Considering buying a foreclosure to live in? Are you the type who can't wait to get your hands around that hammer? Or are you hoping to have someone else do the work for you? Either way, taking on a foreclosed property is not for the faint at heart. I'll post a series of steps/articles/blog posts about the process, and you'll be able to see if buying a foreclosure is something you want to tackle.The basic idea is this: why should you pay full price for someone else's updates, when you can get a half decent house for a fraction of the cost? Good question. Just go in to the process knowing that it's not for the faint at heart. The hardest part of buying a foreclosure, believe it or not, might be finding the right one.
Properties that have languished on the market for a long time often have major defects that would be cost prohibitive to repair. On the other hand, some properties with longer market times are simply not good investments for people trying to make money, but would be fine to live in. So step one, finding the house. It's going to take seeing a lot of dogs to find a place you actually want to live in. The houses are cold, very cold, and most often pretty dirty. They are dark because usually electricity is turned off, and the water is off, so the toilets and sinks look gross. Be prepared to do your leg work, and really hunt for a house that you want.
When you find the one you want, be ready! You will have to place your offer nearly immediately. I can tell you many tales (one that happened two weeks ago) of showing a client a house on a Wednesday, writing the offer Thursday night, and by Friday morning when I checked with the listing agent, the house had already been sold. Stay tuned for part two, "Being Ready."
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