More often than people think, houses in Muskoka go up for sale by the bank… otherwise known as a Power of Sale. There’s a notion attached to those words that has people believe they’ll automatically get some hugely discounted deal. More often than not, that’s not really true. Here are a few thoughts about buying a home in Muskoka that is Power of Sale.

The bank has no heart. They have no emotion tied up in the house, no memories, no love. All they have is a bottom line and a certain number they’re looking for in order to walk away free and clear.

The bank doesn’t know a lot about the house. And what they may know, they take no responsibility for. A lot of it is a guessing game for the buyer. Always smart in these situations to have a good home inspector. Take your time. Go to the town offices and find out as much as you can about the house. The town should have records like the year it was built, information on septic and well. The bank won’t supply any of that.

In these situations it really is Buyer Beware.  There’s no recourse if you find something out about the house after the deal has gone firm. The bank makes that clear – you are buying the home in “as-is” condition. Often the bank will attach many pages of additional clauses to an offer. Most of them are standard, but sometimes there are very important things hidden between the lines.  Each bank has it’s own way of doing things, and no deal is just like another. It pays off to pause a moment and read all the fine print.

Finding a reliable Realtor in these situations is imperative. Fred and I are very experienced with power of sale homes. We can guide you through the process, and know what things to look for.  We will help get past records, surveys and any other information that is readily available. We can also take our combined 30+ years on the business and let you know our opinion of the house.