Foreclosed Properties for Sale below $200,000 in Bellingham

Foreclosed properties for sale and condos priced around $170,000 are available in Bellingham, a city on Bellingham Bay and one of the largest cities in Washington State. It is also the county seat of Whatcom County.

Over 30 unsold condo units in a housing complex called Centre Pointe along Bakerview Road are set to become foreclosed properties for sale on June 26 if the developer is not able to find financing to pay over $6 million in real estate loans provided by Bank of the Pacific.

The Centre Pointe condo complex was designed to comprise four buildings with a total of 132 condo units. All units in the first building were sold, but many units in the other buildings were not sold, as the condo market weakened after lower-priced foreclosed properties for sale flooded housing markets.

However, British Columbia-based developer Ken Komenda, a co-owner of the condo project, is still hopeful that he can find a solution to save the units from becoming foreclosed properties for sale.

Komenda is looking for a way to restructure the loan, although he is facing difficulty because lenders have been hesitant to provide new loans to back condo projects. Lenders want to see strong sales data first before starting to negotiate.

But sales of condo units in the area have been slowing down. In the three years before 2008, condominium sales had been averaging 69 units per month in Bellingham, but in the last months of 2008, condominium sales have dropped to ten units per month.

Komenda and other condo developers explained that the target clients of Centre Pointe, the empty nesters, have been tied up to their family homes because of declining home prices. Although they have been planning to sell their typically larger homes to be able to buy more manageable condos, they could not sell their houses at the prices they like.

Drew Wilkens, a top executive of Bank of the Pacific, also said that potential condo buyers are finding it harder to obtain refinancing or new loans. He added that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were tasked to acquire home mortgages so that banks can provide new loans, but they have not been making a lot of mortgage purchases because they have added more constraints and limits to their mortgage repurchasing programs.

Nevertheless, Komenda advised prospective home buyers to buy now and consider condos and foreclosed properties for sale in Bellingham before prices climbed up again.

By Cassiano Travareli