People who buy a home are just as responsible for knowing what they are getting into - and making a choice as to whether or not to get into a loan... as the lenders are for being honest about what they are getting them into. It's a disturbing phenomena, what has occured in the lending industry. Years ago, panderers began pointing the finger at lenders and calling them "racist" for refusing to lend to certain applicants. Didn't matter that the banks were turning down folks who had bad credit history, bad job history, and inadequate income. All the panderers saw was the race of the unqualified applicants, and so they attached the title "racist" to the lending process. Liberal lawmakers saw an opportunity to pander to interest groups, and laws were passed telling banks who they had to lend to. Because of the greatly increased risk of lending to those who don't qualify for a loan, the banks were at least allowed to charge higher rates to make up for the losses they knew they would end up with. No sooner had the lenders begun to follow these laws and offer loans to those non-qualified borrowers at the agreed upon rates...than the same people who claimed the lenders were racist for not lending to certain groups began claiming the banks were being "predatory" for lending to those same certain groups at those higher rates. Amazing. Ignorance is no excuse. I have no sympathy for people who buy a house they can't afford, spend on credit cards just because they got approved, nor those who play with bumblebees.
I have heard of several people buying a house that has been foreclosed on at a great price. I am totally ignorant on this topic. If it is such a great deal, why dont more people buy these homes? Are most of the houses trashed? What is the catch? I have looked on the sites that lists these houses and they want you to buy a memebership to be able to view them.
I wouldn't buy a membership at one of those sites. There are several realtors in this area who can help you. Also, you can go to the HUD website and look at the foreclosed homes listed there. HUD homes go up for auction and usually bids accepted through the first week are two are for owner/occupant and bids accepted after that can be either owner/occupant or investors (rentals). An owner/occupant, as part of the purchase agreement, you must live in the home for 1 year before you can either sell it or rent it. My DH and I bought a foreclosed home about 5 years ago. It was not trashed, some are though. A lot of times HUD takes all the appliances and will remove the carpet if the previous owner had pets. We did have to purchase a new range/oven for the house, however if we closed in less time than normal (normal is 60 days for HUD and less time was 30 days) we received a cash bonus at settlement. We used the bonus to purchase a glass top stove/oven and built in microwave. HUD left the dishwasher and we already had a refrigerator and washer and dryer. The leftover money we used to purchase blinds for all the windows which we installed ourselves. As far as problems, the house had been vacant for 6 months or more. HUD had the deadbolts removed so bugs and things were able to access the house. The previous owners didn't clean before they left, but I would have had to clean anyway because of the bugs and the fact that it still gets dirty. Even though the previous owners have not lived at this address for over 6 years, they still get collection letters sent here and once a collection agency will call, why they thought I knew the previous owner I don't know. Currently, there is a house going through the foreclosure process in my neighborhood. I don't think that it's a HUD foreclosure though. In the case of the current house and the one I live in, the couple was going through a divorce and the house didn't sell and the now single owner couldn't afford the payments. I don't think the house by me has been trashed. It was well loved and has a lot of upgrades in it.
Most homes that go to foreclosure have a beginning bid of "total debt." This means that the lowest bid begins at the total of the principal due, plus attorney fees and any taxes due. FHA's are almost always total debt bids. VAs depend upon the appraisal. Conventional loans vary, depending upon the investor. Thus, the closer a home is to being paid in full when it's foreclosed upon, the better deal it would be. Most of the homes going to foreclosure now are not going to be a good deal because the loans are young, and even those who had considerable equity typically got a loan for close to value so they could have the cash.
When we purchased our foreclosure, we bid less than what HUD was asking. Total debt was about $10000 more than the original owner's purchase price. After settlement, attorney fees and realtor commissions, the Fed's lost over $30,000 by accepting our bid. The Fed then goes after the previous owner for the debt as no Federal debt is forgiven. We made out really well though, we paid $11000 less than the owners did for the house and had $30000 of instant equity in it. It just all depends on the situation and where the house is located. Some foreclosures, in more desirable locations go for more than the asking price.
Hey I didn't read all ya'll posts BUT am looking for a forclosure in Johnston or Wake county - PLEASE let me know where I can find a *list* of forclosures. TIA.
One of the biggest downsides to a foreclosure is not always having proof of a marketable title and the fact that typically a 5% deposit is required.
Here are a few, also if you do a search for REO Properties you will find some sites, hth http://www.homesales.gov/homesales/mainAction.do http://www.hud.gov/homes/index.cfm http://www.referralrealtygrp.com/ http://www.pasreo.com/pasreo/public...253F0BFEF1123F7A21C502FD8B7E22?pageID=2000576
our beach house was a foreclosure....(and it wasn't trashed), and we got a steal of a deal on it too.
Check this one out HG! I wonder if the 'hood is a nice one? http://www.tenmanagement.com/listings/property-detail.do?list=2008-05-23&code=NC&case=381-756400
Our house we just purchased was a forclosure.... not trashed, just needed a good cleaning and some landscaping. We got an awesome deal on it! So I didn't mind the cleaning.
I might be the only asking this question. But I looked at these sites and it shows a price of like 126.000 and is that amount that you pay? The property that I looked at appeared to be in a auction. I was watching something on TV about John Becks Tax free homes.... have you seen it? http://www.johnbeck.tv/Google/index.htm Check it out. I was thinking of doing it, but not sure if its real or not...? Rob rhw7879
Theres a house in my neighborhood that has been foreclosed on. Its a gorgeus house, it just needs a new fence since their fence got repo'd. All that's standing is the posts!
Repeat after me: If it sounds too good to be true...then it's too good to be true. Nothing comes for free...and that includes equity.
