Foreclosure Guide
No doubt you are planning on investing in foreclosure properties because you will want to take advantage of the downward slope in the US real estate market at this time. You will be able to purchase properties at well below market value and that is a consider feather in your financial cap so to speak. Your work does not end after obtaining the loan for financing and paying the closing fees on the foreclosure properties.
Though you may be able to rent out the foreclosure properties as is, especially if you were shrewd enough to purchase only the most quality foreclosure properties in good areas. You will no doubt have to do some fixing up. You want your foreclosure properties to continuously appreciate so that you can get maximum dollar value in the future should you decide to resell.
What you need to do from the start is get an estimate from a qualified professional on how much the repair and renovations will cost on your foreclosure properties before you even buy them. If not then, right after the purchase so that you can avoid damage and deteriorations on foreclosure properties from escalating beyond your financial control.
Actually, you can get free estimates on the cost of fixing up your foreclosure properties and that will help save you money when you are planning your own financial budget.
You will get to see most of the foreclosure properties before purchasing. The banks will let you see properties and so will government owned properties in many states offered by the HUD and VA programs. There may be a little more difficulty viewing properties put up at auctions but it is not entirely impossible to see them either. Inquire with state laws what your rights are in this manner.
How Many Free Estimates are Needed?
• Get several estimates upon the same property and same work to be done on that property. Do not just accept the first bid for the job.
• Get estimates over the telephone, to insure that you do not have to pay for the cost of your estimate.
• Make it clear to the prospective contractors that you are looking for free estimates at this time.
Compare prices
• Do not invite each professional at the same time, talk to them individually ask as many questions about the work as you need: What work needs to be done, how will it be done, how long will it take to do it, what are the labor costs, and how much will it cost up front and at the end of the contract.
• Ask about the refurbishing costs (bringing property up to standards) and how long the existing appliances or things like the electrical and plumbing systems should last in their existing state.
• Ask about the replacement costs for parts.
• Take the initiate to go to the hardware stores and price these items to see if the contractor is being honest or overcharging you for the pieces.
• Use online cost estimates on fixing up properties, such as the Home Remodel and Cost Guide by Marshall & Swift, this guide is widely used through the Industry.
• Get an estimate from the hardware or home improvement center before soliciting professional contractor estimates.
Wherever possible do your own repair work in order to cut down on fixer upper costs. Use your own people, before contracting to a private company. However if a professional team can get material at discount and you need quite a bit of material to fix up your foreclosure properties, you will have to weight the material cost against labor cost to see which direction will yield the highest savings for you.
Where to find foreclosure listings is a common question asked by many people who are in the business of buying foreclosure property. They enter the business because of the true market advantages and savings from using this approach. Like with any other real estate investment, how to find these golden opportunities, the foreclosure listings, becomes a job in and of itself.
Running to auction after auction is a method to find foreclosure listings, but can be time consuming and you will not necessarily get the best deals that way. Most of the time, the prices of the property represented by these foreclosure listings have been inflated to encourage higher bidding.
You also may require proving that you have the down payment by producing a letter from your bank and be able to cover the 6 per cent commission fee for the special licensed real estate agent that has been contracted for the sale of government property foreclosure listings sales. The extra money and the bother to jump through loops to qualify for government foreclosure property can be too cumbersome and time consuming. You want to get in on the business and get the best deals from foreclosure listings as possible.
If you are an investor that still loves the thrill of bidding at an auction, there are websites that help you to find deals from auction foreclosure listings anywhere in the United States. These are specialty auctions called realty auctions providing foreclosure listings on foreclosed homes, or homes now repossessed by the bank (REO homes).
These auction houses also offer foreclosure listings on property that has been seized by the government due to non payment of taxes or default on mortgage payments and Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac insurance programs. You can even find land at these realty auctions that is being auctioned off at as much as 90 percent of their actual property value.
Many banks and financial lending institutions prefer to sell their foreclosure property at realty auctions because they prefer the quick turn over and they do not want to make public, through the normal channels of doing business, that they have made some rather poor business decisions. Banks are in the market of making money not losing it. Since the banks are not in the business of keeping real estate, but are in the business of lending and making money, real estate agents will approach them to sell their property at auctions in a fast and expedient way.
The property might have liens attached to it but the bidder will be advised of such and can take this in consideration when making a bid. Also the house may be in need of repair and it will also become the bidders responsibility to consider the additional cost when making a serious bid. Most auctions will allow the bidder to see the property. Most important is the fact that some properties are in good shape but just need to be sold quickly.
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