How To Buy Foreclosure

There are typically two reasons why people search for foreclosures listings.  Reason one is because the person is interested in investing in foreclosures to pull a profit. The next reason people look for foreclosure listings is because they are looking on a super deal on a house they want to live in. 

If you are interested in finding foreclosures listings the most popular and easiest search process is the internet.  What has made the internet the forefront of search methods is the convenience and the update to date information that can be had with the click of a button.  Also the internet allow you to take virtual tours, run comparisons, research the neighborhood, and look up sales history and tax records all from the comfort of your home. 

Further, the internet has no real restrictions on the number of foreclosures they can list. Newspapers, on the other hand, are limited in space, so you won’t get a full listing of the available properties in your area from that source. Also being able to view the properties online allows for the further convenience of being able to determine whether or not you want to see the property in person or not.  Overall, using the internet to find foreclosure listings gives you a lot more information to make an informed decision than from almost any other source out there. Read the rest of this entry »

The market is currently flooded with a plethora of foreclosures and a plethora of opportunities to get a foreclosure investment..  These foreclosure investments include a wide variety of properties.  Some of these of these homes are in excellent shape an only need minor maintenance to re-sell quickly.  Others are suffering from damages and require repairs to bring make them attractive buys.  But don’t fret the these damaged properties are typically offered a significant discounts making them great deals for investors who specialize in rehab flips.  These smart investors buy distressed properties at deep discounts so that they fix them up, and then sell them for nice profits. If this is what you are looking into then keep reading to find out how to finance the repairs on these properties.

Unfortunately traditional banks typically don’t include the cost of repairs within the mortgage for your foreclosure investment needs.  In these cases you need to look elsewhere for that type of financing.  You would typically want to look to that of a rehab lender.  Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone knows the economy is in shambles.  The banks that have experienced huge financials losses due to negligent business practices are now increasing adjustable rate mortgages, push homeowners in to payments they can no longer afford.  This of course has led into a increase in foreclosures and has severely depressed a once flourishing housing market.  This crisis is terrible if you have a home that is within the foreclosure process but on the flip side is a great opportunity for an investor interested in buying a foreclosure  or for people wanting to save a lot of money on their next house.

The current crisis has caused more abandoned home than ever to be on the market.  Some homes you will find the foreclosure process has started but the mortgagee has yet to leave the home.  In other homes you will find that the home has foreclosed and ownership has reverted back to the lender and the lender is unable to sell it.  Read the rest of this entry »

What exactly is a real estate short sale?  Well if you’ve been diligently looking for property it’s probably a term you’ve heard a lot of lately.  The newspapers and real-estate site are filled with listings proclaiming they’re a real estate short sale, and if your’re trying to save money on your next house purchasing a home in this status may be an option that has been presented to you.  But what is it?

A real estate short sale is when then the bank holding the loan allows the loan to be sold for less than the mortgage amount owed on the property.  As the economy has shifted more and more banks have turned to this option, as most banks would rather sell the property for less than to have an reo sitting on their books.  Read the rest of this entry »

Finding a foreclosure to flip is not the first step of the house flip process nor is it the last.  How can you make sure that you can sell it, and sell it quickly?  That’s one of the most common questions amongst house flip investors.   Now that you’ve found you’re investment you need to address your finances to make sure that you can finance you new house flip.  Do you have the skills you need to make the repairs, or will you be hiring someone to do the work for your?  These are just some of the questions that you need to know before you even start looking for a home.

Make sure everything is in order before you start this process.  Plan for the worse hope for the best, your house flip will be no exception to the rule.  To help you in these plans it’s extremely important to stick with your budget, or you can lose expected profits. Read the rest of this entry »

When you first start out flipping houses, you want to be sure to avoid costly mistakes that are common to beginners that can eat into your profits and make it harder for you to finance more deals. The biggest mistake is taking too much time to fix up the house. Houses meant for flipping need to be touched up quickly, on time, and on budget. Never spend more time or money on a house than you’ve planned on, or you’ll regret it later.

Before you start flipping houses for profit there are several costly mistakes that you want to avoid.  Many of these mistakes are common to beginners and they will eat into your profit and make it harder for you to finance more deals.  Our goal is to make you aware of these mistakes so that you know what to look for and can avoid them in the future.

The biggest mistake people make when flipping houses for profit is that they take to much time to fix up the property.  There may be houses that you hold and rent, and then there are houses that you flip.  Houses that you flip need to be touched up quickly, on time and on budget.  Set a budget and deadline ahead of time and stick to it, never spend more time then you’ve planned for, because you will pay for it fees and lost money in the long run. Read the rest of this entry »

Real Estate is an awesome investment stream. Making money flipping houses is one of those investments strategies that you can use in an up or down economy and still be successful.  All you have to do is stop thinking about it and get to work. The money you will need to invest in these flips is there you just have to know how to look for it.

There are several ways to go about building a fortune flipping houses. Here’s one easy approach that anyone can take:

You want to start off by buying a foreclosed hud home.  Details on how to purchase these homes for no money down are discussed in detail on other posts.   You want to make sure that this home is in need of only minor repairs.  Well be buying low and selling higher.  We these houses you should be able to afford to give a great deal to a buyer and still make a lot of money this will be a win-win situation for both you and the buyer. Read the rest of this entry »

If you read the earlier post then you should know whether or not your foreclosure will qualify for the first time homebuyer tax credit. But if not then here’s a short review, it has to be your first home which is your primary residence.  You have to make less than $75,000 if you’re single or up to $150,000 as a married couple.  You can’t purchase the home from a relative and you must be under a binding contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010. See, simple if your foreclosure meets these requirements then please read more.

Now that you know whether or not you qualify, you need to decide how you will use it. Many first time homebuyers are finding that the tax credit is just what is needed to get into the home of their dreams.  You don’t want to deplete your savings getting into your first home having the first time homebuyer credit will insure that you have funds in place after you close on your home. Read the rest of this entry »

The short answer is yes you can buy a foreclosure and take advantage of the $8000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.  As long as you purchase this home as your primary residence.  The idea of the first time homebuyer tax credit is wonderful and almost unheard of.  The credit is all apart of Presidents Obama’s stimulus package that made headlines early 2009 right after he took office.  This first time homebuyer tax credit is meant to not only save homes from foreclosure but to stimulate the economy by allowing people to buy new homes with greater ease.

So, what does the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit do for you and how can you qualify for it if you purchase a foreclosure.

Well you won’t qualify for this credit if you already have a house as it’s only available to first-time homebuyers.  For this programs they define a first time homebuyer as someone buying a home for the VERY first time, or someone who hasn’t owned a home in over 3 years. Read the rest of this entry »

An REO stands for real-estate owned. This type of property has not only gone through the foreclosure process but it has also gone to auction and failed to secure a buyer. Once this happens the property is taken back by the bank and considered real estate owned or bank owned property. If you are considering buying REOs in this state it’s good to consider the advantages and disadvantage of this investment strategy before taking the plunge.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are few different ways to acquire a distressed property depending on what stage of the foreclosure process you obtain the property in.  The three basic stages are pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, post-foreclosure.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve been following this foreclosure blog last week we discussed what scenarios have to occur before a house is considered foreclosed and before it’s available at foreclosure auctions.  Now we need to discuss how to locate these homes before they make it to auction.  Being prepared before the foreclosure auctions occur will allow you to know the homes that are going to be available.  Having this research done beforehand will  prove to be a valuable asset in your foreclosure investing career.

Read the rest of this entry »

Foreclosure Auction

This is part one of a five part series explaining everything you ever wanted to know about foreclosure auctions  and how to proceed with finding and purchasing one.

Read the rest of this entry »

You may have heard the term reo foreclosure but weren’t quite sure how it was different from any other type of foreclosure.  Well  REO stands for Real Estate Owned, or to be even clearer,  real estate owned by the bank.
Normally when a buyer fails to pay the mortgage on their home their home goes to a foreclosure auction or foreclosure sale.  During this auction attendees have the opportunity to bid on various available properties.   In this process some homes are sold as a foreclosure to the highest bidder, however If the minimum bid is not met then this would be considered a failed foreclosure auction.  This failed auction then goes back to lender as an Reo Foreclosure. Read the rest of this entry »

A rocky economy has definitely claimed its share of victims. The housing market was one of the first markets to see the spiraling down turn. First with the slowing of home sales then the eventual lost of homes leading to foreclosures all across the nation. Though hard times have fallen on millions of families fortunately it hasn’t affected everyone. If you are one of the fortunate few that it hasn’t affected and you are in the market for a home or looking to invest then you need to buy foreclosures! Read the rest of this entry »