-month breakdown of the foreclosures advertised in The Times-Herald classifieds this year:

* Jan. 2008 — 156 (up from 94 in 2007, 73 in 2006)
* Feb. 2008 — 123 (up from 94 in 2007, 72 in 2006)
* Mar. 2008 — 128 (up from 87 in 2007, 68 in 2006)
* Apr. 2008 — 145 (up from 91 in 2007, 60 in 2006)
* May 2008 — 128 (up from 71 in 2007, 85 in 2006)
* Jun. 2008 — 125 (up from 79 in 2007, 62 in 2006)
* Jul. 2008 — 136 (up from 70 in 2007)
* Aug. 2008 — 137 (up from 112 in 2007)
* Sept. 2008 — 177 (up from 109 in 2007)

Dr. William Joey Smith, assistant professor of economics with the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, said that this week’s government bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should help to change the game, but he cautioned that prognosticators are still saying that a full recovery of the ailing housing isn’t expected for as long as two years.  "The reason for the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was to provide stability and to provide government backing, to help ensure that everyone maintains faith that they can do the job they were intended to do," said Smith.  "This should help make Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae solvent, to ensure that they maintain their ability to perform their operations and that they continue to promote investment in housing."
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both "hold a large percentage of mortgages in the market," Smith said, "and the hope is that this will stabilize that market."

The stock market initially responded positively to the takeover, but those gains were soon erased, Smith said.
"We saw a little bit of health right after the takeover, but the next day the market went back down again," he said.
Economists are expecting the takeover to give investors "a little bit of hope" and "attract funds back into those institutions."  The fact that mortgage rates dropped almost immediately is a positive sign, he said.  "But going forward, the forecasts all over the board say that nine months to two years is the time frame we might be looking at for an upturn in the housing market," said Smith. "I’m going to try to remain a little more positive than that."  Karen Waite, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Bullard Realty, said that the deflated housing market has hit local Realtors hard.  "A lot of the Realtors I know went from an income of $70,000 or so to an income of less than $10,000," said Waite, a single mom who has opened a bookstore in Sharpsburg, the Book Nook, to help make ends meet.  "A lot of Realtors have hung up their licenses and they’re looking for another job," she said, because homes are sitting unsold for 200 days or even a year.  "It’s bad everywhere, really," Waite said. "It’s very tough to survive with real estate without a second income, so a lot of Realtors have taken on a second job. I’d say that if you were to ask 100 agents, more than half of them have taken a second job.  "But, of course, some counties have been hit harder than others," she said.  She said that 16 pages of foreclosures is the most she can remember seeing in the newspaper.  "Normally about six pages is the most I’ve seen," she said.  "But we’re hoping that the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae takeover will have a good impact," Waite said. "No one really knows yet. I mean, I think we know it’s going to help, but we just don’t know how."   

Buyers and sellers are also waiting for the Housing Stimulus Act to take effect later this fall, she said.  "That should loosen the FHA guidelines to help troubled buyers get into a home," she said.  It’s not all bad news, Waite pointed out. The slow market means there are a lot of bargains to be found.  "Foreclosures in places like Clayton County — that’s the whole newspaper," said Waite. "You can find homes for 50 percent off there. So if you have money laying around that’s only earning 5 percent, now is a great time to buy some investment property.  "A lot of people are scared. But getting a home for half off, when does that ever happen?" she asked. "There’s such a discount. I mean, you can just put a home on a credit card. I’ve seen them for less than $20,000, and if they’ve been on the market for a long time, you can talk them down.

"But you have to make sure your credit is perfect," Waite said, "or you’re going to pay cash. Because loans are very, very hard to get."  Dr. Smith said that declining rates should help more prospective homebuyers qualify for loans.
Normally when a buyer with good credit is trying to purchase a home, loans will be made at about three-and-half times that applicant’s annual income, Smith said. But interest rates are factored in when it comes to determining whether payments will be affordable.  "So if you’re right at the margin at 7 percent, if rates drop to 6 percent, then the payment is smaller, and suddenly you may qualify for a loan on that house, whereas you wouldn’t have before," Smith said.  "One of the things you have to take into consideration is the ability to make that payment," Smith said.
But banks are undoubtedly more conservative than they have been in years past, he said.  "They’re going to take a very conservative viewpoint when it comes to evaluating people at the margin," he said. "They may be looking deeper into credit records and income statements. And if banks are digging deeper and being more inquisitive, then there may continue to be a lot of people who will not qualify.  "Banks aren’t just dealing with numbers anymore," he said. "They’re taking a more conservative viewpoint, overall."  

Derenda Rowe, executive director of One Roof outreach ministry in Newnan, said that she gets a "gut feeling" every time she opens up the newspaper when the new round of foreclosures is listed.  "It shakes me up," she said of the more than 16 pages of foreclosures. "Every time I open up the newspaper, there’s something."  But she’s not just reading about these problems. In her job, she’s seeing the results of the housing crisis and floundering economy on a day-to-day basis.  "One family we were working with, they were foreclosed on prior to the first of the year, and then they were renting, and then they lost the rental house, too," she said.  But most of the people Rowe sees are actually being evicted from rentals rather than dealing with foreclosures, she said.  "I think people who have been homeowners probably don’t know how to work the system," she said. "They either don’t know what’s available to them or they have family who are helping them."  She said there’s no lack of housing and rental properties, but "no one can afford them."  

If people have family members they can live with during times of crisis, "then they are blessed," she said. But there are many who have nowhere to turn.  "For a lot of people, their family members are having the same problems they’re having, because of this economy," said Rowe.  "It’s very difficult for people who are used to having everything their entire lives to suddenly have everything pulled out from under them," she said. "We’ve had people looking for a car just so they can have a place to sleep.  "Right now I don’t have any answers," she said. "I have suggestions, but no answers."  Her message box gets full faster than she can check her messages, she said.  "We’ve just been bombarded with people who need to get their utility bills paid," said Rowe. "A lot of people are asking for help with their rent. And we’re not always able to help. 

Most of the time the rent we can help with is less than $500, but people have such high rents these days."  The community has been very good about coming through in this time of need and helping One Roof meet these challenges, she said.  "But the money is gone almost as fast as it comes in," she sad. "It’s a problem."  It’s only going to get worse during the winter, when people are faced with $300 tanks of propane or escalating natural gas costs.  "There’s just not enough money, a lot of times," she said. "It’s especially difficult for a lot of our elderly people, because their incomes are just not stretching far enough to pay all the bills."

The Coweta Community Food Pantry fed 1,045 people last month with 10 days worth of food, she said.  "I’d say that the need has been pretty steady," Rowe said. "We began realizing there was a real problem with evictions back in June, and it’s been getting steadily worse each day. I speak regularly with the other agencies, and I think it’s fair to say that we’re all just very frustrated that we can’t do more. There are some things we just can’t do anything about. It’s a very difficult thing to try to get your arms around the enormity of what’s going on."

 

Published Wednesday, September 10, 2008 in Local Newnan Times Herald
By Jeff Bishop

 

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