Like it or not, we are entering a time when a growing number of properties in the Sumner WA and Puyallup WA area will be unloaded at bargain-basement prices and a handful of investors will make a fortune. But it doesn’t have to be limited to real estate investors. Anyone looking to buy a home today can do this. This is actually happening in Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, Kent, Kirkland and Redmond and in most other Puget Sound cities.

Let me explain…

Whenever bubble markets do implode, there is plenty of opportunity for value investors.

There are plenty of Bank Owned Properties, sometimes know as REO’s (which stands for Real Estate Owned) in the greater Seattle-Tacoma area of Puget Sound. Most of these homes are 50-70% of retail value. Granted most are in need of some level of repairs, but many are ready to move in.

Short Sales are another wave of homes on the market. These are homes being sold for less than what is owed to the bank and before it goes into foreclosure. The pricing of short sale homes are typically well below market value.

To have one of our agents that is an expert in finding the best foreclosure, bank owned (REO) and short sale properties find a dream home for you at a greatly discounted price, go to our bank owned and short sale page and sign up now!

Remember the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC)? The government agency was formed to dispose of nearly half-trillion dollars of distressed assets in the wake of the failure of many Savings & Loans. Much of what was sold were the distressed loans themselves, but it also included over 300,000 pieces of real estate. And many investors made fortunes as many properties were sold for 50-60 cents on the dollar or less. Similar events are unfolding today. A rising number of mortgage loans are in arrears and foreclosures are on the rise across the country. You may end up helping to pay for some of these problem properties even if you don’t buy them. That’s if the government opts for another taxpayer-funded bailout of loose-money lenders as it did in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

The last time real estate died was in the late ’80s. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 took away tax shelters that had been key drivers of investment. Accelerated depreciation was gone, capital gains tax rates became (usually higher) income tax rates, and passive income losses (such as from rental income) could no longer be used without limit to offset active income (such as wages from your job).