Mar 11 2010
How To Buy Property In Real Estate Foreclosure Auctions
One result of the real estate plunge is that there are more choices than ever in real estate foreclosure auctions. Although the economy may be bad now, it’s certain to rebound sometime in the future. Unless there’s a massive drop in the American population, people are still going to need places to live, which means that homes will always be needed, even if they aren’t worth as much as they once were. Some people still consider properties as valuable as gold.
Although you can sign up to a foreclosure listing service that tell you when foreclosure auctions are going to occur anyplace in the nation, you are asking for trouble purchasing property in a marketplace you know nothing about. For example, it’s really no good purchasing a mini mansion in South Carolina if it’s located in a town struck by a hurricane this past year. What you need to do is understand what specific market you want after which wait for a foreclosure auction inside your desired area.
It is perfectly okay to contact the owner of the property to try and do a deal so the property doesn’t go on the foreclosure auction block. Usually, owners are given about a month to find a buyer. It’s often much easier for banks or the government to deal with sales of foreclosed property than an auction.
If things don’t work out, you can still bid on the auction. It is up to you to find out what realtor is handling the auction and if you can phone in a bid or if you have to attend in person. It’s not up to the owner of the property to let you know all of the gory details. Since laws about bidding on foreclosure auctions differ in each state, you have to acquaint yourself with your state’s laws (or the laws of the state where the property is located).
Because you are making such a huge investment, you don’t want to completely trust the words and reports of others. You need to go into the property and check it out yourself. Even if there has been a detailed inspection report from the bank or creditor’s evaluator done, don’t rust it. Get your own home inspector to check it out. In this way, you will know how much you should bid or even if you should bid at all.
Depending on the foreclosure laws in the state where the auction is taking place, you may have to pay for the property in full. Keep that in mind when determining your bid.
