Greetings Amanda,
Everyone has commented on getting yourself qualified with a lender first and I agree that is your first step and after that I would suggest you examine your lifestyle and what you want in the way of neighborhood amenities. Each neighborhood has offers different things in addition to the obvious age of home and possible fees. If you'd like more information on which neighborhoods have mello roos or Home Owners fees you can go to my website and search online at http://www.FolsomLakeHomes.com

Hello
Banked owned properties for first time home owner is like Double Bonus !! first they qualify for $8000/ credit from Govt; then they can get good price property in folsom,which was never heard off !!

If you need help to get pre-qual & check some properties in folsom,let me know because, thats my niche area for last seven years & yes I do reside in folsom & I work for this area!!

sincerely,
Arif Vora
LYON REAL ESTATE
916-712-0088 http://www.Arif.GOLYON.COM

Hello,

Have you owned a home in the past three years? If not, you should qualify for a tax credit up to $8,000! The first step is to choose a Realtor, and a lender, so you are able to get pre-approved. Together, you and your team, can put an action plan in place specific to your needs and style. By starting to search for homes on the internet, you will see what is available. In addition, it will help you get familiar with the market trends in the Folsom Area. (I can also send you Folsom trending reports)

My website will allow you to input your search criteria and it will automatically send you homes in your price range as well as homes that meet your criteria. In addition, my home search will update you on price reductions, sales pendings etc.. Go to http://www.askformichelle.com and in the top right you can log in. Or, I will be more then happy to set it up for you.

I am available to help and congratulations on the decision to buy a home :)

Michelle Thompson
Lyon-El Dorado Hills http://www.askformichelle.com

I agree with Sue. don't look at short sales. Many are "vapor" listings.. Some will go to foreclosure, some will be loan modified and the owners allowed to keep their homes. The list prices look good sometimes, but so what if they aren't really for sale at the list price..

Folsom almost missed the foreclosure tsunami. It is one of the few zip codes in the region that are not dominated by foreclosure listings.

Foreclosed homes are cheaper - when they have deferred maintenance that will cost either money or sweat equity to cure -

If you are handy and have lots of free time in the next year to be a do-it=yourselfer (diy) that is when the "savings" are realized. If you decide to hire professionals to renovate the foreclosure your total costs are about the same for a repo as the are for a clean, move-in ready home in good condition..

Folsom is a wonderful area to buy a home as are some other areas around there.

You should contact a lender to get prequalified. (Do not pay for a loan application as some banks are charging, by the way) Mark Holmes of American Pacific Mortgage is one that doesn't charge and does well for my clients. He can be reached at (916) 837-4360.

In addition you can set up your own search online, for free at my website http://www.suearcher.com, or many of the other realtors on this site. There is no charge for that and will help you get a feeling on price values for the area. I might suggest as you start out that you ignore short sales. You can consider them later when you are more specific on your needs, but it will confuse you for now. Bank owned homes are really setting the pricing in all markets so you don't really need to specifically ask for them, but you can do that as well. The system will give you up to the minute information on homes for sale, and will update you daily if the prices change. You can save them, or reject them so that you're not seeing the same homes over and over.

Once you're qualified, then you can determine from your search what homes are more specifically meeting your needs, AND within your level of affordability. You can drive some of the neighborhoods and see for yourself, and you can select a realtor to act as your buyer's agent to show you them. I work the Folsom area as well, and had just closed on two homes there, and there other nrealtors as well that you can consider.

Good luck as you start your search!

Amanda, Read through this and it will explain much.....http://www.hud.gov/buying/index.cfm

Check these out also.....http://www.biggerpockets.com/bank-reo.html
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/wiki/REO_Database_List.asp
http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/California-Foreclosu…
http://www.bid4assets.com/help/index.cfm?fuseAction=TaxSale

Good luck, Dunes

Hi Amanda~

Kudos to you for wanting to jump into homeownership! And what better time to buy your first home, especially with low prices, low interest rates and that GREAT $8,0000 federal tax credit for first time buyers! I am a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Folsom and specialize in helping first time homebuyers. Buying a home an be very exciting and stressful, so you need a good team of real estate professionals on your side, walking you thru the process.

For starters, getting pre-qualified with a loan officer should be your top priority. He/she will be able to help you understand what you can truly afford to spend and give you an idea of your monthly mortgage payment and how much you will need to have ready for a down payment and closing costs. If you need any referrals for a loan officer, I would be happy to provide you with a few that have a proven track record.

Once you have the loan situation in place, then its time to go look at homes that meet your criteria. You mentioned bank owned homes and receiving lists. I would be more than happy to set you up with the latest bank owned properties sent to your email. Just as an FYI, Folsom tends to have very few bank owned homes. On average, there are about 20 to choose from on any given day. There are also positives and negatives on buying a bank owned home.

Please let me know if I can be of help to you, otherwise I wish you the best of luck with your home search!

Sincerely,

Carie Averill-Branch
Coldwell Banker
(916) 705-1059

Amanda,

I think it's a great idea to get some information early on in your search. I can email you a list of bank-owned homes in Folsom if you want to send me your email address. Keep in mind that there can be other issues regarding a bank owned home, so I definitely recommend you work with an agent who will educate you on the entire home-buying process and the special conditions that go along with buying a bank owned home.
I wish you the best of luck and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at crystal@smartclickrealty.com or call me at (916) 580-8587.

Hi Amanda, Good for you. It is a great time to be thinking about buying a property. Your first step should be to talk to a loan officer to determine what you can afford. From there we can set up searches for you that meet your criteria. There is certainly no cost to have properties e-mailed to you. You can visit our website and find financing information(look down the links on the left side of the home page),. You can also create and manage your own searches or I would be happy to set them up for you. Good luck