Fairhaven Foreclosures

Fairhaven Homes for Foreclosure: Should You Buy?

Fairhaven in Bristol County is a town located on the South Coast of the state of Massachusetts, specifically on Buzzards Bay just by Acushnet River’s eastern bank. Its harbor is the same one as with the neighboring city, New Bedford. Because of the closeness to the larger city, the town is known for fishing and whaling, including similar economy, culture, and even history.

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The area is made of more than 12% water and is bordered by New Bedford, the Acushnet River, Buzzards Bay, and Mattapoisett. This town is about 54 miles south of the city of Boston and is about 21 miles west of Cape Cod. It is also a little more than 30 miles from Rhode Island’s Providence.

It has two big public parks namely Cushman Park and Livesey Park, but there are also some small ones. Cushman Park has tennis courts, ball fields, a bandstand, and is where the town’s high school’s running track is situated. The area also contains numerous commercial wharves, marinas for recreation, and a yacht club. The district also has some small beaches for bathing, including the Fort Phoenix State Reservation. A bike path exists here as well, just by the southern part of Route 6.

The convenient location and the surrounding areas make this town an attractive place for living. Plus, the homes for sale are quite inexpensive. In fact, the properties here only have a value index of $272,923, which is more affordable than the neighboring areas in the county. Currently, it is a buyers’ market in this area.

However, the trend in this town is upward with the prices increasing almost four percent since last year. Real estate experts believe that the costs will rise even more up to precisely four percent in the next few months. Additionally, the median list price is $209 for every square foot, which is more expensive than the Providence Metro median, which is just $197.

Short Sales

Just like in many areas of the county, foreclosed proceedings influence the values of the properties in this town where about five homes per 10K are foreclosed. Once again, the cost is higher than the Providence Metro where it is only 4.2. The area also beats the national number of just 1.6.

Although there are more foreclosed homes in this town, it is something that homebuyers should be happy about, especially for those looking for affordable properties. Short sales provide an excellent opportunity for potential homeowners to discover inexpensive houses in the area. The sellers are quite motivated to sell the short sale homes as soon as possible. It is why if you search for such properties in this area, you will find that they are listed at a low price.

These sellers simply want to get rid of the homes, which is why they always present a good deal to the buyers. A seller who is faced with mortgage delinquency can soon go through a foreclosure process. For this reason, the homeowner will look for a way to avoid the procedure. Through a short sale, he or she can avoid the problem.

In this town, about 1.7% of homes have an issue with mortgage payments. This value is a 0.1% higher than the national value. It is a huge problem for the sellers, but it can be a great opportunity for the buyers who want to live in this town.

Bank-Owned Homes

Another option is to find bank-owned or real estate owned (REO) properties in the area. You can visit a bank in this town, or you can participate in an auction. You can find some in neighborhoods like Newbury Avenue, Bridge Street, and Brown Street where an auction was held in the first few months of 2018.

The auction presented the property at the mentioned address in which it had five bedrooms and two bathrooms in a 2,178 square foot area. If it is not a foreclosed property, it can have an asking price of at least $453K. However, because it is a distressed home, its opening bid was just $176K, and it was bought at a slightly higher price than it. Still, it was not even close to the typical amount of similar properties in the neighborhood.

Should You Purchase Foreclosure Properties in This Town?

If you are in need of a new home in Fairhaven and you cannot afford the houses in the current market, do not despair because there is always hope. Foreclosed properties, even for investors, can be profitable. If you understand the whole process and you know some of the issues you might face with this type of housing, it may be suitable for you.

You can also seek the help of a real estate agent and get a good piece of advice about buying a foreclosed home. Since the bank or the lender does not want to sit on the inventory, buyers will usually have no problems when purchasing the home. In fact, they can even get a good deal out of the transaction.

If the bank does not get the minimum bid it asks for during an auction or a sale of a distressed home, it will offer the property for an even lower price. It will depend on internal accounting, but you will find it difficult to beat the discounted cost of a foreclosed house.

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