Mark Mann

So you are looking to buy a foreclosed property. What should you consider before purchasing your first foreclosure home.

Where to find foreclosed listings?
What is a good deal and what is a "Money Pit"?
What should I know about buying at the Court house steps?
How do I finance a foreclosed property?

Lets answer these in a sequential manor.

1. Where do I find foreclosed listings?
a. Go to court house and look at the legal preceedings board.
b. Purchase a subscription to a foreclosures website. (Bad Idea)
i. These websites are usually 2 - 3 months out of date at best
and have been known to be 12 months out of date depending
on the site.
ii. These sites can give you misleading information that could cause you
to make an misguided decision or in first hand experience could
cause you to purchase one home when in fact you thought you were
purchasing a different home.
c. Find a Realtor that sells a lot of REO homes. This person may have
access to hundreds of different properties that are owned by the banks
and are ready to sell.

2. What is a good deal and what is a "Money Pit"?
There is only one way to find out what type of money you are going to have
to put into a house to bring up to a marketable home, this is have a home
inspection. Unless you are a licenced home inspector or a general contractor
you really do not know what type of costs you are looking at.

3. What should I know about buying a the court house steps?
a. Title Search, Title Search, Title Search. You do not know if there are outstanding
tax liens, mechanics leins or other issues that may be burried so deep you would
never be able to find them. Do try to to save a few bucks on something that could
cost you $50,000 or more.
b. Know who you are bidding against, study how they have bid in the past and the types
of properties they usually purchase. Then strategically make your bid high enough
others will not come over the top of your bid but low enough for you to make some $$$

4. How to finance a foreclosure property?
a. Traditional Mortgage
b. Business Mortgage / Loan
c. CASH
d. CASH

These are just a few questions that you may have when are are deciding to purchase
a foreclosed property. The most important thing you must do, especially if you are a
beginner investor, is to touch base with a real estate professional that is knowledgeable
in the area of foreclosures. They will be able to provide you with leads, advice, and expertise
that could save you THOUSANDS of dollars and maybe make you a few bucks along the way.

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Mark Mann
Realtor / Broker
Foreclosure Investing Expert
MarkMannRealtor.com