The answers below are all very good. Check with a lender if you're not a cash buyer. Also, meet and select a realtor that you can work closely with, they can watch and wait and notify you immediately of a good deal. Often, time is of the essence if you want to be the buyer, there are many investors, first time home buyers and other types of buyers out there that are all looking in the same area at the same time you are. The early bird gets the worm, they used to say! There are good deals out there from both foreclosures and individually owned homes.

Location Location Location

You can change what you buy, but you cannot change it's location...

Marilyn Harrell Realtor Century21 Smith-Miller, Inc. Gladwin County Beaverton MI

Hi Jonathan,
There are deals all around and hidden gems in all of those categories, even with respect to the more traditional "homeowner to buyer" sales model. Each of the routes you mentioned has distinctly different processes and you may very well find out you don't want to deal with the headache and you'd rather go the traditional route.

I'd recommend speaking with a local reputable lender to get a handle on what you can qualify for (both price range and type of home). I can help you with that - I work for Bank of America Home Loans and my office is on the Ann Arbor-Ypsi border.

Next, you should definitely utilize a Realtor to help you out. They should be part of the educational process and one of the first steps. Trust me it will save you tons of time.

As far as the BEST deals, the long and short of it is IT DEPENDS. Each of these types of homes will have their pros and cons, the good parts and the pitfalls. I've always thought a good deal is a state of mind. Just like mortgage interest rates you'll never know if you got the best deal until it's in hindsight. If you want peace of mind in my opinion the best you can hope for is to do your best to make an educated decision and find a home you're going to be happy in because a year from now that's all you're going to be concerned with.

Good luck

Jonathan,

Just a question, have you gone to any lenders to verify you qualify to purchase, or taken the time to be pre-approved to purchase? If not, this should be your first step. I suggest this, because if the right home presents itself there may be multiple offers and everyone else will be providing pre-approval letters with their offer. What do you think your chances will be without a pre-approval letter?

This article is available in the consumers section of the Michigan Association of Realtors(R) website ( http://mirealtors.com ) . It's a little dated, but explains the different types of purchase options for investing in a home. http://mirealtors.com/content/upload/AssetMgmt/Documents/Con…

Have you investigated "Buyer Agency" yet? If not, the State of Michigan only allows real estate professionals to represent you, the buyer, under a Buyer's Agency Agreement. If you would like more about this I can email you a sample copy to read. No obligation and no spam.

You can view homes for sale in the MLS on the website below.

Jonathan, The answer to your question is yes. Any one of these type of sale could be considered best, it all depends on the specifics. DO NOT buy a house that you don't like just because it is a good deal. The beauty of owning real estate is that you get to use it. It is your home, the place you come to at the end of the day to rest and feel safe. It doesn't matter how "good" the deal is if it doesn't fulfill your emotional needs. There are three high level factors for buyers. They are location, price and content. (By content I mean all the physical characteristics of the home) The rule in real estate is pick two and the third factor is controlled by the market. For example if you want a 2,000 square foot home in good condition and can pay $150,000, forget about Ann Arbor and start looking in outlying areas. Conversly if you want Ann Arbor and can spend $150,000, start looking at 900 square foot homes that probably need some work. A real estate transaction happens when the motivation of the seller to sell matches the motivation of the buyer to buy. Some buyers think they can have it both ways but the market is a more powerful force than either the buyer or the seller. Take the Auction for example. The company running the auction has the responsibility to get as many potential buyers into the auction as possible. Buyers bid against each other until only the one with the highest motivation to own the home remains. My advice to any buyer is as follows: 1) determine what you can spend comfortably 2) make a list of the features that are important to you 3) shop for homes that match these both of yhrdr criteria in locations that are desireable to you. A buyer who says he can live anywhere isn't being honest. Another guiding principle is think about resale before you buy. It may be possible to get a great deal on a house but if it is next to the city dump, plan on living there forever (this mistake is particularly common with new construction. Because the house is new, buyers don't pay attention to the freeway that runs past the backyard). In short there is no Best deal, there are only deals with various levels of appeal to you. Click on the like to use my real estate search engine. It is the latest technology available. Then when you are pre approved for a mortgage and ready to start looking, contact me and I will be happy to guide you to the next step.

Jonathan,

I see you're in Ypsilanti..and you're right..homes in the area are sometimes running 50% of what they were at the peak of the market. Ypsilanti Township has some real bargains. When you're ready and select a realtor who you'd like to work with they can set you up with an automated search that lets you know when a short sale or a bank owned comes on the market in an area you want and that fits your other criteria (bedrooms, baths, school system etc). Its the fastest way to know when they actually hit the market. IF you are tracking ones in particular you know you may want a search can be set up just for those too so you're sure to know within minutes of them hitting the market.

I've worked extensively in the Ypsilanti area, and each week I do reports in the area on homes going to foreclosure...check out my website and if you think I can help email me anytime. Thompgroup@gmail.com

Take a short cut. Find a good Realtor and let him/her educate you.

Otherwise, you're doing it backward. Kind of like saying, "I want to buy a car, but I don't know how to drive. I want to watch people driving automatic and standard transmissions, 4 cyclinder and 6 cylinder, gas and diesel. I plan on standing outside of a dealer and watch all of this. I fully expect to go to a driving school at some point, but want to be very educated about this before I do."

Make sense?

About as much sense as your strategy here.

To kind of answer your question, you can find great deals with bank-owned properties. Sometimes short sales (ie, "going to be foreclosed") And sometimes auctions or HUD homes. But you also left out a lot of ways to find great deals. How about people who have a lot of equity but want to move out of the area and are willing to sell for just what they owe? Or how about people who've been renting out their homes, but are now "tired landlords"? All those can produce great deals.

And you say the sales you've been monitoring "appear to be great deals." Without knowing what you've been looking at, I can't tell for sure. But I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are some properties priced at half what they sold for a year or two ago that are still overpriced. They only look like good deals when compared to the unrealistic, inflated prices they sold for a couple of years ago. And that's true in a fairly healthy area like the Washington metro area, to say nothing about a depressed area. I can show you plenty of townhouses (in Manassas) that sold for $330,000 that you can buy for $90,000. Someone who pays 50% ($165,000) is grossly overpaying.

You need an agent now to help educate you on the real estate market.

Hope that helps.