Upcoming Foreclosures

How does an average person with no real estate background go about buying foreclosure's and bank owned homes?

Public Comments

1. You do not need a back ground, just a good loan and real estate agent.
2. Most of these sales go through realtors just like regular sales so all you have to do is contact a realtor and tell them what you'd like to do. Like the rest of us, you'll learn as you go. The right realtor can really make a difference so contact several before you decide which one's right for you.
3. There are several things you need to know when investing in real estate or buying foreclosures, probates and other distressed properties for flipping. First of all you should go to the nearest book store, purchase several books on buying, fixing and flipping foreclosed and other distressed properties and real estate investing. There are several that you might be interested in. You will also want to find out if your state is a non-judicial or judicial foreclosure state. This will assist you in making offers as well time frames in which you have to work within when purchasing a foreclosed property. Once, or, while you are doing this you should buy one of the TV guru's distressed property programs. These programs will give you some legal forms you might use when writing an offer to purchase a property. You will also find several scripts to use in talking to your potential clients. The also give you tips and a formula on how to figure if you have a property that you can make money from before buying. If you are without funds to accomplish this business, you will have to find some investors that will assist you. You will have to make a deal with them about a certain percentage of the profits made from the sale of the property. You will have to advertise in your local newspaper for these type individuals to assist you in buying and flipping. Another method to use when you are without funds to assist you in buying investment property is to get the deal under contract in your name after which you wholesale the deal to another investor and let them do the fix up and repairs. You can collect anywhere between $5,000.00 to $10,000.00. In high cost property states you might even get more for wholesaling properties. Normally this is 50/50 however it could be more or less depending on how your relationship is with the investor. Now to purchase a foreclosed property depends on what phase the foreclosure is in. #1 Pre-foreclose- the owner is still in the home, he has been notified that he is in foreclosure. Now he has to come current or the foreclosure will continue. You can make an offer to the owner at this point, give him something in his hand to purchase his equity. Now you will also want to see if there is any repairs that need to be done on the property. If there is you need to know the cost of this repair. You will need to know how many months he is behind in his mortgage payments as well as any fees that the lender has incurred in trying to collect the mortgage payment. Now add these together to include what you had to give the homeowner. Also you must include how much you will need to hold the property, I mean making the mortgage, paying the insurance and taxes while you repair the house for sale. Now find out the balance of the mortgage add this to the above figure. Now you need a method of finding out the current value of the property. All this information will tell you if you have a deal or not. #2 The other way to purchase a foreclosure is when the property goes to sale. At this point you must have all cash and you must be able to prove that you have whatever the minimum bid is in cash, cashier’s check or money orders. If you have no proof you will not be allowed to bid. #3 One last way is after the sale. If no one bid and get the property at the foreclosure sale, you may find out what bank owns the property, write an offer as well as a check as a deposit not to be cashed until the offer has been accepted. You might also inform them as to how and when you plan to come up with the remainder of the sales price. I have know some lenders to accept offers this way before the property is turned over to a real estate broker to sell. Now you have to determine how you are gonna market yourself to get. #1 You can purchase a pre-foreclosure list from a list broker (Join the crowd most do this and mail letters to the person that is in foreclosure) #2 You can advertise in your local paper that you are in the business of purchasing foreclosures. #3 You can do a direct mail to people in your city stating that you are now in the foreclosure business. #4 You can do the research at the county recorders office yourself (time consuming and tedious-but workable. You should get enough leads for a least one days work.) #5 You can select an area of your city that you want to work and target your that area with your energy. You can walk the area pass out flyers that you are now in the business of buying property distressed, divorced and foreclosures as well as probate property. Pass out these flyers for at least 2-3 months after which you should go to a newsletter of some sort while still explaining that you purchase foreclosed, distressed and probate properties. After passing out the flyers for 2-3 months you should follow that up with a newsletter to the same area. Check with the post office and inquire about a bulk mailing stamp. This is a more economical w
4. There are lots of books at the Public Library to get you started. And read the Wall Street Journal. You probably won't be able to buy at the foreclosure auctions; those sales often require that you pay cash. If you are an "average person" you don't have that. So you buy bank repo's as soon as the bank hires an agent and the For Sale sign goes up. You make an offer and you will be the owner in 20 days. You move in or rent it out. THen do it again..