I recently came across a small townhome development in Eden Prairie that had multiple units for sale on the MLS, all of which were in the Redemption Period of Foreclosure. After showing it to my client, a neighbor next door who was renting his unit came out and asked me what I knew about what was going on with the units in there.
Based off of discussions with him and research I did through Hennepin County and the MLS, I’ve discovered that in 2007, 26 of the 40 units in the development had gone through a Sheriff’s Sale in 2007!
Come to find out that most or all of this development has been rentals and a varied conglomerate of people owned the units in the development. Most of the foreclosures and owners in the development owned multiple units.
With so many foreclosures in the development, its future looks bleak. The association that maintains the property likely has not received payments on many of the units for 12-18 months! Further, eventually those homes will be purchased by someone but the sheer number in there will lead to a quick erosion in prices.
When a buyer sees these homes online they look like a good deal but when an agent does a little investigation, it becomes clear that there are numerous hazards with purchasing in that development that require great caution.
In today’s market there are some really great deals out there… but there are also some that look good but are not. It is important to have a competent agent working with you to help investigate the situation and to represent your best interests in the transaction.
