5 Things To Know Before Buying a Foreclosed Home

Buying a foreclosed home is a good way to either make money or gain immediate equity in a home for many people. For most people, their home holds the majority of their available money that they would have to invest. This is why you should always have your money working for you. You always make money if you buy something low and sell it high. That’s why buying a foreclosed home could be a moneymaker.

If you are just getting started, you need to learn all the possible pitfalls that come along with buying a foreclosed home. Here are five things that you should keep in mind before you get started.

1. When you find a home that you think you may be interested in, go and look at the neighborhood before going any further. The real estate slogan ‘location, location, location’ holds just as true for purchasing any type of home. The house may be beautiful, may be grand, but be sure to look at the other houses in the neighborhood. If they are in decline or are in poor condition, your house will be more difficult to sell. An old Golden rule, “You want to be a Chevy in a Cadillac neighborhood” Why? Either your neighbors will bring your home value up OR they can bring them down. Unless the neighborhood has some special purpose or meaning to you that brings other value to the table, look for homes that are on the lower level of the average cost in the neighborhood.

2. Check to see how close schools are to the neighborhood your house is in. Does the school have a good reputation? Other amenities to consider are shopping, parks, and possible neighborhood upgrades. Is shopping close by? Is there a neighborhood park for the kids? Is the city going to revitalize this area of the city? All of these issues will have an impact on how quickly you can sell the house and for how much. All of the points mentioned above will either bring value to the home or take value away.

3. Homes that need many repairs are the best opportunities to either make a lot of money or lose a lot of money. Why? 

• These homes are priced better because fewer people want to deal with all the work that it will take to repair them.
• Most people have a hard time imagining what it will look like when it is completed. The fewer people that the home appeals too, the more difficult it is to sell. Therefore, they lower the price to try to attract more buyers.
• When you have purchased the home correctly and have done the repairs properly, you will end up with a home that is freshly remodeled to your taste at below market value. The most important things to know in purchasing these types of homes is to make sure you know ALL the costs that you will incur BEFORE you make any offer. Secondly, make sure that the contactor that gave you all the costs is the right contractor for the job.

4. When you are about to make an offer to the bank on a foreclosed property, it is important to show the bank you that you are serious and you are in a financial position to go through with your offer. Remember the Assets Managers who manage these properties manage many others as well. Therefore, when an offer comes in to the Asset Manager and the offer comes with a pre-approval and a good amount of earnest money, they are more likely to look at your offer in a more favorable light.

5. The best deals seem to come in two different situations. 

• Get the listing when it first hits the market. Sometimes a realtor makes a mistake or the Asset Manager just wants a house off its books. Either way, it is priced right. You must be ready to act on it and you need to be at the right place at the right time because these homes do not stay on the market long.
• The second scenario takes a little more work and a little less luck. You often see those homes that have been on the market for more than 3 or 4 months. A home that has been on the market that long is obvious overpriced for what it is. The Asset Manager is tired of managing them and their boss is probably on their back to move them. In this case, there is a play to make them a low-ball offer with a quick closing. It does not work all the time but it dose work often enough to track those homes.