Foreclosures?
Question:
Answer:
Yes, you can do both things mentioned in the answer #1 above, but do not do any of them.
Buying at an auction is nothing but trouble. Only "professional" buyers know how to do it, and still it's hard. When a property is STILL in foreclosure, a lender cannot sell it because the property still belongs to a person and there is a chance that this person will catch up with payments. In other words, how can a lender sell a property, if they do not own it yet?
The best and the easiest way is to buy a property, which is already owned by the bank (the owner is completely out.)
Banks gives these properties (they call them REO - real estate owned) to agents to sell. You make an offer on such properties the same way you do with any other property, the only difference is that you are buying from a bank and not from a person.
How do you find these bank owned properties? GET YOURSELF AN AGENT! It doesn't cost you anything, when you are a buyer.
Your agent will contact agents representing banks and show you a bunch of vacant properties. Just get an agent and tell him or her that you are interested in ROE. Forget web sites and seminars, where they "teach" you how to buy foreclosures.
I'm an agent in California and I do it all the time for my clients.
And the last thing. Yes, you can get a good deal on a REO (real estate owned) property, but do not expect to buy a million dollar house for pennies. Never happens in real life.
You do not need a Real Estate License to buy a foreclosure. You can go directly to the bank and ask for a list of foreclosure properties. If the property goes up for auction you will have to have 1) pre-approval from a lending institution or 2) the money in hand to purchase.
If it is still in the foreclosure mode you can sometimes negotiate the price with the lending institution depending on how much is left on the loan.
You can go to lenders directly. Whether or not they're good deals is another story.
Regards
To buy, lease, sell or acquire any interest in real estate under your name you do not have to have a real estate license, however; it is wise to work with a licensed agent if you do not know the pitfalls of real estate.
Foreclosures are either acquired by the government under their loan guaranteed to the lender, or through seizures from felons, or non tax paying citizens, or the lender acquires it because they did not do a government guaranteed program.
If you want to see the government foreclosures here are some links that might help you.
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA):
http://www.resales.usda.gov/
Real Estate for Sale by US Government Site #1
http://www.firstgov.gov/shopping/realest...
Site #2 http://www.homesales.gov/homesales/maina...
IRS: Real & Personal Property Sales: http://www.ustreas.gov/auctions/irs/...
Homes and properties being sold by the different departments in US Government:
http://www.hud.gov/homes/homesforsale.cf...
If you want to see the ones lenders have you will either have to approach each individual lender in your area or join one of the foreclosure service sites like foreclosure.com or realtytract.com
I do advice that whatever you do, be sure to work with a licensed professional to make sure you don't make mistakes, the licensed agent will in almost all cases be paid by the seller
I hope this helps you to at least get started.
You need to understand the process.
A lender can not sell you a foreclosure property until after the foreclosure is over. They are not the owner so they can not sell. Only the borrower can sell the property.
If the lender ends up taking the property back (no one bid enough at auction) then the lender is now the owner. It is generally called an REO property. The foreclosure has finished and the lender can sell the property though an agent (most common) or direct.
As a buyer you do not need a license.
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