Monday, June 25, 2012

Government Foreclosures Guide

Foreclosure occurs when a homeowner fails to make mortgage payments on his homes. A homeowner is allowed to be late on a few payments, as long as they are paid soon. They have to pay the payments along with the late charges. Foreclosure homes happens when numerous mortgage payments have been missed and the homeowner is unable to rectify the situation with payments. The foreclosure process does not happen overnight. It can take up to three months, but do not be fooled by this lengthy time period. It is important to take action immediately on foreclosure homes. An average of 4% of all homes purchased will be foreclosed upon. Therefore, foreclosure is an issue to many people. Purchasing foreclosure homes may be beneficial to both the buyer and the homeowner if the purchase occurs at the right time.

Government foreclosures occur because owners fail to make mortgage payments on FHA insured loans or VA loans or because they fail to pay taxes or other amounts due to the IRS, USDA, or other government agencies.

You can buy a Government home for you to live in, or simply to rehab and sell for a fast profit. These foreclosures are offered to the general public through real estate agents that specialize in the sales of government homes.

HUD and the Veterans Administration (VA) foreclosure listings dominate the Government foreclosure market. Lending institutions are protected by the insurance provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on low interest loans offered to those who buy government foreclosures. When homeowners are not able to make their payments the banks refer back to the insurance attached to this mortgage loans. These homes then become government homes. Sometimes properties become government owned when they are seized from criminals.

There are large choices of available government owned listings including single-family homes, condominiums, and town houses, throughout different types of neighborhood all over the country. Prices for these homes may vary from one state to another. Some of these government foreclosure homes are older, but many of these available properties are comparatively new.


Monday, June 18, 2012

Truth Of Foreclosure Home - Disadvantages Of Buying Pre-Foreclosure

Sure you have known the advantages of buying pre-foreclosure, haven’t you? Adjustable agreement, up to 40% below market value foreclosure home, adequate time to research on the foreclosure home, lesser down payment, etc. Undeniable, buying pre-foreclosure has many advantages and they are real irresistible. Anyhow, there is always a balance point in everything. It’s true that buying pre-foreclosure has a lot of advantages, but there are also disadvantages of buying pre-foreclosure.

Depending on one’s needs, only you know which buying foreclosure approach (pre-foreclosure, auction and REO) best suits you.

First and foremost, the very first disadvantage of buying pre-foreclosure is getting contact with the foreclosure homeowners. Why say so? As you have already known, foreclosure homeowners are facing negative events of his life that causing him to fall behind his mortgage payment on that moment. Foreclosure homeowners are distressed. And the outcome of this situation, foreclosure homeowners usually refuse to meet with strangers or whoever he thinks unnecessary. To some foreclosure homeowners, this could may be help them to concentrate more on solving the problems, while to some other foreclosure homeowners, this will only isolate them from the problems. Either way, you will have works to do to get contact with them.

Some professional investors or real estate agencies will post their greetings, post card like stuff to foreclosure homeowner. But to me, it’s not good enough. It’s recommended to call up foreclosure homeowner in person. Talking to them is the best way to leave a deep impression to them; while calling can show your sincerity of buying his pre-foreclosure home too. Of cause, talking courteously and patiently is equally important. Put yourself in his shoe, do you want someone rude to take over his lovely home or someone gentle instead?

Buying foreclosure has risk in dealing with other liens. This is the second disadvantage of buying pre-foreclosure. Who knows how many lenders the foreclosure homeowner has borrowed money from? There are cases where homeowners get home loan from 2 different lenders to buy a house and get a third lender for home improving loan. These cases involve many legal works. You definitely can’t settle it by yourself, unless you are a lawyer and your spouse is a bank manager.

No jokes on the legal works. It’s really frustrating dealing with them. Thus, before buying a pre-foreclosure, make sure you do a throughout research on that pre-foreclosure home including its title deed, loan information, any hidden liens, etc. Get the professional help. And this situation contributes the third disadvantage of buying a pre-foreclosure. There are paper works to do to complete the deal and it’s time costly.

However, these 3 disadvantages are actually nothing compared to the return of buying pre-foreclosure. To conclude, great bargains need hard work. You have to do research and truly understand the process of buying pre-foreclosure. It’s recommended to buy a foreclosure book and do some real reading if you really want to get this pre-foreclosure bargain. I would say it worth your hard works.

About the Author:
Shawn Daren makes it clear on how to pick up great bargains on buying foreclosure.Learn the key of earning 100k in buying foreclosure.To know more on foreclosure,visit his buying foreclosure ( http://www.buyingforeclosure.biz ) website.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Buying A Home After A Foreclosure

Buying a home after a foreclosure is not an impossible task. With some careful planning and some savvy shopping, you can secure a mortgage loan even with a foreclosure in your credit history.

Wait At Least Two Years

Mortgage lenders focus on the last three years of your credit history when they consider your mortgage application. It is best to wait at least two years after a foreclosure. However, if you have a large down payment or a fairly good credit score, lenders sometimes make exceptions.

Save A Down Payment

One way to improve the terms of a mortgage loan is to have a down payment. A credit score of 600 or lower usually means you will need a down payment between 5% and 20%. Larger down payments will mean better rates. As a bonus, you can avoid PMI with a down payment of 20%.

Create Good Credit

A foreclosure doesn’t mean an end to your dreams of home ownership. After a foreclosure, take steps to build back a good credit score with regular payments on your bills and loans. It is also better to make small regular payments on credit cards than hit and miss with payments. You want to show lenders that you are dependable with paying your bills.

If you do run into trouble, call the billing company and make arrangements before they report you to the credit reporting agencies. Billing companies want to see their money and are often willing work out an arrangement.

Shop Around

When you are ready to look for a mortgage, compare prices online. Sub prime lenders offer loans to people with bad credit, but they don’t all charge the same rate. Make sure the lending company you pick offers competitive rates and fees. Mortgage websites now offer quotes from several companies, so you can pick the best financing offer.

Asking for quotes online doesn’t commit you to accepting an offer. So if you are hesitant about taking on a mortgage, online websites can give you an idea of what to expect.

Mortgage websites can also process your loan application online faster than a traditional mortgage office. Once you have submitted the needed information online, the paperwork will be sent out to you for final approval and your signature.



About the Author:

To see a list of recommended bad credit mortgage loan companies online, visit this page: www.abcloanguide.com/lessthanperfectcredit.shtml. Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan Guide. It is an informational loan website, with informative articles and the latest finance news.

Monday, June 04, 2012

Why Buy An REO?

Why Buy An REO?

An REO is real estate owned by the bank, and many investors consider an REO property to be money just waiting to happen. An REO is different from a foreclosure property in that the bank has already tried to sell it at a foreclosure auction and has had no luck getting bids. Because the property was not bid on, the bank then became the owner of the property. Naturally, the bank does not want to keep the REO any longer than possible, and this makes it a great opportunity for an investor. Not every REO is a good deal, but when you look at an REO you’ll commonly find that there is a lot of money to be made.

So, is this a foreclosure?

Technically speaking, the home was foreclosed on because the owner of the home failed to make their scheduled payments. The bank set up and went through a public auction, but there was not any bids placed on the home, so the bank ended up owing the property. Yes, the home was foreclosed on, but it is well past the foreclosure process and the bank will be anxious to get rid of the property.

Advantages of REO vs. Foreclosed Property

When you are thinking of buying an REO you have to distinct advantages that a buyer does not have with a foreclosed property. The first is that you are able to buy on your schedule, as you do not have an auction date to work with and around. You can make an offer of the home any time; you don’t have to wait for bidding to begin. Another big advantage of an REO compared to a foreclosed property is that you can inspect it before you buy, when you cannot do this with the majority of foreclosed homes that you think about purchasing. Being able to inspect the property before you buy will let you know how big of a project you will be dealing with.

Best types of REO to purchase

You might not think the type of loan the home was purchased with the first time around matters but it does. You should attempt to purchase REO’s that had a conventional loan the first time around, as you will likely get much better deals with these than you will if you look at FHA and VA loans. The federal government backs FHA and VA loans, and the government can actually buy them back if they are so inclined. Homes that had conventional loans the first time are often purchased for just a fraction of their value, meaning that they can make an investor a lot more money.

Which REO’s you should not purchase

Just because the bank owns a property does not make it a good deal. In fact, when you see that a home or property is an REO you have to wonder exactly what IS wrong with it. The house was not bid on because no one saw the worth in it. Did the home just not have enough equity? Were their IRS liens against it? Was the property just too badly damaged? You need to ask these questions. If the bank cannot answer the questions then you need to be even more skeptical. Take advantage of your right to inspect the REO so that you can see with your own eyes what may or may not be wrong, hire professionals if necessary as well.

One must also be sure that if they are purchasing an REO to fix it up and sell it, that the property is located in a desirable part of town. If the home is not located in a desirable part of town, you should really think about how wise of an investment the property may be. Perhaps location is why the property was not bid on at auction. There are three big things to consider when dealing with any type of real estate and those are location, location, location. Never let a seemingly good deal let you lose sight of how important location is for any piece of real estate that you intend to sell.

Why the bank will sell an REO cheap

Basically, a bank is not set up to deal with real estate. Sure, they give loans to people, but really, they are not equipped to buy and sell real estate. Because banks are not accustomed to dealing with real estate, it often takes them awhile to get the ball rolling so that they can repair the property, and get an agent to sell the property. What this means is that while the bank attempts to get their business together they are losing money hand over fist and the federal government often penalizes them for each and every REO that they acquire.

Because the bank is loosing so much money on each REO, they are willing to sell it fast and cheap. In fact, banks commonly sell an REO property for around 30% of its value just to be done with it. Sure, they end up losing money on the deal, but they end up losing less if they sell cheap now than they would if they kept the property for another six months while they try to pull everything together so that they can sell the property.

The great thing about working with the bank with an REO is that you aren’t buying site unseen. Because you can walk through the house and make all the inspections that you want, you can deal with them in a way that will give you the best deal, and the bank will typically be happy with any serious offer because it will get the house off of their hand and they will stop losing money.

Generally REOs are a great investment as long as you know what you are getting into. The bank simply wants to get rid of these homes, and if you find the right property and are ready to make the serious investment, it can be a great way to get off and running in the real estate business.

Foreclosure Information - Free Foreclosure List in California and other states.

Total Pageviews