Is it best to purchase pre-foreclosure, foreclosure or REO?

[Dolly Marketakis]

So I am need to investing and I see all these homes foreclosing or pre-foreclosing. The prices look great. But I am still figuring out my strategy on which carries the least amount of risk and the most reward.

[Josh Caldwell]

Pre Foreclosure BY FAR with one caveat.  You need to do a title search, so you don't step on someone else's landmine. In pre foreclosure you have a seller who has two options, sell to you and get a little money or go down in flames, lose everything, have their credit destroyed, and be humiliated in front of all of their neighbors. Not to mention the added bonus of being tossed out of their house by the sheriff with little to no time to gather their belongings. There is no worse way to lose a house. Your seller is desperate, and you are their only hope.  You can capture huge equity simply by helping them move and taking over their debt. market price is irrelevant at this stage, they cant wait for a better offer. You need to have the money or be able to borrow it (hint) to save their property, in most states you can stop the sale up to the day of the sale. You can even redeem the sale after the it happens but the is an advanced technique for a later discussion.