Check Out the Latest Foreclosures

Foreclosures have been getting harder and harder to find in Metro Boston, but we’re here to help you in your search. If you are in the market for just foreclosed properties, please see below for those listed in Eastern Massachusetts. We do display all foreclosures listed in our MLS; but, since there are so many foreclosures around the state, we highly recommend you limit your search to a single county or various towns or zip codes. To refine your search, click on the Advanced Search link in the search box above, make your selections, and then click on Search. You can save your customized search to return to at any time. If you come across a foreclosure that is not yet online, yes, you can try contacting the lender; however, most lenders tell such inquirers to wait until their preferred broker has listed it in the MLS. They very rarely sell prior to this!

Please realize that buying a foreclosure can be like buying a money pit. Some sellers do not even allow inspections prior to purchase. Some properties have tenants which you will have to evict after the sale, which requires time and money! In many instances, properties have had water damage from pipes that froze in winter. In many instances, these vacant properties also have black mold. To be in the know when it comes to buying foreclosures, you need a licensed real estate agent working for you on the inside. Jim would love to help you keep track of the latest opportunities and help negotiate the process.

Short Sales

Short Sales are a different animal than foreclosures. Where you might be able to buy a foreclosure at a bargain basement price, lenders are more particular about short sales. They get appraisals or broker opinions to determine market value and then stick pretty hard and fast to that price. This is how they operate whether the property is in the MLS or whether you are trying to work a deal with a homeowner before it hits the market. Oftentimes you will see this type of sale priced really low. This is done in order to get offers to present to the lender. So, please, don’t get too excited if you see a short sale at an incredibly low price, because that is exactly what it is – not a credible offering! This is why you might see such properties listed on the market for months on end! This practice is partially necessary to determine at what price a lender will accept to short sale a property.

Can you buy a short sale below asking? Of course you can; but it is not uncommon to pay more than asking! Once an acceptable listing price has been approved by the lender(s) – sometimes there are two lenders involved if the homeowner took out a home equity loan – the asking price becomes just as negotiable as any other listing the longer the house sits on the market. For this reason, the quickest and easiest short sale property to buy is one where the lender(s) has/have approved the list price.

Unlike foreclosures where homeowners have let their properties go back to the lender, sellers who are asking a lender to release their mortgage for less than what is owed have to prove that they cannot afford to continue making payments and that the property will end up in foreclosure if the seller cannot sell it before that happens. The application for a short sale, then, basically means that the seller is required to submit a new “reverse” loan application proving “lack of income” as well as “hardship” to get their lender(s) to support a short sale. Depending upon a homeowner’s co-operation and ability to provide all the lender’s necessary required documentation, a short sale can be approved within 30 days… or never! You cannot automatically rely on listing agents to be experienced in dealing with short sales. For this reason, you should hire a broker like Jim who is experienced in dealing with short sales.

This custom page only includes Eastern Massachusetts short sales and foreclosures in order to keep the number of results for you to view manageable. If you are interested in a widened search of REO offerings available to real estate agents — or narrowed down to specific towns, zip codes, counties, etc. — please contact us and we will create a custom search tailored to your preferences.

Each of the towns and Boston neighborhoods listed on this site include all single family homes, condos, and multi-family complexes regardless of whether they are foreclosures, short sales, REOs, or just regular listings. This page is simply a way to cull out just the foreclosures and short sales for those focused on bank owned listings.

If you want to visit any of these foreclosed or short sale properties, no need to wait for an email reply, call Jim at (617) 407-7098 for the fastest service. Besides, it might take time to get an appointment scheduled with the owners if the property is not vacant.