Repossessed Homes Sale
Repossessed Homes Sale
Have you considered looking in to repossessed or foreclosed homes? It’s certainly no secret that the banks have been repossessing homes at a record pace. And “For Sale” signs seem to be popping up everywhere (and staying up!). So it’s reasonable to assume that there must be great deals out there on these repossessed houses. But how do you find them among all of the properties that are for sale?
My wife and I began looking at foreclosed properties in 2010 when we put our house on the market. We kept hearing about the great deals that were available and thought we may be able to buy a very nice home for pennies on the dollar.
We quickly discovered that identifying foreclosed properties would not be as easy as we thought. It seems that banks don’t advertise the fact that certain properties are in foreclosure – probably because they don’t want a lot of opportunity seekers flooding them with “low-ball” offers.
We were able to find a few of these properties on our own, but we had to dig a little before we knew for sure that they were repossessed. Upon inspection, we found that most of these properties had been neglected and needed repairs (mostly cosmetic). But the discounts were unbelieveable.
Even at today’s low prices, there are foreclosed houses available that are discounted by 20% – 40% below other, similar houses. Many of these properties do require some repair, but the discounts usually outweigh any minor cosmetic issues by a long-shot.
The key to finding the best deals is having the right information. It was hard to believe, but we found that many realtors weren’t even equipped to deal in foreclosed homes. Even they had to dig through the details to find these properties. So we ended up searching online and we found a couple websites that specialize (solely) in foreclosure listings. They have all of the foreclosure listings throughout the country, as well as in depth information and tools that are helpful in the selection process. Here are the links if you’re interested:
www.RealtyTrac.com
www.Foreclosure.com
The great thing about both of these sites is that they offer a free trial period (I believe it’s 7 days), where you can use all of their tools and resources to search for foreclosed homes without having to pay a cent. And 7 days is plenty of time to search your entire area and make a list of all of the available foreclosed properties. After you’re done, you can just cancel the account if you want to.
Out of the two sites, RealtyTrac is probably the best. They have a lot of very useful information and tools that will help you through the process. But as long as you’re taking advantage of the free trial offer, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use both to be sure that you’re getting all of the available information.
Here’s a video with Vera Gibbons that offers a little more information:
A word of caution about foreclosures: Before settling on a foreclosed house, be sure that this is right for you. You may have to actually go look at a few of these homes to help you decide. The fact is, some people just want a house that’s ready to live in and don’t really want the hassle of making repairs. But if you don’t mind adding a coat of paint or replacing some carpet, you’re likely to find some great opportunities to save a considerable amount of money.
Also, before buying, be sure to have the property inspected by a professional so that there are no surprises down the road. This applies to all properties, whether or not they’re foreclosed. Home inspections usually cost around $450, but they can save you thousands.
Please drop me a line (see the contact page) to let me know how your foreclosure shopping experience goes. I’d also like to hear what you think of the websites that I listed.
Good luck!
