CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The foreclosure crisis that started in states like Florida and California is knocking on the door of the Charlotte region.
Records show 6,345 foreclosure filings in Mecklenburg County in 2005. In 2009, that number doubled to 12,774.
Local realtors say to help the market recover, those foreclosed houses must be sold. Scott Lindsley with My Townhome Realty is turning to Facebook to get the ball rolling.
"We had a lot of sellers for a while and we needed a lot of buyers," Lindsley said.
A broker since 1999, Lindsley says his business is picking back up.
"I'm as busy now as I've ever been in a given month. The price point is different," Lindsley said.
And what his customers are looking for is changing as well.
"In the last two weeks I have made offers on nothing but only foreclosed properties," he said.
To keep track of what's out there, Lindsley turned to Facebook, starting a Charlotte foreclosures page on the social networking site.
Each morning he updates new bank-owned listings. Unlike an e-mail list, he says Facebook can reach a lot more people.
"What I put up there may not be what they end up with, but it gets the wheels turning and makes them realize, 'Oh, OK, maybe it's time to look,'" Lindsley said.
One example: A two-bedroom townhouse with a garage in north Charlotte originally sold for $120,000. Now, it's on the market for $64,000.
"That townhouse in particular is an awesome deal but it would be difficult for you to find just messing around online at work. It might not stand out as what it is," Lindsley said.
While selling foreclosures, Lindsley said he's taken some flak from neighbors worried about their own home's value. But, he says, getting these distressed properties sold as quickly as possible will benefit everyone.
"If they do sell sooner and get off the market, and we get these out of the way, then normal market pricing can kind of set itself back up," Lindley said. "But as long as we have these low priced properties out there, it's going to be what people look at first."
