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Prospective buyers take tour bus to view houses taken over by lenders
By Adrian Sainz
Associated Press
Published on Friday, Mar 28, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla.: The white bus rumbles into the quiet suburban neighborhood, heading toward a foreclosed home that sits empty. Neighbors point at the slow-moving coach.
Once the vehicle stops, about 20 potential buyers file out and become detectives, opening and closing cabinets and drawers, knocking on walls and asking about the price, the previous owners and what repairs might be needed.
Welcome to the Foreclosure Bus Tour, a six-hour expedition to show Orlando-area homes and educate potential buyers on the vagaries of snatching foreclosures in a state where the housing market has struggled over the past two years. Real-estate agents have also organized tours in California, where the idea seems to have originated, and cities such as Phoenix, Detroit and Kansas City.
The Orlando prospects included working-class people looking for a family home, speculators seeking a bargain investment and even a Brit trying to take advantage of the weak dollar. To avoid embarrassing owners, the bus stops only at empty homes.
The homes went on the market after lenders took them over from owners who failed to make mortgage payments. In February, Florida trailed only Nevada and California in the percentage of homes in foreclosure. RealtyTrac Inc. said 32,447 homes were in foreclosure statewide in February, up more than 69 percent from February of last year and up more than 7 percent from January.
For Janice Ziesig, owner of Z House Realty Group in Orlando, the tours present allow her to show homes to many people at once. A cost of $45 per person or $65 per couple covered the tour, house information, teaching sessions, a continental breakfast and lunch at Applebee's. Everyone on the bus said the fee was worth it.
The tour also included a mortgage broker; a home inspector who pointed out details such as structural issues, water damage and electrical problems; an attorney who answered questions about title insurance and short sales, and real-estate agents with information on square footage, when the home was built and other key information.
The group dynamic, with 20 people from different backgrounds and income levels, made for constant dialogue between prospective buyers and the experts.
The first house — in a subdivision with single-family homes, tennis courts and abun
dant green space — was an example of a fixer-upper that needs ''a little lipstick and rouge,'' Ziesig said. At $201,000, the three-bedroom, two-bath home that was built in 2003 looked fine from the outside, but inside it had visible water damage on the walls, carpet stains and other issues.
The second property, a two-story home with four bedrooms and three baths, drew raves because it was so well-maintained. Built in 2004, the 2,514-square foot, two-story home was a relative bargain at $257,000.
A few stops later, the bus arrived in a neighborhood where homes were much older. Homes with nice lawns and updated exteriors were peppered among others with sagging rain gutters and peeling paint.
The tour ended after seven homes, and while Ziesig received no concrete offers, she was happy to make home buying more fun and accessible.
''It's turning out just the way it's supposed to,'' Ziesig said. ''We wanted to do something different. We wanted to teach people. People are interested. It gets people to call.''
ORLANDO, Fla.: The white bus rumbles into the quiet suburban neighborhood, heading toward a foreclosed home that sits empty. Neighbors point at the slow-moving coach.
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