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Posted almost 15 years ago

The Hurdles in a Foreclosure Purchase

If you are interested in buying homes that are in the process of foreclosing then you likely know some of the positives that are common knowledge. The possibility of very low costs is one positive. Another may be that you are simply free of the agent hassle if you purchase through an auction.

Different people may find that different aspects appeal to them. Despite all the positives and the possibility of negative that nearly everyone knows, you may find that you have paid more for a home than you can immediately get out of it for example. There are some points that you will want to take into account before committing to purchasing foreclosed homes.

When many people are shopping for a home they like to talk to the present or previous owners. It is often a good way to get information about the house that can help you to estimate a real value of the home and/or to determine whether it is a house that you may want to live in. There is sometimes difficulty doing this with foreclosure homes. The home may be in foreclosure because the previous owners left with no intention of being contacted.

In other cases they may be busy with truly troubling situations. This can result in an absence of the people who might be your best source of information. Some things you may be able to find out by taking a look at the home, having an appraiser look at it when possible or even getting an inspector access to the home. These experts and yourself can pick up on a lot in this way, but there is no way to know a home, quite like living in it.

This is only one of the hurdles that you may encounter. In your situation this may prove to be of little consequence, or it may prove to be a large obstacle in getting what you need to make an accurate bid. If you have doubts about a particular process you may want to pass on bidding altogether. Many people that buy foreclosures are not keen on taking losses most of the time.

Another possible hurdle is that you will need to understand the bidding or offer procedure. It may depend at what stage of foreclosure you choose to attempt to buy the house at as to what the procedure is. It will also depend on which form of auction is organized for the auctioning of the property.

Some auctions are very different from each other and different from the stereotypical auctions that you may have seen in movies. Some allow for intentional underbidding and some may prompt you to bid as high as you possibly can, if you want to win. Again this is a hurdle that with adequate research you can often overcome, but if you have doubts about the process you may want to refrain from bidding until you have a more complete understanding of the process.

Even when purchasing foreclosure homes it can be helpful to have professional support to answer your questions and guide you.

Original: The Hurdles in a Foreclosure Purchase


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