What is the catch to buying a foreclosed home? Are the foreclosure lists legit?
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The fee sites are a rip-off. Most of the time they're just copies of the HUD lists, which the government does not copyright. Look at them for free at http://www.hud.gov
Foreclosures can be a good deal though they normally sell for pretty close to market value most of the time. The slightly lower prices are usually due to less than perfect condition since the previous owner had no incentive to clean the place up or make needed repairs. Taking care of that will be up to the buyer.
I don't know anything about the lists or the payment of taxes up front, but from what I have heard, many foreclosed homes are beat up and abused, and would need extensive repairs to make them up to par, which is why they are below market value. So you'd spend every penny you saved on the purchase price at Home Depot, plus the aggravation.
No fee to see the list it is all public record. Different states have different laws in regards to taxes owed and other possible liens on the property. Most counties will actually auction the property off at the courthouse, You must be able to purchase the property at the auction so that means you have arrange this with your bank ahead of time. Regardless any investment like this is going to be a gamble, sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesn't. You can find some really good deals at the auctions but the mortgage company will purchase the house if it doesn't meet a minimum bid amount and then will resale the property using a Realtor. Also the property owner has up until the day of foreclosure to make arrangements and get their house out of foreclosure so just because its on the list doesn't mean its definitely going to be available....good luck, there is a lot of competition out there in this market...
As "bostonian" says, the catch is the fee you pay for the list. You can get the same lists for free if you know where to look.
NOT true about the taxes. When the homes are sold, any money that is owed for taxes, or towards the unpaid mortgages is taken from the purchas price of the home. If there is STILL an unpaid balance on the debt, the original owner is still liable for it.
The new owner only assumes the financial responsibility ANY new owner of the property would assume.
You can get free lists from sites like www.investingwithoutlosing.com and others. Just decide where you're going to invest (what county) and access the records at the court house. They are all public records.
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