For long-time MLS® users, you might know this but here it is.
How to spot a foreclosure on the Salt Spring MLS®. Usually, foreclosures in British Columbia are not advertised as ” IN FORECLOSURE cheep cheep bring your low ball offers”. The banks do not want this. They are trying to sell at market price and know the word “foreclosure” brings out the baron shoppers. So how to spot one in any area? It is simple most areas are dominated by the same agent. In any given area there are agents who have worked there for a long time. They have lots and lots of listings. Some of them have 35 years of service (some still use their 35-year-old photo of themselves but that’s another post). Now as you are skimming through the listing if you see a one-off listing agent or co-listed property with an out-of-area agent you have probably just stumbled onto a foreclosure. The bottom agent is from Vancouver. Why would anyone on Salt Spring want to co-list with an agent in Vancouver? They would not unless they had to.
Sometimes the listing will appear twice on the MLS®. Why this happens is if the co-listing agent is on the Vancouver board and the local agent is on the Victoria board it will appear twice. Lots of times the listing agents will not tell you it is a foreclosure unless you ask “Is this a court-ordered sale”?
With these listings, it is mandatory to find out total days on the market. If it has been listed once before and the days are rolling by time might be running out for the listing agents. They will have sunk in a lot of money into marketing it and will want to get it into court. This might be the time for the lower offer.
Cheers,
Scott & June Simmons
The Salt Spring Team
