How to Purchase Homes in Foreclosure

Whether you're looking for your next home or seeking a good investment, homes in foreclosure can provide a great opportunity to land prime real estate at discount.

Difficulty:

Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Financial Calculator
• Real Estate Ads
• Loan Agents
• Loan Statement
• Real Estate Agents
• Personal Organizers
• Computers With Internet Access

1. Visit a loan agent and get prequalified for a loan.

2. Find a realtor that specializes in foreclosures. Ask for referrals from friends or family members, or find ads in real estate booklets and newspapers. If you are interested in government properties, make sure the agent is HUD-, FHA-, or VA-certified.

3. Tell your agent how much you can spend. (Consider fix-up costs too.) Bring your prequalification letter.

4. Ask your agent about real estate auctions, if you can afford to pay in cash.

5. Go see what's out there. Ask your agent to help you determine what your up-front costs would be, what your fix-up costs would be and what the resale value would be for each property. Crunch all the numbers to the last detail, even considering resale costs such as advertising and commissions.

6. Find out what the property would rent for, if you plan to lease it out.

7. Make a bid on the property.

8. If you get the bid, have a thorough home inspection and appraisal done.

9. Use a reliable title company to check for any liens on the property.

10. If the inspections turn out okay, buy your home and enjoy - or fix it up and sell it for profit.

Tips & Warnings

• If you just want to browse and see what's out there before contacting an agent, go to http://www.hud.gov, or search online real estate listings.

• Consider subscribing to a foreclosure listing service if you are in the investment business. Enter "foreclosure" into your Internet search engine.

• Some subscription services list distressed homes, others list properties already repossessed. Make sure you know what you're signing up for.

• Many books on buying foreclosed properties contain cost/profit worksheets. Use the worksheets faithfully.

• Be careful of costly foreclosure seminars and courses that teach the same principles that you can find in books at your local library.