"Helping You Find Your Place"
Foreclosures, Are They the Best Investment?
Foreclosures: Is This the Best Investment?
Check the County Recorders Office ( there is an on-line website for most counties), for Notices of Default (NOD).Remember, they may be very hostile, they have lost a lot and they may have lived there a long time. They may be the original designers. They may feel you are a shark coming for their crumbs.
You will not make as much profit at this stage since they may not feel desperate, they often have hope till closer to the end that they will find a way out. That is why they don't get it listed and sold fast with an agent. The good news is that you have little or no competition giving you more certainty that you will be the successful bidder.
Second:
You can acquire the property on the courthouse steps the day of auction. This is usually about 4 months after the notice of default has been recorded. Follow the Notice of Sale (Trustee Sale) in the local paper. A pre-approval letter from a lender or proof of cash for the balance will be required along with a cashiers check or cash for 10% ( unless otherwise stated) of the purchase bid. You will be competing with other investors so the price may climb significantly higher than your original expectations. You have a better chance to do investigative inspections by choosing the first way to acquire a foreclosure than the AS IS sale at this point, preventing any inspections.
Third:
After the Trustee sale, and any other bidders have been eliminated, you could approach the Lender’s attorney and purchase the REO (real estate owned by the lender). The lender may give you the best deal because they will otherwise have to put it back on the market and spending a lot more time waiting to get it sold, which will incur more expense for them than selling directly to you. The reason you do not want to bid if you are the only bidder,is that it might be a home with a 2nd on it. The 2nd will be wiped clear at the point the lender of the 1st is the owner.
To summarize:
You may pick up a steal of a deal or you may have invested a tremendous amount of work for nothing.
Your most risk-free purchase is still through a Realtor, with inspections and a motivated Seller. This gives you the best equity gain without wasting your time, effort ,and possible cash.
Write or call Janet Fullmer (Broker/ Realtor) if you want to invest in California Real Estate.
530-277-5138
janhomes@stardustweb.net
Network Real Estate, A Five Star Company.
By: Janet Fullmer/Broker
Let’s view three ways to get foreclosure properties:
There may be more ways to acquire foreclosure properties, but we will consider three. The degree of profit varies with each one. As the amount of return on your dollar increases, so does your risk, amount of time invested, and uncertain outcome.First:
If you see a property of interest (pick several for maximum success), call on the owners or drop by to see if you can talk with them. Build a relationship with the owners. Let them be aware of you as a Buyer if their home does not get a remedy for the default.
It may already be listed on the MLS, thereby giving you the ability to negotiate a deal with agents involved and saving some of the face to face embarrassment that sometimes is attached to this kind of sale.
If it is listed it may not be a foreclosure with a notice of default recorded against it yet. It is known as a short sale. The agent works with the lender to accept less than is owed by the Seller,and the lender pays the commissions and the closing costs that rise above the excisting loans. There may be tax implications for a Seller in that postion, but it makes for a great price for you as a Buyer.
