Get an educated Realtor, who has had the classes.

Sat May 10 2008, 11:56

I just wanted to pass along some personal experience to you. If you are not an investor looking to flip a home, I would seriously consider buying a foreclosure through a real estate agent in today's market. There are plenty of great deals on the market without the associated risk. Yes, it is possible to find that deal of a lifetime through a sheriff's auction, but it is also possible to loose a ton of money. I did want to note that I purchased homes through the sheriff's auction prior to getting my real estate license. I am an investor and have purchased a flop or 2, but I've also purchased many that have generated enough profit to cover those losses. You need to research each and every home you are planning on bidding on. Find out if there are liens. Find out for your county which liens go with the property...for example federal, state tax liens, property taxes, water assessments, mechanics. In your county, are you responsible for paying these or not. You may decide that you are going to unlawfully break into a home and inspect it prior to the auction(there is no sales contract, you buy AS-IS, no inspection contingency, no financing contingency). Will your bank loan the money without inspections and an appraisal. It can take 30-90 days to complete the sale. If someone comes in and vandalizes the property in the meantime, this is not a reason to terminate purchasing the property. You will loose the deposit if for any reason, you fail to purchase the property. If the owners are still living there, you have to evict them. I had a friend that between the time he purchased to the time he closed, someone poured concrete down every toilet, sink, and tub. I am not trying to talk you out of buying through a sheriff's sale. I just want you to be aware of the risks. I've seen great deals from the auction, but I've also seen a bank bid up to mortgage amounts, just to turn around and sell it through a realtor for much less. I just strongly believe that there are much less riskier ways to save money on a house in today's market. In a couple of years, I will probably tell you that it is worth the risk. In my county, everyone shows up in the hallway and shouts out there bid. Goto one before you plan on bidding to check it out. You may even find someone that is eager to help you with your county laws and answer some questions for you. Make sure you talk to someone bidding...sometimes the homeowner shows up to see what their home sold for and they may give you some bad information. Either way you go, good luck to you. Have you already been to the website of your county sheriff to get some information?

Fri Mar 14 2008, 18:32

Excellent inquiry.Great source of complete and factual information is:http://rismedia.com.Many articles to download start withURL http:rismedia.com/wp/2008-03-12/just-the-facts-where-to-find-homes-foreclosure-information/

Fri Mar 14 2008, 17:39

I will make the assumption what you are looking for is a great value. Some of my clients have moved from their origional search on forclosures to actually having me find them Short Sales. A short sale is before a forclosure and can often be in much better condition and still be a great value. I have a few of these listed at my website and can locate more for you if your interested in going this route.

Thu Mar 6 2008, 18:04

go to my e-mail address and ask specific questions and i can answer them
Allen@CreatingWealthInvestors.com

ALLEN

Wed Mar 5 2008, 16:06

go to my e-mail address and ask specific questions and i can answer them
jjjack_jr@comcast.net to your success, John K

Wed Mar 5 2008, 15:47

Thanks Ms Ober, that is very helpful. Some other questions if you don't mind: can anyone go to one of those auctions? How do you find out where/when they are? Are they sealed-bid or do people shout out prices? Do you have to pay to attend or can you just go watch one to learn what goes on?

I am not a speculator, I am planning to sell my house in a few months and buy another one and for the first time I see that there are foreclosure properties that look interesting - in good areas, possibly good deals. I have bought and sold houses before and always expect to put 20% down so the idea of having 10% up front does not scare me. I am just looking to find out the possibly pitfalls of this kind of purchase before I get to the point of wanting to buy something. So thanks for your help!

Wed Mar 5 2008, 10:59

I would love to be able to do that for you, Catherine, but all the materials that I know of online are not available without a fee, so its not possible for me to link you to them. Most foreclosures are bought the same way as any other home. You make an offer via your Realtor who negotiates with the seller (the bank or other entity) on your behalf. All good Realtors have access to foreclosure listings.
When buying a foreclosure property it is useful to know that *most* of the time there will be a requirement for earnest money. *Most* of the time, the seller will not pay for down payment assistance. *Most* of the time, inspections are allowed, but the seller will not fix anything. Also, most foreclosures cannot be financed through FHA, because the seller will not accept a contract contingent on FHA financing.

There are also sherrif's sales and auctions in which you can bid on foreclosed homes. In *most* of those cases, you must have at least 10% of the purchase price to put down on the property that day. You must also be able to provide proof of financing on that day (a pre-approval letter or proof of funds)

I hope this helps-good luck! :o)

Tue Mar 4 2008, 14:35

For one thing, I mistakenly thought this was for Brooklyn NY so contacting the realtors who have responded is not likely to be useful to me.

But more importantly, these answers are not what I was looking for - I always like to read up on unfamiliar new processes before jumping in. If anyone can point me to good educational material - not a referral! - that would be great.

Tue Mar 4 2008, 14:06

I really enjoy looking for foreclosures for my clients. Allison is right-HUD has a great deal right now. If you'll email me I can explain the whole process to you, let you know where the foreclosures are, and whether or not they are FHA insurable.

Tue Mar 4 2008, 13:38

I am a FHA loan specialist and I can tell you that HUD is offering a great deal right now on purchasing a foreclosed property. It's $100 down and they will even give you money to fix up the place. My name is Allison and you can call me at my office at 888-898-6001 x 269 if you are interested in more details. My company's name is America's Mortgage Group.

Tue Mar 4 2008, 10:08