Buy Foreclosed Homes Today In Your Area

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Today's New Real Estate Investor: Buying Foreclosed Homes In Your Area

Real estate investing has been one of the longest running wealth builders in history. But today's real estate market is seeing a record number of foreclosure properties popping up daily. Does this mean you should not invest in real estate?

Absolutely not. Buying foreclosed homes has in fact become the best way to make money with real estate today. These foreclosed properties can often be bought from the banks as a considerable discount compared to a traditional sale. Many savvy investors are taking a new look at these foreclosed homes with a new appreciation for their potential.

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Why You Should Buy Foreclosed Homes In Your Are

As we know Real Estate has been an incredible wealth builder, but the question of how to build wealth in a down market always comes up.

The truth is that you have to be able to buy foreclosed homes that are below the normal market value range. This is where buying foreclosed homes becomes your best investment.

Most foreclosed homes pass back to the bank from the owner simply because the owner could not make payments for some reason. The banks however do not really want to own the houses. As an investor in foreclosure properties, you can often pick these up at a considerable discount as the banks try to unload them to recoup their losses.

In some areas, these foreclosed homes will sell for just the amount owed on the house, which could be substantially discounted compared to buying the home outright. These homes often do not need any major updates, but minor cleaning and upkeep, so the cost of ownership to you can be minimal.

When you buy these real estate foreclosures as such a discount, you have a built in equity to work with. This means that even when you have to put some money into the property you are still able to resell the property below market for a fast sale and still turn a considerably hefty profit margin.

This is the best of both worlds for real estate investing. Buy foreclosed homes at low prices, fix them or clean them up a little, and flip them fast for high profits. The new owners get a great deal on a house, and you are making great foreclosure profits.

Get a List Of Foreclosed Homes To Buy In Your Area

For some reason no one ever thinks that there are foreclosed homes available for purchasing in your area. People always assume, wrongly, that foreclosure means that the homes are in bad sections of town, or don't happen in nice areas.

This is wrong. Foreclosure happens because people do not pay for their mortgage. This can happen to even the wealthiest of people who live in expensive mansions. Everyone can over-extend how much they pay. Never assume there are no foreclosures in your area.

To prove this, get a list. Lists of current home foreclosures for sale can be found online. These will cover all 50 states and every state has hundreds, if not thousands of foreclosures. many of which will even be within the county you reside.

Use the map at the link below to search and preview listing in your area
Get Listings of Foreclosed Homes For Sale In Your Area

Regulations and Laws You Need To Know When You Buy Foreclosed Homes

Some Rules still apply.

If you are going to buy foreclosed homes in your area, make sure that you do your homework and research any local laws or regulations governing real estate foreclosures.

In some areas, the previous owner's still have many rights, such as a right to proper removal time, or even a right to buy back the property for up to 6 months or a year. The last thing you want is to buy a property only to lose it because you forgot to do your due diligence on the laws of your state.

Knowing any rules and regulations beforehand will work in your favor to prevent such issues from arising later on.

Getting Financing to Buy Foreclosed Homes In Your Area Today

Financing the purchase of your foreclosed homes does not have to be a struggle. There are several common methods that can be used in order to abtain the money needed.

Below are a few of the most common options:
  • Prequalify Yourself With Local Banks - if you have a decent credit history yourself, then consider working with your local banks to get the funding. Even though banks have gotten stricter, they know that these properties can be good investments. You will still have to prove yourself. Talk to your banker and let them know you are a serious investor and will make the payment. They may even offer you houses they possessed.
  • Loan Assumption - Some homeowners had assumable mortgages. This basically means that anyone can assume the payments and continue paying the house off as if they were the "original owner". You will still likely have to pay any back payments, so depending on how later the payments are, expect to pay a decent amount up front to come up-to-date.
  • Angel Investors / Private Lenders - do you have a wealthy friend who would be interested in either loaning you the money or becoming a partner in a real estate venture? You just might. There are plenty of other investors that know buying foreclosure real estate means good profits. They may have the money but not the time or desire to handle the upkeep or fixing and selling. This could become a win/win situation for both of you.
  • Using Equity You Own - if you already own a home and are buying foreclosures to flip and earn profits, then consider using the equity in your present home as a source of funding. IF you use this technique to buy foreclosed homes, you could have your new loan, a foreclosed home, and potential sales within weeks. Many home equity lines are open to an amount. Then you can pay them off once you have the house sold.

Before You Buy Your First Foreclosure Home

Simply buyying your first foreclosed homes unfortunately does not guarantee you that you will make a profit or even get a great deal. You need to do some preparation before you actually buy that first foreclosure.

Decide on the area you want to consider. Take a look at the comparable housing prices for that area. Then look at the list of available houses nearby. Take a drive by the ones that you are considering to see what kind of shape they are in.

Make sure you know the foreclosure process in your state. IT generally follows this pattern: late on payments, pre-foreclosure, public auction, repossession by the bank. Make sure you know what stage the houses you are interested in are at. If the house is in pre-foreclosure and the owner comes up with the money you could be wasting your time.

Make sure you get your financing done upfront. The better prepared your finances are the better able you will be to jump at the right opportunity. You will know exactly what you can spend, how much repairs you can afford etc, and this will cut down on delays after the sale or auction.

Once you have prepared your financing, made sure of any law issues, and know what must be done to the homes you are considering, you will be able to either contact the owner, the bank, or attend the auction and begin making the deal happen.

Take a look at these books for more insight into foreclosures

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No Homeowner Wants Their Home To Be Foreclosed On

Understand the homeowners viewpoint.

One thing you must understand as a beginning foreclosure investor is that no one actually wants to be foreclosed on. It is never the first choice, but mostly happens because the owners either cannot catch up or fail to try to make proper arrangements.

The owners are likely to be afraid, stressed out, scared or apprehensive. Make sure that when dealing with the present owners you take a minute to appreciate their concerns and their situation.

You as the investor are actually the end result of a foreclosure. Once the bank has taken the property, they need to recoup their losses and they are teh ones who are selling the property.

However, you are also in a unique situation to help many homeowners to save their houses or to at least save themselves from the foreclosure. Some homeowners know that their situation may be out of their control, due to job loss for instance, and just need to sell the house quickly. You may be able to get it before it goes into foreclosure and tacks on a ton of fees.

Homeowners have options that they likely have never been told about. A smart investor will present these options to the homeowner. If you cannot help the homeowner to save the house, then help then avoid foreclosure. If you help the homeowner save their homes, good for you, feel good about yourself and go make a profit on some other home. Try not to be the bad guy and things will go much smoother for you.
Important!

Your A Foreclosure Investor - The Owners Foreclosure Status Is Not Your Fault

As an investor a lot of people worry about the previous homeowners. Just keep in mind that You are NOT the reason they were in foreclosure.

"You are not responsible for their choices"

They got themselves into the mess. You are here to help them out of it.

Check out these great deals:

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Important!

Remember To Do Your Foreclosure Buying Properly

Investing in Foreclosure Real Estate can be quite profitable to a savvy investor. Make sure you learn the rules and regulations in your area. Get an updated foreclosure list and obtain financing before you buy. Take your time to do proper research on your chosen foreclosures.

Then Get to it -Buy some foreclosed homes in your area today and join the ranks of wealthy foreclosure sale investors.

What To Do Now That You Bought Your First Foreclosure Property

The foreclosure buying process wills till require some paperwork and transition time once you have made the purchase. This is like buying any other house, just at a better price. You will need to make sure you have your bank paperwork all done, the title work, plot plans and any other legal paperwork.

Once this is all done the lawyer may or may not provide you with keys. (depending on the status of the property). Once you have this completed, and pending any "buyback rights" to the previous owners, the property is yours to do with what you will.

You can now get started on any repairs, cleanup or work that needs to be done. In some cases, you may even have a potential buyer and could even sell it right at the same closing. This is not unheard of. It takes a little more work, but can be well worth it if you are just going to flip the property anyways.

regardless of what you wo with it, the foreclosure property is now your. You are on your way to being a full time foreclosure home investor.

What are you waiting for?

Are you still here? Get out and buy your first foreclosure property.

Better yet. Sign our guest book below and let us know how you did. We want to hear from you.

Foreclosure and Finance Articles From Our Blog

Check out our blog for more articles on buying foreclosures, stopping foreclosures and finance.
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shadowood1

Having been on both sides of the foreclosure process, Derek Wood understands the process from a unique perspective.
Derek Wood is a Real Estate Inve...
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