Heather Seitz asked:


meowner becomes delinquent on their mortgage payments the lender begins the lengthy foreclosure process. If no attempts are made to reconcile the debt with the lender, then the property is auctioned off at the public courthouse. A single foreclosed property purchased at an auction can easily earn an investor a years worth of investment income. Right now is perhaps the best time in the history of real estate to invest in foreclosures with a record number of foreclosures reported last year. There are plenty of deals available to the general public but the trick is knowing how to find them

Despite what infomercials on television might tell you, investing in foreclosed homes is not as easy as just walking over to the courthouse. There is a lot of homework that needs to be done before a foreclosed home is purchased at auction. The key to successful investing, especially in real estate, is research. What you know can make all of the difference. If you want to be successful with foreclosures you have to be willing to spend some time doing some research

The internet has made performing research of any kind very easy. While researching a foreclosure online you can easily come across all kinds of valuable information. If you are going to be bidding on a property you need to know what the market value of the home is, and there are a number of free online services that allow you to research the market value of a house for free. However, in order to obtain the most reliable data on market values you will need to join a real estate membership site. A membership site will allow you to obtain up-to-date real estate information and foreclosures at a nominal fee.

Foreclosures have a tendency to be in a state of disrepair by the time they reach the auction block. Only a tiny fraction of foreclosed homes that reach the auction block are in move in condition. This means you need to be prepared to estimate renovation costs to the foreclosed property you are looking at. Unfortunately, many states prohibit you to enter a foreclosed home until after the auction is over. If you live in such a state you should consider speaking with a realtor in your area. Chances are a realtor will know someone who was involved in the foreclosure.

With a little research and patience you can easily find foreclosure deals at auction. But if you really want to make a profit with foreclosures you should consider investing in a foreclosure list service. Such a service will provide you with foreclosure deals as they come available and before they reach the auction block. The earlier you buy the property the better.



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optica00002 asked:


Home, sweet home! Many people want to make their dream come true: to own their home free and clear. Others just want to start a business and they consider that investing in real estate is the answer. If you are one of them and that's what you want to do, at least understand what you are about to do, and do so with your eyes open. Investing in foreclosure real estate or buying foreclosure homes might be the solution you look for.

Investor or simply homebuyer keep in mind that buying foreclosure homes, either bank or government owned properties, is a perfect way of saving money since you obtain the foreclosure real estate at a price way below the market value and that means a substantial discount for you. The foreclosure real estate business turns out to be quite a booming industry with 35% to 45% saving off market values and an unsurpassed come back on investment. Foreclosure real estate companies are specialized in selling foreclosure homes, with trained foreclosure real estate agents hired to do the job for you. These companies have an evidence of all foreclosure homes nationwide, statewide or local and can provide for detailed and comprehensive foreclosure listings, the basic start point to ensure a successful foreclosure real estate purchase and sale.

If you made up your mind and intend to purchase a foreclosure real estate, then you should go deeper into the investing opportunities given by this process. Foreclosure homes can be bought either while in the “pre-foreclosure” stage, or directly at the “auction”. Each opportunity has risks and rewards.

Buying a foreclosure real estate in the pre-foreclosure phase involves the direct contact between the homeowner (and sometimes the lender) and the investor. This is a win-win opportunity since both parties involved are eager to reach their goal. Achieving foreclosure homes might be a huge investing occasion along with a substantial discount, a low cash down payment and flexible sales agreements. The disadvantages of such an approach are little; it is possible to face a lot of competition and other lien holders or to have difficult times finding the foreclosure real estate owner.

The second buying method mentioned is the auction or the sale of a foreclosure real estate. The auction is the next logical step in case of not selling during the pre-foreclosure and represents the end of the foreclosure process. The auction is a sword with a sharp blade: you can either hit the jackpot, or lose your shirt. The biggest advantage to buying a foreclosure real estate at the auction is the excellent potential profit, especially since there isn’t much competition for foreclosure homes sold at auction. At the same time, the dangers surrounding the auction go from over-bidding to the impossibility to inspect the foreclosure real estate, to pay off the sale amount in due time or to evict the tenants living in the foreclosure homes.

No matter what buying method you choose, the experts in foreclosure homes recommend a scenario to pursue for a successful purchase. Before making any decision or offer, locate and evaluate the foreclosure real estate, calculate your profit potential, identify any other liens or judgments, determine your maximum offers/bid amounts for the foreclosure homes. If you have second thoughts, don’t do the deal. If, in the end, you still like the figures, then you got yourself a property – an ex foreclosure real estate!



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Robert Lam asked:


I have been talking in previous articles about all of the incredible and exciting opportunities in foreclosures--and there are many! However, there are also things to watch out for. I wanted to share six pitfalls with you in this article.

1. Spotting a great opportunity... too late

When a bank issues a notice of default to a home owner who has fallen behind in their payments, this notice goes onto the public record. Not only is it filed with the county recorder's office in the relevant county, but it gets included on various foreclosure listing sites on the Internet. If you're not actively monitoring these lists, and then finally come across a great opportunity... it could be too late. Some other pre-foreclosure property investor may have already negotiated to buy the home by the time you've decided to contact the owner! You need to be on guard, pay attention and act quickly!

2. Failing to gain the trust of the home owner

Right now, pre-foreclosure and foreclosure property investing is one of the biggest games in town. So you can bet that distressed home owners are being harassed by investors promising them the world. Unfortunately, this includes various scam artists and wannabes who can't fulfill their big promises. That leaves home owners more skeptical than ever, so if you don't do all you can to prove that you're legitimate... you may lose the deal before you've even stepped in the home owner's door. Build rapport with the homeowner. Sympathize and emphathize with thier situation and help them feel like their situation is not unique and there is a solution!

3. Incorrectly valuing the property

Your ability to profit from a pre-foreclosure deal largely rests on achieving a big enough margin between the market value of the property... and the price you can get it for. While you can hire an appraiser to get an appraisal of the the value, it really rests on you to get this right. You need to consider the market values of similar properties in the area, as well as the condition of the home. You also need to take into account any liens (unpaid property taxes, utility bills, etc) that may attach to the property. If you misread the value, you could get yourself in trouble. As a rule of thumb, you want to make sure that you're getting such a good discount that you could sell the home now OR in the future, and still make a profit. If you are not sure, consult with a few realtors in town to better understand what is going on in that particular neighborhood or area around the property.

4. Making an offer that's too low... or too high

Make an offer that's too low, and the home owner will simply reject it. Remember, they want to get some equity or at least settle their debts with the price you offer. On the other hand, if you offer to buy the property for too much, you could erode your own ability to profit. This is goes hand in hand with the previous item where you need to know the values first. You need to know the repairs and your profits. Know your numbers and you can't go wrong.

5. Failing to properly finance the deal

You also need to finance the deal. The last thing you want to do is to get yourself into financial difficulty by taking on a loan that YOU can't sustain! This comes with networking with lenders, mortgage brokers, realtors and other investors. Talk to your power team around you and make sure you have your financing in place to purchase the property.

6. Not learning from others

Learn from others who have already experienced the pitfalls firsthand such as what is described in http://www.ForeclosuresUnleashed.net and in the resource information below. Trial and error is the most costly way to invest in real estate because there is such a wealth of information out there that you have at your fingertips to save yourself from setbacks.

These pitfalls may seem basic... but it's often the basic things that get missed when you're eager to find the next best deal. By all means stay enthusiastic... but also be aware of the foregoing pitfalls. That way you'll be in good shape to find profitable pre-foreclosure properties to invest in.



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