Why wouldn't everyone want to buy a home that has been foreclosed if they are cheaper?

Buying Foreclosed Homes

Generally you are correct. However, there are a lot of factors involved in home buying other than just the price. If you are not in a hurry and do not want to live in a particular neighborhood then you can watch and wait for a deal that suits your needs.

Be prepared to do your homework with regards to the condition and pricing of the property. There may be reasons other than financial involved in the foreclosure.

Answer

Something many people don't ever consider is that foreclosures are often in serious disrepair.

I've seen homes where the residences just demolished the place - holes in walls, ripped up carpet and vinyl flooring, smashed porcelain in the bathrooms, broken windows. Don't get me wrong this is not too common. But every now and then some hothead decides that if he has to give up his house, he'll show the bank by 'getting even' with them.

More often you'll find neglect simply because the owners couldn't afford house payments so where were they going to get funds for basic repairs?

However...there are real gems out there if you are patient and persistent. A 200,000 home going for almost half it's appraised value...we missed out on one like this because 15 years ago it was more than we could afford even at that price. Gorgeous house, huge, in an affluent neighborhood. The owner spent so much on mortgage payments this huge home had almost no furnishings! Ahh, if only I'd known then...I'd have begged and borrowed the downpayment from friends and family. Just think of the sheer investment potential.

Then there are the government sales, and HUD homes. There used to be clauses that stipulated you had to reside in the home for a specified lenghth of time. On the up side, your financing often included the funds for improvements.

IMO, the benefits far outweigh the risks. Many people have no idea what it would take to get started investing in foreclosures. A lot don't have the time or the ability to make the improvements that will make a dump liveable or that can turn a nice house into a hefty profit for you.

My advice to anyone thinking about getting into a foreclosure: do your homework. Learn everything you can on the topic. Don't skimp on appraisers, inspectors, etc, or you may really regret it. Be careful and use common sense.

If you are not a 'handy' person, your cheap house may end up costing you more than you thought. On the other hand, if you have the time and skills... Our first house, though it wasn't a foreclosure, illustrates my point nicely. We put nothing down, purchased a home at the mid to low end of our budget (about 5K under appraisal), owned it six months while living there and making what was really minimal improvements: paint, wallpaper, new water heater, some inexpensive landscaping. Six months later we sold it for 20K more than we paid for it! The third house we bought in for 2 or 3 years and increased the value 18K. Number 2 was not bought for investment purposes, but we didn't lose money. And the one we are in now...been here 7 years. Last time we refinanced the appraisal value was 55K more than what we paid for it! But I think we'll stay here a while, I'm content with the house, neighborhood, schools.

Anyway, to answer your question: "Why doesn't everyone do it?" Not everyone knows how. Not everyone can. It's as simple as that.

Answer

At a foreclosure sale, the mortgage company makes the first bid and they bid what is owed on the loan. So to purchase a property at foreclosure sale you would have to bid over that amount.

As someone who worked for a mortgage company for many, many years, I can tell you that 95% of the time (and maybe more than that) after we resold the property we ended up with a loss (and usually a substantial one) because we were unable to sell the property for enough to cover the loan balance.

As a general rule, if the property is worth enough to payoff the loan, the mortgagor will sell it themselves, rather than having a foreclosure on their credit record.

With that said, I'm sure you can find 'deals' out there on foreclosed homes, but you would have to really look and do your research.

Answer

I would first like to say i specialize in foreclosures so hopefully i will give you some usefull information here.

First common misconception foreclosure laws are vastly different from state to state. You can find you local foreclures laws by looking at your state statutes.

In ga for instance we have no right of redemption,once it's sold at the courthouse steps the only thing that survives is property taxes owed,the irs does not have a senior position on you but if there is a irs tax lien on it they have 120 days from the foreclosure sell to reimburse what you have paid and claim the property for themselves,if they do not respond by then it deletes there claim on the property.

Another misconception PLEASE,PLEASE do not go to these foreclosure websites and pay them money for lists. Often times these lists are a month or 2 behind and the properties have not foreclosed,or are under contract or have already sold so don't waste your time and money. Another misconception is you will get rich quick,the late night programs that say i bought a house 120k for 30k and made a killing please give me 200. Did the person buy a house for that price sure but that was 1 out of 50 deals he did not all of them were that way but he wants to get you excited so you will buy his program.

First answer by Wayne Patterson. Last edit by ID1145331347. Question popularity: 178 [recommend question]