Foreclosures Up In Yakima County - How To Cash In | KIMA CBS 29 - News, Weather and Sports - Yakima, WA - Yakima, Washington 29 | News

YAKIMA - Every day KIMA is focused on the issues affecting the Yakima community. We've learned 2010 has not been good for Yakima homeowners. We're now seeing a flood of local foreclosures. Even today, default notices are up by a quarter.

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While it's bad news for those losing their homes, it's also giving more choices to those searching for a good deal on a great home. Finding those deals can be tricky. So KIMA did some of the leg work for you.

Stop by the county courthouse on any given Friday morning and you'll find a group of regulars, waiting to turn someone else's loss into their gain. Dennis Copeland auctions off foreclosed properties in Yakima and Kittitas counties.

" I think these guys play their game of let's see how cheap I can get it," said Copeland, owner of Legal Couriers, Inc.

Dan Politte is an investor. " It's something I enjoy, and it kind of helps the economy as far as buying them and fixing them back up."

But you have to know what to look for.

" Just read the newspaper," said Politte.

That's where you'll find public notices of the homes going to auction. But keep in mind, the opening bid at an auction can still be more than the properties worth.

Dan's been doing this for more than 2 years. He's the only one who won a bid on this Friday morning.

Copeland said, " He got a good deal." KIMA asked how. Copeland answered, " Because the deed of trust on that was older, in other words there was equity in it."

Meaning the bank didn't need to ask much to satisfy the unpaid debt. But that's rare.

If a house doesn't sell at the courthouse auction, it then goes back to the bank. They'll hire a realtor and soon you'll see a sign in the front yard. And that's your second opportunity to cash in on a great deal.

" It's going to be in the next two month period of time the banks going to have to come down on their price. And that's when people make the deal and their offer," said Copeland.

And often investors don't even wait that two months. They'll call the realtor, tell them the price they're willing to pay and then say call me when it gets to that.
And if the trend holds true, the valley will be flooded with these kinds of home buyer opportunities all summer.

Copeland said, " I think it's going to increase, primarily because of the number of default notices we're posting right now. It's unusually high."

So if you've got the patience to wait for the right deal, you just might be in the right place at the right time.

Dennis Copeland says it's the middle class borrower who got stuck with most of the fancy loans they eventually could not afford. Grandview and Sunnyside have seen the largest percentage of foreclosures in Yakima County. While in Kittitas County, it's tends to be the vacation homes of the Seattle elite that are going up on the auction block.

via kimatv.com

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