Month: August 2008

Is there a future in foreclosure investment?

The foreclosure market was once seen as a small niche market where purchasers willing to take a risk could pick up a bargain property in need of major refurbishment. New buyers with plenty of energy could get much more house for their money and investors had a source of cash generating real-estate. In 2005, over 800,000 properties entered foreclosure and the figures have been rising steadily for a number of years.

It’s the economy, stupid

What special conditions do VA foreclosures have?

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) deals almost exclusively with ex-military personnel and acts as a guarantor on mortgages organized through third part lending agencies. In the event that a property owner defaults on their mortgage payments so badly that the lender prosecutes a foreclosure, the VA will acquire the property from the lender, closing the mortgage and will attempt to recoup its costs through auctioning the foreclosed property.

The Foreclosure Process

Are Fanny Mae foreclosures a good buy?

What are the alternatives to using a real estate broker for foreclosure purchase?

Real estate brokers play an important role in house-buying. They simplify the buying process for purchasers and sellers by collecting a selection of properties, advertising them for sale, marketing them and steering the buyers and sellers through the legal process of exchanging title and financing. However, in the case of foreclosures, there are some situations where the additional fees charged by a real estate broker are an unnecessary cost.

Foreclosure properties

What are the alternatives to using a real estate broker for foreclosure purchase?

Real estate brokers play an important role in house-buying. They simplify the buying process for purchasers and sellers by collecting a selection of properties, advertising them for sale, marketing them and steering the buyers and sellers through the legal process of exchanging title and financing. However, in the case of foreclosures, there are some situations where the additional fees charged by a real estate broker are an unnecessary cost.

Foreclosure properties

Is prequalification necessary to purchase a foreclosure?

Foreclosure auctions take many forms and range from old-fashioned hammer banging on the courtroom steps to electronic sealed-bid auctions. What they all share in common is a desire to avoid time-wasters. If you are serious about bidding on a foreclosure property your financial preparations need to be scrupulous.

County Court Auctions

How to find the true market value of a foreclosure

Your bid for a foreclosure property has to consider so many variables including an accurate market value. Get it right and you’ll realize a good profit if your intention is to resell. If you’re not looking at it as an investment but as a home, you’ll want to maximize your available capital for repair and renovation work. If you get the math wrong you may end up in debt yourself or you’ll have to live with the leaking roof and the dangerous electrics.

Considerations in foreclosure buying

Are there benefits in buying a pre-foreclosure home?

Buying a pre-foreclosure home is so different from the process used to buy a property that has been foreclosed; it’s like chalk and cheese. There are risks associated with intervening before the property has been seized by the lender but these can be minimized and the benefits could possibly outweigh any drawbacks.

What is pre-foreclosure purchasing?

What to do if you can’t view a foreclosure

Inspecting a foreclosed property firsthand is as important as inspecting any potential home purchase. Only by verifying what you are being told in the details can you make a sensible decision whether to buy or not. However it is quite common to prevent an internal inspection of the property until the title has been transferred.

Foreclosed Properties

How foreclosure auctions work.

When borrowers default on their mortgage payments, they stand to risk losing their home to the mortgage lender. In the event that this happens, the property is of little use to the lender. They must resell it as quickly as possible and to the highest bidder. This usually results in an auction being held to sell one or more properties.

Sealed Auctions