Any tips for buying a Foreclosed house?
Mar.25, 2010 in
House Buying Tips
My wife and I are looking into buying a foreclosed house. What tips does everyone have and what some things that we need to make sure to pay more attention to since all foreclosures are sold as-is?
March 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
check house title
hire professional to do house inspection for defects
check neighbourhood for crimes, for renting out
March 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Good title search, owner’s title insurance.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Inspect the house from top to bottom – remember, as-is means you have to fix everything wrong and you don’t want to spend more to fix teh house than it is worth.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
I know many states offer a listing of foreclosed homes, but you have to pay for them. Normally around $75 or $100 depending on where your at.
You can normally save a ton of money buying a foreclosure, but… remember there is a reason people couldn’t pay for it, so there is likely small things wrong with it too. Always use a home inspector before purchase. Banks normally don’t often barter the price at all, since they are normally asking payoff. You’ll be on the hook for closing cost too, since the bank won’t pay their own salary. Good luck!
March 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
House inspection is most important. Depending on your area the price may be already low and priced to sell, not as much wiggle room as most think when buying foreclosed homes. Was this home winterized throughout the winter? Check all light switches and reciprocals to make sure they work. Flush the toilette and use the sink. If these features are not on when you go to buy than make note of it if you are really interested. Good luck, if you like my answer please give me a moment and look over my site for money saving ideas. http://www.letsbefrugal.com I make money from folks clicking on google ads! Thanks.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Get an agent to write an offer for you. That way you’ll have something to go back on when the deal goes south. The problem with foreclosures is that banks can back out at the last minute, they will not do any repairs (however you can normally negotiate with them for monetary comp) You can get a home inspection. Make sure you turn on all the sinks, toliets, etc. Check the basement for water leaks, etc. Mold is often a problem in foreclosed homes because many times the previous owner leaves the water on, or it wasn’t winterized properly. Keep in mind that repairs can eat up the difference in price from a non foreclosed home.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Offer a very fast closing. Multiple offers will likely be received and the fastest to close usually wins.
Make sure you estimate costs to fix up extremely well. If you miss this by $10,000 you could end up paying too much.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
We purchased a foreclosed home 3 years ago, and now we have it back on the market for a year now…Be careful, & hire someone to get a FULL inspection! Something we failed to do, & had a friend just take a look at the property. Also, don’t let the back screw you around….our bank told us 110,000~When it’s closing time, suddenly they have other people that want to bid on our home! We ended up spending 146,00 on the property & have sunk a TON of cash into it.
BE CAREFUL! GET AN INSPECTION!