Foreclosure Bus Tour for potential Orlando home buyers

Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Market matters, Economic data, Chasing Value, Housing, Recession

We have all heard of bus tours showcasing the homes of the rich and famous … but the recent credit crunch that has spread across America has led to another sort of bus tour: the Foreclosure Bus Tour. That’s right, potential home buyers looking to grab up a piece of Orlando, Florida real estate can now take a six-hour bus tour featuring various homes that have been foreclosed in the area.

It’s no secret that foreclosures have been on the rise over the past year to alarming levels, but the Foreclosure Bus Tour is a symbol of just how bad things have become. The cost of the tour was $45 per person ($65 per couple) and included a continental breakfast and lunch at Applebee’s. In addition to the food, the potential buyers were also given information on the homes, as well as some important teaching lessons that any potential home buyer could benefit from.

All in all, it seems like a decent way to go out and look at a whole bunch of properties all at once (the tour featured seven different available properties). At each stop the potential buyers got first hand access to a home inspector who walked them through the house, and between stops they were able to chat with a mortgage broker. The tour also had lawyers on hand to discuss any legal questions that came up during the trip. Not too bad for $45.

Florida has been hit pretty hard in the foreclosure crisis. In February, the state was #3 in the total number of foreclosures, only coming in under California and Nevada at the top of the list. According to a report by RealtyTrac Inc., the state had 32,447 homes foreclosed in February alone. That is 69% higher than the same month last year, and 7% higher from January of this year. Definitely makes you realize that the situation is not exactly turning around just yet.

If you are interested in picking up some discounted homes, but do not live in Orlando, don’t worry, these tours seem to be popping up all across the country. According to the Associated Press article, tours are also popping up in other major markets in California, and major cities such as Phoenix, Detroit, Kansas City and Jacksonville.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor’s Observer.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Real Estate and Housing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.