Tony Lorenzo

It’s not really a matter of “if” it’s really a matter of “when” this run-up in housing prices will stop. It’s difficult to exactly time any market but as home sales continue to climb prices should follow. When supply exceeds demand, well, you get the picture. There are some areas of the country where home prices are more outrageous than others, so some areas may be harder hit than others. With that said, let’s look at some ways of protecting ourselves from this inevitable misfortune:

For home-owners who plan on living in their homes, first and foremost, you need to get over thinking of your home as an investment. Unless you have substantial equity built up, any downturn in home prices could make you upside down on your loan, making you owe more than your home is worth, which would mean you have a balance due on your loan if you tried to sell it. If you plan on living in you home for the long term, this wouldn’t be so bad. If you only plan on living in a home for a few years you may want to consider renting for a while.

Building up equity in your home is easier than you think. For one, stay away from adjustable rate mortgages. As interest rates climb, so will your payments. This isn’t a fun thing to see while your home value is decreasing. Next, get a copy of your amortization chart from your lender, which shows how much of each payment is interest and how much is principle. The principle is usually a very small amount compared to the interest, in the earlier years. Take next months’ principle and add it to this months’ payment and it will actually knock one months’ payment off the life of your loan! You will have to request a new amortization chart when you make your next payment because your loan will be re-amortized.

If you are a first time homebuyer, put down as big of a down payment as you can. Buying an overpriced home with a small down payment leaves you vulnerable to a downturn in housing prices. Without a big down payment you should consider renting for a while, unless you can get a house at a steep discount.

The best way I know of to buy a house at a steep discount is to buy foreclosures. Foreclosures offer the best chance of buying a house at a steep discount and therefore protect yourself from any downfall in price.

Tony Lorenzo has written articles on a variety of subjects. This article on the REAL ESTATE BUBBLE compliments his website which offers a multitude of helpful options for people looking for FORECLOSURES.

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Neil Blumberg

Louisville realtors, investors and debtors facing foreclosure ask me from time to time how short sales work. Consider this a primer.

I recently brokered the sale of a house for $85,000 to an investor. The house appraised for $120,000, giving the investor substantial immediate equity. The lender took a $60,000 loss. The owner/seller was forced to sell his house, for which he received not one red cent, and had to move into rental. How is it that all parties walked away from the closing table satisfied?!

In the beginning…

When a home owner owes his lender more than he has borrowed, he’s said to be “upside down on his mortgage”. This can come about in many ways, the principal amongst them occurring when he simply stops making mortgage payments, often because he is in serious financial difficulty. If his mortgage payment is $1,000 per month, and he stops paying, or pays intermittently, the fines, interest and principle can rack up pretty quickly. And if the owner can’t pay the mortgage, chances are he hasn’t been able to make necessary repairs to his home. This situation is almost invariably accompanied by despondency, which again leads to neglect of the house.

Stir into the mix bankruptcy, and perhaps divorce, and you’ll understand it’s not surprising to find the homes of these owner/debtors are often seriously degradated. That leaky roof is probably the last of the owner’s problems.

The “F” word

Foreclosure. It’s not a happy prospect for the lender or the borrower. Lenders have different tolerances for late payments. However by the time the debtor is late for the fourth consecutive month the vast majority of lenders begin foreclosure proceedings. In Kentucky the foreclosure sale of the home by public auction takes generally anywhere from 6 months to a year from the time the foreclosure procedures began. It can take longer - I saw one artful debtor drag on the foreclosure proceedings for more that 20 months! Her mortgage payment was $1,300 a month. After 20 months that became a significant debt compounded by late fees, interest, legal costs, and the potential cost of selling the property at a public foreclosure sale. To say nothing of the continuing, moment by moment deterioration of the property. By the time she moved out the bank had written off in excess of $80,000.

The lender’s and borrower’s conflicting interests.
Capitalism is a wonderfully contrived system. It hands not only the power-barons a potent array of weapons with which to fight, but also the poor and destitute. Though the battlefield is nowhere near even, double digit interest thrust too deeply down an indigent debtor’s throat may precipitate his “nuclear” retaliatory option - Chapter 7 bankruptcy. And so these two, symbiotically entwined, are locked in an elegant dance, teetering between dividends and disaster, profit and poverty. One serious mis-step, and the band stops playing.

Thus, from years of bitter experience, lenders have learned that it’s often better (cheaper) to attempt to gain the cooperation of the owner and have him agree to voluntarily sell and vacate his home, rather than evict him under foreclosure. Lenders also understand that the chance of ever recovering the money owed to them by the debtor is slim. But many debtors choose not to sell because, around the time they realize they will never catch up on their payments, they often have another “Ah Ha!” flash of insight: that if they stop paying their mortgage and just wait for the foreclosure axe to fall (or better yet, engage in a hatfull of tricks to keep that axe at bay) they can live “rent free” for at least 6 months. So now the debtor turns from borrower to squatter, perceiving it to be in his best interest to prevent the foreclosure for as long as possible. And if the house, the lender’s “security”, should fall apart in the meantime, so be it.

The solution

The lender is in a position to offer the borrower a very important concession for his cooperation: to write off the entire debt if the borrower finds a buyer to buy the house at a price and terms acceptable to the lender, within the time stipulated by the lender. This is the essence of a short sale. Lenders set their own guidelines for what they will accept. They may say they need to get fair market price, but will in fact often be prepared to sell for much less. They do not want to chance selling this house at auction and risk receiving a very low price. Or worse yet, receive a bid so low that the property does not meet their reserve price, and they end up owning the property. In this case the property is administered by the lender’s REO (real estate owned) department, which will then list the property with a realtor. And the cycle begins again……

The Lender initially said The Willows house was worth $120,000, and wanted it sold at about that price. It got the $120,000 figure from someone it had hired to do a BPO. BPO is short for “Broker’s Price Opinion.” It is similar to a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) and serves the same purpose: to arrive at a fair market value for a property. Most are done as a “drive-by,” meaning that the “driver” (usually a realtor, maybe an appraiser) drives by the outside of the property, takes one to three photos and leaves. He then completes the lender’s BPO form on-line and e-mails it with the picture. Sometimes an “internal” is requested, in which case the realtor goes into the property, takes about 3 internal and 3 external photos and sends these through to the lender with the completed BPO form.

When the debtor had realized he would not be able to save his house in The Willows, he contacted me to see if I could help. He did not want a foreclosure on his credit report, which would have prevented him from getting a conventional mortgage for three years. Even with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the wait period is only 2 years from dismissal. He also wanted to have his debt forgiven. I was able to accomplish both these goals, saving him about sixty thousand dollars.

The short sale process

As a Realtor, the first thing I did was explain to my client all his theoretical options, including deed in-lieu of foreclosure, loan renegotiation and others. He settled on short sale. I listed The Willows property, and had him sign an authorization for me to contact the lender to see if it would agree to a short sale. Remember, when I list the property, the owner/debtor is my client (not customer). This means I must always act in his best interest. The lender is not my client and I owe it no such duty. In a normal sale the seller and buyer have greatly divergent interests: the seller wants to sell at the highest possible price, and the buyer wants to buy at the lowest. In a short sale there is no such contest between the parties: the seller wants to sell at any price the lender will accept, and will generally agree to any price offered, contingent upon the lender’s acceptance. So in a short sale, the lender takes on the mantle of “seller” vis-a-vi the buyer and these are really the parties who negotiate the contract. Now get your head around this one: as listing agent in a short sale I am often in the peculiar position of actively attempting to negotiate for the sale at the lowest possible price acceptable to the buyer! (But always with the caveat that this is in the seller’s best interest, and does not jeopardize the sale). This anomaly has many ramifications for the way I conduct and negotiate these transactions.

Price, Terms and Timing
Price: So how much will the lender lop off that price? I’ve generally found that as the day of auction approaches, lenders become more malleable. Pretty inefficient, because they loose a lot of time and money that way. I supplied the lender of The Willows property with objective material indicating that the drive-by BPO was inaccurate, given the condition of the house. The lender then had an internal BPO done. That was key to getting this particular deal done. I also sent off photos and comps of my own. In some cases I’ve sent the lenders well over 100 photos. Pictures speak louder than words, and it’s critical, when the property is damaged, that the lender understand the shape it’s in . Remember - the BPO realtor may be doing up to 50 BPOs a week - he could care less about this one deal. But as listing agent I need to keep the lender informed of all issues that coincide with my client’s best interests. The second Willows BPO came back at $100,000, and the lender initially tried to obtain that figure. Ultimately, with the foreclosure sale due to occur the next day, it reduced that amount to 80% of the $100,000 plus $5,000 to pay off non-mortgage related liens. At 4.50 pm the lender agreed to stop the foreclosure sale scheduled for 11.00 am next morning.

But hey, it ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings! Because the loss on this loan was $60,000, and because the lender had authority to settle up to $30,000 only, we had to wait for final word from the mortgage insurance company, which we eventually obtained, but not without many hours additional work.

As you see, the price of The Willows property was determined by the lender looking at the bottom line - how much net it would receive. And in order to get this number, all lenders in short sales request a “fake HUD-1″ or a “net sheet” submitted simultaneously with the offer. In a normal real estate transaction the HUD-1 is drawn up at the end of the transaction, after agreement is reached. - in a short sale the title search is performed immediately upon listing, even before there’s an offer, so that the figures can be applied to the net sheet as soon as needed.

Terms: The most common terms distinguishing these deals are that the lender often requires terms such as “sold as is” and “proof of finance or funds required with offer”, and to protect the seller, the realtor should insert terminology indicating seller’s acceptance is subject to release from all liability for debt. None of this is carved in stone, and I’ve negotiated repairs and other concessions from lenders. Each case is unique. Paper will suffer any indignity - write the offer!

Timing: The REO, Foreclosure and Bankruptcy departments often appear to be understaffed and overwhelmed, so don’t expect instant responses. Some will take weeks to reply. Make sure the buyer and seller understand this. But once a deal is struck, the lender will often expect an unreasonably quick closing, and will attempt to penalize you with days interest for closing after a certain date. This all goes back to the net sheet calculations; because you have informed the lender how much it will receive by a certain date, it then attempts to hold the line at that date, even though they are generally very slow to respond. The Willows lender, after having not responded to multiple contacts, gave us just 2 days within which to close! Fortunately we well prepared, but it was very close.

Closing Note
The tax consequences of short sales fall outside the scope of this article. If you want info on how to handle competing offers, dual limited agency within this environment, or need a copy of the net sheet I use, you may contact me.

Update
Here’s a new twist. A couple of weeks ago I submitted a $235,000 offer to a lender on a short sale, (Seller owes about $275,000) which the lender ultimately accepted. However, in it’s acceptance letter, at the very bottom of the sheet, the lender stipulated that it retained its right of recourse against the seller/borrower (my client)! And this despite seemingly contrary language in the main body of the letter. I explained to the lender that the ONLY reason my client had agreed to the short sale (and not to jerk the lender around in the bankruptcy proceedings) was because he expected to obtain a complete release from all liability at closing. After a weeks or so of wrangling, attorneys etc, the lender “saw the light” and agreed to the release.

CMA
Though the information provided is considered reliable, it is not complete, nor warranted accurate. Always consult your broker or an attorney.

My name is Neil Blumberg, real estate broker and recovering attorney (South Africa), currently residing in Louisville, Kentucky. I specialize in the arcane art of creative finance, and assist my clients buy and sell homes and investment residential and commercial real estate. Member of various real estate organizations including Real Estate Exchangers, recent service on the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors Forms Committee and am currently Chair of the Louisville Chapter of the Real Estate Cyberspace Society.

You can write to me at neil@neil4realty.com, and visit me at http://www.GoldenRuleMetro.com. See my cool cyber tips at http://www.recyber.com/cybertips/neil4realty

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Martin Lukac

Foreclosure under a mortgage requires a court ordered sale conducted by the sheriff or other court-appointed official. Foreclosure process is called judicial foreclosure. In the event of default, the mortgage accelerates the due date of the dead to the present and notifies the defaulted debtor to pay off the entire outstanding balance at once. If the debtor fails to do so, the mortgage initiates a lawsuit, called a foreclosure action, in the county where the land is located. The purpose of his legal proceedings to a charge toward the county sheriff to seize and sell the property. The judge?s order is called an order of execution. Acting under the order authentication, the sheriff notifies the public of the place and date of the sale. This requires posting notices and the property and the courthouse and ran an advertisement of the sale in a newspaper.

1. Redemption. At any time up until the sheriff’s sale, the debtor may save the property by paying the mortgage note is due. This up right to save or redeem the property before the sale is called the equitable right of redemption. The debtor might also be obligated to pay delinquent interest, court costs, attorneys fees, and sheriff’s fees in order to redeem the property.

2. Sheriff’s sale. The sheriff’s sale is a public auction normally held at the courthouse door, and anyone can bid on the property. The property is sold to the highest bidder and the proceeds are used to pay for the costs of the sale and to pay off the mortgage.

If the property does not make enough money in the sale to pay off the mortgage, the debtor may be able to obtain a deficiency judgment against the debtor for the remaining debt. To obtain a deficiency judgment, the creditor must apply to the court within three months of the judicial sale.

In some states, such as California, deficiency judgments are prohibited if the mortgage secured a loan to purchase 1-4 unit personal residence occupied by the owner.

Post-sale redemption.

After the sale, the debtor has an opportunity to save or redeem the property. The debtor can do this by paying the purchaser the amount paid for the property plus acute interest from the time of the sale. This right to redeem the property on the sheriff’s sale is called statutory right of redemption.

Dependent on the court congestion and the availability of the surety for foreclosures, and judicial mortgage foreclosure may take anything from several months to several years from the time of the default until a sheriff’s deed is delivered to the purchaser, which finally divests from the debtor of title.

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today

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Kent Pinkerton

Buying and selling real estate is an interesting and highly profitable business venture to be in if you play your cards right. You do not even have to be full time on the job. Most successful real estate agents do it only part time or as a money-making hobby.

There are real estate agents who represent real estate developers, those who build properties from the ground up. But selling brand new properties is not as profitable as selling seized or foreclosed properties. The profit margins for selling foreclosed properties are wider. Real estate agents of foreclosed properties buy these properties at their minimum values, and most often, far below their true market value. They then resell them at a much higher value.

These real estate agents depend on listings of foreclosed properties that banks, government agencies, and some web-based sources provide. These lists contain detailed information, such as location, complete address, status of the building or property, and foreclosed value. Banks and government offices or agencies post their listings for free. This is because they prefer to dispose of these non-performing assets as fast as possible to get the cash to invest somewhere else. It also means that they will not have to worry about paying real estate taxes and other fees. Web-based sources, however, require membership fees before they allow you access to their databases. This is how they earn from their services.

But if you want to get a better buy, ask instead for the pre-foreclosure listings. Properties listed there are valued at a much lower price than those listed at the foreclosed lists. This is because those at the foreclosed lists have already undergone a public auction, and therefore their values have risen a bit. The public foreclosure auction happens ninety days after the owner receives a notice of foreclosure for his property.

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Shawn Daren

Buying a foreclosure home in auction for investment is very fruitful so to say. This is because foreclosure home in auction is usually being sold for 40-50% under market value. This scenario allows you to enjoy huge profits when you resell the foreclosure home with market value. Not to be over-exaggerate, 50,000 could be earned.

To earn this 50,000, this is what happens. First you research on a foreclosure home, second you prepare and equip yourself with info, third you get financing, and then step into the court house with confident and bring back the great foreclosure bargains. Easy? But a lot of people have get nothing after involving in buying foreclosure home in auction for so many years. Why?

Foreclosure Home Info is everything

Buying foreclosure home in auction isn?t that easy as you think. Bidding in auction is like fighting in a war. To win this foreclosure auction and bring back your great foreclosure bargains, you need a lot of preparation. You need a lot of info to understand more on a foreclosure home. There are many things of a foreclosure home that we should know in order to win in the auction such as its loan info and market value. If you misjudge the market value of a foreclosure home, you might end up earning nothing from auction.

Foreclosure Listings ? Easiest way to obtain foreclosure info
The easiest way to research a foreclosure home is through foreclosure listings. Although some say foreclosure listings are not complete with info enough, the listings provide you ultimate convenience. As foreclosure listings are very common now, you can easily access the info of thousands foreclosure home for auction online anywhere, anytime. Learn the location and the loan info of a foreclosure home provided in the foreclosure listings. Based on the info, you need to deeper your foreclosure home research such as visiting the location of the foreclosure home, contacting the lender for title research, etc.

Foreclosure Listings Free Trial

There are many foreclosure listings providing free trials now. Without paying anything, you can use their service to search and research foreclosure home nationwide for several days. If you think the service they providing is good enough, go ahead for the fee-base service as you will need foreclosure listings to determine great bargains. You can also take this advantage to have peep on foreclosure listings and understand how the listings work. After all, you have nothing to lose.

Buying great foreclosure bargains in auction need your hard works. To earn that 50,000 in buying foreclosure home in auction, continuous research is important. But after you?ve hold firm the key of winning in the auction, earning thousands in auction is just within your finger tips. To conclude, why don?t give it a try to research foreclosure since you have nothing to lose?

Shawn Daren is the webmaster of BuyingForeclosure.biz. His buying foreclosure website provides info on picking up great foreclosure bargains. Visit his site to learn more on free foreclosure listings.

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Krista Goering

When folks find out that I buy houses from distressed
homeowners during the preforeclosure stage, they always ask
the same question: “How do you find them?”

My simplest answer is: “At the courthouse.”

Distressed properties are always easiest to find when a
mortgage lender begins the foreclosure process. (The process
is triggered when the borrower fails to make a mortgage
payment.) Technically speaking this is the “preforeclosure”
stage. The borrower/homeowner has missed one or more
payments, the sheriff’s sale or public auction is looming on
the horizon, and the homeowner realizes he may soon lose his
home.

Depending on which state you live in, the lender either
records a Notice of Default (NOD) or files a judicial
foreclosure lawsuit against the borrower. As soon as the
foreclosure is public information, it’s relatively easy to
find.

So, depending on which property I’m interested in, I either
do a search at the county courthouse or I get the
information from a legal newspaper that has done the
searching for me.

The hardest part is finding a property that has any equity
in it. What I’m looking for is a Loan To Value (LTV) of 80%
or less. For example, if a property has a market value of
$100,000, the homeowner can’t owe more than $75,000 -$80,000
on the property.

Why? Because I can’t spend more than $75,000 - $80,000 for
the property and still make a decent profit.
That includes what I pay for the property
(principle, interest, taxes, and insurance), my repair
costs, and my holding costs. I have been known to pass on a
great deal, simply because it was November and I wasn’t
convinced that the property would sell before summer.
I always factor in having to pay the holding costs
on a property for at least six months while I remodel or
market the house. If the numbers don’t work, I walk away.

Sometimes it takes quite a bit of research to find a
property that I can make a profit on, but the rewards are
worth it.

Now, before you call me a mercenary just because I look for
distressed properties to profit on, let me say this:
Somebody profits from every foreclosure - and it might as
well be you or me.

Some people think it is unethical to benefit from another
person’s misfortune of losing their home or investment
property by buying it from them in the preforeclosure
stage. But I disagree. I look at buying preforeclosures as
opportunities to help the distressed owners save their
credit. When I buy their property, their debt is paid off
and they are free to move on with their lives.

Foreclosures and other property distress are caused by
divorce, unemployment, death, medical emergency, economic
downturn, and any number of personal problems.

Recently, many homeowners bought expensive homes or
refinanced to take equity out of their homes when the
interest rates dropped. Those that later lost their jobs or
had a medical emergency suddenly lost their ability to make
mortgage payments. Many of those houses are now coming on
the market as foreclosures because their owners haven’t been
able to sell them.They think of me as their guardian angel
when I am able to buy their property prior to the sheriff’s
sale, save their credit, and pay off their debt.

For the most part, homeowners understand I need to make a
profit to stay in business. If they are “upside down” in
their house (meaning, they owe more than the property is
worth), and there is no equity in the property, then it is
very unlikely that they will be able to sell quickly — to
me or anyone else — and get out from under their debt.

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Ron Victor

When a person buys a home, he has to take a loan regularly. The lenders, generally banks, keep the title to home collateral in this case. When the person is unable to pay the dues and payments in time, the ownership of the home is moved to the lender. Transferring of ownership to lender is called Foreclosure. Buying foreclosure has been compared to playing poker. Considering as an investment, it has its own risks. First the lenders will check out if there are any junior liens. When they find any pending loans, they pay off everything so that they themselves have clear title to the property. Once this is done, the lender adds up all costs to the loan amount to be recovered, and again resells the property so that they can convalesce the expenses together with the loan amount. This is an ideal time for investors to buy such property. Buying a property that has been foreclosed already has many gains.

The foremost and well-known benefit is the fact that all properties bought from lenders will have clear titles and ownership rights, thereby saving you the difficulty of doing any research. Next fact is that the foreclosure is not for profit booking. When the lenders sell foreclosed property they need their money back, so they are ready to sell the property cheaper than what it could have obtained in open market under normal conditions. The first step of buying foreclosure is to gather information. The best idea is to make a database in a specific manner so that you will have separate data on all the properties and markets in clear sets. The next step is to directly get in touch with the foreclosure owners and start negotiating with them. If you have the address of property but not the name, online directories may help you to find the pertinent names. Buying foreclosure property as a beginner on your own can be risky and if you are trying to buy such properties get help from agents.

One of the risks occurring is that when buying foreclosed property at auction, give just a week to deposit all the cash, and if you fail to do so, you may lose all your deposit at certain times. But as you keep on investing and making money, you can gain experience about bad construction, poor soils, problems with septic systems etc. Background reading and relevant information is extremely important before you get into foreclosure investing. Foreclosure laws in your state, priority of liens, bidding at auctions, title insurance, and bankruptcy are some key areas where you should obtain complete knowledge. You will be able to make better and safer investments in this way particularly. Property investment is not an easy game, and must be played only with caution and care. Little concerns for the person whose property is up for foreclosure are necessary for this process. But you can easily cut down the process of foreclosures into three primary stages. The first stage is pre-foreclosure, second stage is foreclosure auction and the third and final stage is bank owned foreclosures.

In general as you move along the timeline of the foreclosure process your potential for profit will diminish the latter you get to the foreclosure a property. If you’re planning on making a full-time living eventually from real estate investment then you’ll want to learn in baby steps how to get the most out of your time and efforts without any doubt. With that saying for those who are ambitious enough to do this full time work you have to learn how to find pre-foreclosures because they normally offer you the utmost leverage and profitability relevant to the most deep discounted properties available via bank owned properties.

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John Nazareno

The term bank foreclosure is one which may seem mysterious to many individuals, especially if they have never experienced one and/or are unfamiliar with real estate terms. Bank foreclosures occur when a current homeowner can no longer pay their mortgage, is deemed to be in default and the bank repossesses the home. There are certain things which all individuals should know about bank foreclosures so that they can be more familiar with the term and prevent this from happening to them.

What the Lender Gains from Foreclosures

The lender will profit in various ways from foreclosing on a borrower?s home. The first profit is repossessing the home and putting a stop to any future losses that may occur as a result of the homeowner?s nonpayment from that point forward. Another way the lender profits from foreclosing on a home is that they will be able to sell the home and try to reclaim what was lost such as loan balance, attorney?s fees, court costs and more.

Condition of Title in the Home

When an individual purchases a home in a foreclosure sale, the prospective buyer wants to ensure that title in the home is good and that there will not be any issue with such a thing should they purchase the house. A good tip to keep in mind is that the lender will bid on a home at a foreclosure auction if title is good but may not do so if title is cloudy. Lenders often bid on foreclosure homes at Sheriff?s sales in order to obtain the property and sell it for a greater amount down the road. They will be less likely to do so if title is at issue.

How Lenders Dispose of Foreclosure Properties

There are a variety of ways with regard to how lenders dispose of foreclosed properties. Some lenders advertise foreclosure sales in newspapers while others retain real estate agencies to advertise the properties for them. The lender wants to choose the most effective yet least timely manner when it comes to disposing of foreclosed properties. With regard to the larger lenders, many of these companies have a department within their financial institution which deals exclusively with handling sales of this type.

Investing in Foreclosed Properties

Some individual investors make their living by investing in foreclosed properties. These individuals scan the market for possible goldmines and try to obtain the property for the least amount of money possible thereby making a good profit when they later sell the same property. A beneficial way for investors to find that perfect foreclosed property for sale is to do some independent research at the local courthouse or peruse the newspaper for possibilities. Once the investor has located some potential properties, that individual should calculate the profit margin by subtracting the default amount from the estimated market value. If the property is a good deal, the investor should go about pursuing the purchase of the property.

There are a few tips for investors who are looking to buy foreclosed property. The first is to always include relevant costs and expenses in the calculations when determining profit margin. Secondly, the investor should inspect the property to be sure that they are getting what they are paying for. Third, make realistic offers as those which are not so will be quickly rejected or bid out by another investor. Lastly, once the offer has been accepted by the lender try to sign the purchase and sales contract as soon as possible to ensure that the property will indeed be yours.

Advantages and Disadvantages to Purchasing a Bank Foreclosure Property

There are certain advantages concomitant with purchasing a property that was foreclosed upon. The first advantage is that the price of the property will be much less than many other types of properties which will allow investors to make a good profit when they resell the property. Another advantage to purchasing a home that the bank has foreclosed on is that many of the problems have been remedied by the lender and should not present an issue for the buyer. Lastly, a lower price obtained on the property will mean a lower monthly mortgage payment and accompanying costs.

As for the disadvantages, there is always a chance that an investor who purchases a property in this manner will have difficulty selling it at a later time. Another disadvantage to buying bank foreclosure properties is that the property may be sold as is and lead to the completion of multiple repairs by the new owner.

Conclusion

Bank foreclosure properties are ones which the bank is anxious to sell and the investor is more than willing to buy. With this relationship in existence, it is easy to see how foreclosure properties get sold as quickly as they do.

Information about Foreclosures - and free foreclosure List in California and other states. Want to relocate in Pittsburg CA , John Nazareno is the local real estate expert. Call me at 510-410-8026.

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Jeff Garrison

Foreclosure investing is actually quite another story when people have finally taken that responsibility and go for it. This really applies to anything else in life. Remember all those late nights where you’d stay up and watch those “how to make millions in your sleep” tV spots. Or perhaps you remember all those times you went to the book store and purchased tons of real estate investment books.

In fact you probably have a huge library and collection of real estate, investment, and how to get rich quick type books by now. Some people may get a feeling of being overwhelmed after wading through those thick books and studying all the complex terminology.

The reality is, if you are a naturally goal-oriented and self-disciplined person than you can probably achieve a full-time income in real estate within a year with the right system. So how do you choose the “right” system when everyone and his uncle says they are an expert or guru within the real estate area?

One thing you might want to consider doing is to align yourself with a acquaintance or relation who is already successful in real estate investment or at least in the branch of real estate that you are interested in doing. Don’t be shy, definitely get in touch with them.

It may be a friend from high school or college, or perhaps even a former room mate that you knew when you were just getting started with your own life and needed someone to share the rent costs with in order to have your own place, etc. I am sure that if you putdown for a bit, you may even surprise yourself at how much potential there is in your own circle.

That is actually a very good idea- the greatest way to get into real estate successfully is to have a advisor or at minimum someone that can really show you the ropes and provide feedback in real-time. No matter how well written the courses you’re looking at is, nothing really compares to a trusted friend or adviser that can actually walk you through this process step-by-step.

Even if it isn’t step by step, it’s still great to be able to call someone up and ask for constructive criticism on what you are doing as well as to add some motivation to the process. Folks this relationship is priceless. You can save hundreds of hours of time learning things on your own, and also save thousands upon thousands of dollars in costly mistakes.

Ultimately you will have to walk the path yourself in order to learn and gain from this wonderful industry. But the initial first steps will furnish you with the momentum to be able to soar up on your own two wings.

Find HUD foreclosures quickly, because the market changes rapidly.

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Mel Goodwin

That is your best bet, do not consult with a third-party including so-called investors or foreclosure services until you actually spoke to your banker or lender first.

Just let them know of your foreclosure situation and allow them to give rise to any possible options you may have going forward. At minimum, they will probably give you an extension while perhaps adding other provisions in the process to ensure both sides get the maximum benefit of the doubt

In general you will find that they are very responsive and empathize with your situation. If you find them very rude or someone who seems very impatient or flighty, just do the next best thing, and get in touch with another representative within your lending institution.

By all means do not trust any of those investors claim to want to help you. Do not sign any contract without having a lawyer at hand to help you to be the fine print.

Avoid your own horror story as many people can attest to situations where they assign their home over to a charlatan - resulting ultimately not only in STILL falling into foreclosure, but in losing your home completely at the same time. Work with a real estate lawyer or you may assign over the lease of your home unwittingly to these fake investors.

Foreclosure bailout related products and services are available at our web site at http://www.stopforeclosureline.com

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