Foreclosures in Athens GA

Everybody loves to get a great deal and purchasing foreclosures in Athens GA can be a great deal!

The home-fix-it shows give us great weekly stories about buyers who purchase a property for pennies on the dollar, do the repairs themselves and end up with a stack of built-in equity.  The thought to bear in mind is that these television shows are for entertainment.  Like hoping to win the lottery, real life is often something different.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t foreclosure opportunities especially suited for you.  If you are a craftsman by trade or have a family member that is a contractor, you just might find a diamond in the rough.  However, if renovating a home to you means changing the curtains and hanging new towels, you should probably think twice about purchasing a foreclosure.

Most foreclosures have been neglected, and that only makes sense.  The former owner couldn’t make the mortgage payments and that’s why the property was foreclosed upon in the first place.  It follows then that it is unlikely that the home was maintained properly.  If there wasn’t any money available to make the monthly payments, there probably wasn’t any money to keep the house in good condition either.

We have found that most buyers prefer a home that is move-in ready.  By the time you add up the cost of getting a neglected home back into living condition or at least bringing the home up to standard so that it doesn’t deteriorate any further, the amount of money you have spent can exceed what you would have paid for a home that was already liveable.

Working with a Diamond in the Rough

For those with a hearty heart, bear in mind the following possibilities when considering a foreclosure purchase in the Athens area:

• Generally, you will not be able to negotiate with the seller to have repairs done...you are buying the property AS-IS.
• Depending on the agency or bank that owns the property, you might not be able to turn on the utilities for inspection purposes.
• There could be NO appliances in the house at all...no stove, oven, dishwasher, microwave, or refrigerator.
• Renovations might require: tearing out subflooring to repair rotted joists, replacing all of the flooring (carpets are usually in terrible shape), repairing a defective foundation, waterproofing a basement or crawlspace, putting a new roof on the house, replacing entire bathrooms, painting the entire inside and outside of the house, repaving the driveway, replacing garage doors, repairing or replacing a deck, and more (electrical, plumbing, etc.)

If you haven’t been scared away yet, set up a search on our site so that you can investigate some of the foreclosure and bank owned properties in Athens GA and the surrounding areas. Maybe you will find something that fits your skill level and presents a great value. Whether you are an investor or are hoping to purchase your own home at a great price, contact us at 706.543.3008 for foreclosures in the Athens GA area to begin your own personal home fix-it adventure!