Archive for the 'Foreclosures' Category

What are the advantages and disadvantages of buying foreclosures at auction?

Foreclosure auctions — are they good or bad? Before hunting them down and taking the (considerable) time to attend a foreclosure auction, you should know the advantages and disadvantages. Here they are:

How do foreclosure auctions work?

When you talk about foreclosures, most people automatically assume you’re referring to bank owned properties. But not all foreclosures are owned by banks. Sometimes, a homeowner is unable to negotiate a settlement with the lender, so the property goes to auction in an effort to pay off the liens. As an investor, you can go […]

How can I convince a bank to accept a lowball offer on a foreclosure? (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this series, I outlined three strategies for whittling down the price of foreclosures. In this post, I’m going to give you three more. Where the first three techniques will work for most foreclosure real estate investments, sometimes you need to apply more pressure. Here’s how:

How can I convince a bank to accept a low ball offer on a foreclosure? (Part 1)

For most beginners, making offers on foreclosures is a miserable experience. When I first started, I crashed and burned 17 times in a row. At the time, I chalked it up to bad luck, but now that I’m older and wiser, I realize that I didn’t know what I was doing.
Now my acceptance ratio is […]

How can I find motivated sellers before they go into foreclosure?

Uncovering a house before it goes into foreclosure is like making friends. You have to push through scores of "average" people to find someone you like, usually looking in multiple places. For example, you might get to know people with similar interests, such as in your church group or at work. The more courageous people […]

Can I make money by purchasing houses before they go into foreclosure?

Yes! Sometimes, snatching up a house before it goes into foreclosure will give you a better real estate investment than waiting until after the bank finishes foreclosure proceedings.  The reason is control. After the bank forecloses on a property, they control it. The loss mitigation officer decides when to sell and for how much.
On […]

How can I beat other investors to foreclosures if I don’t have any money?

The foreclosure niche is dominated by investors with cash. When you’re a beginner, it’s easy to hate them for it. You can spend hours performing due diligence, arranging your financing, and scraping together a down payment, only to have a cash investor scoop the foreclosure right out from under you. It wastes a lot of […]

Where can I find a list of foreclosure properties for sale?

If only it were as simple as pulling out a list! Banks purposefully hide foreclosures from investors. From their perspective, investors are scavengers then bury them with lowball offers. Average homebuyers, on the other hand, are thrilled when they can negotiate a small discount. So, naturally, the bank markets to them.
You can still find their […]

Do foreclosures still make a good investment?

Foreclosures are hot. Really hot. Every investor and dozens of his relatives are looking for them. And for good reason. Banks are in the business of loaning money, not selling off foreclosed houses. Investors take advantage of their disinterest by offering them a swift but low settlement. At least, that’s how it works in theory. […]