There is a lot of talk about foreclosures these days. Foreclosures are real estate owned, REO or bank-owned properties, and they have the potential to offer an affordable option to the right buyers.
There are several steps involved when investing in a foreclosure:
Familiarize yourself with foreclosure laws and requirements in the state
in which you want to invest, as states differ in foreclosure processes
and owner rights. For example,some states allow the previous owner to
redeem the property within six months as long as that person pays off
the amount owed, expenses and legal fees. As a result, investing in
foreclosure properties in these states might be too much of a gamble.
Once you have familiarized yourself with these laws, begin searching for
a foreclosed property. There are free foreclosure listings online,
including the websites of government agencies.. Visit the county recorder's office where
foreclosure notices are recorded, and look for notices of sales in local
newspapers.
Once you have found a place, conduct a home inspection to check for any
problems, including plumbing or electricity. An inspection might be
difficult if the previous owner is still living there. In such a case,
talk with neighbors who are familiar with the place. You should be able
to judge a lot about the condition of the home by looking at its
outside. The fewer repairs necessary, the quicker you will be able to
resell the property and the fewer costs you will incur.
Do a property appraisal to determine the home's worth. Compare similar
places in the area and how much they sold for to get an idea of the
value of the home.
Ensure that you have sufficient funds; especially if you successfully
purchase the property at auction, you will need to pay for it
immediately with a cashier's check.
Once the place is yours, you will need to make any repairs necessary to
ensure that it will attract a good price when you sell it.
The hardest part is knowing when to sell it. You might need to wait for
an upturn in the property market so that you obtain a fair price for it.
One approach might be to rent the place in the short term, as the
rental income can help to cover your costs until you are ready to sell.
For buyers, bank owned real estate can present one of the best opportunities on the market. Since the bank needs to sell the property fast, and since they only need to recover an unpaid portion of the previous mortgage loan, and not its full amount, bank owned homes for sale are often priced anywhere from 30% to 60% below what their market value. When it comes to savings, there just aren't any better deals out there. And best of all, bank owned homes are sold all over the nation by all kinds of banks. All you have to do is know where to find them, and that's exactly where
\