Foreclosure Not For Sale

[Dustin Little]

I am just getting in the game with little knowledge and almost zero experience with REI. I have one property I have a PM renting for me in another state and that is the extent of my REI experiences.

So, after reading a recent success story, I decided I would drive around town during some free time I had to see if there were any homes that appeared to be vacant.  I was surprised to find a home only 3 miles from me in a nice neighborhood that appeared vacant.  I called the county records office and found out it was a foreclosure and a bank trust owned it.  I called a few numbers until I was able to talk to a human being, who then took my name and number and told be the office that handles this sort of business will contact me in 24-48 hours. 

I was pretty proud of myself for first finding the house and second hunting down the owner/bank.

So, I am coming to BP for any advise on where to go or what to expect from here.

I should mention I plan to sell my current home soon which I used my VA loan to purchase. If I were to be able to purchase the foreclosed home, I would move my family into it (if hospitable) and pursue selling my current home (by means of FSBO). I have about 13,000 in cash, the foreclosure I am expecting to be worth around $200,000 once in good condition, hopefully normal maintenance is all that is needed (i.e. cleaning moss of roof, landscape cleanup, paint, etc.). The foreclosure shows it was purchased by the back for $158,000 less than a year ago. I don't know if this is useful info as far as knowing what to expect to spend or if the comps are a better indicator.

Once again thanks for any advice.