Look for homes that have been on the market awhile, did not sell at auction or need major repairs as all of these properties are potentially great foreclosure deals.
If you're looking for foreclosure deals, you can find them through several different avenues. In the past few years, many homes have been foreclosed because homeowners could not pay their mortgages. Others stopped paying their mortgages because they owed the lender much more than the home was worth. For these and other reasons, there are thousands of potential foreclosure deals countrywide.
One way to get a great foreclosure deals is to look for foreclosure listings that are priced too high. Sometimes, you will find a home that's priced well below the market value, but at least a couple of dozen other people, including investors, are vying for the property. The odds of you getting that home are probably very slim. If it is auctioned, the home will probably bring a bidding war in which the price ends up going much higher than the asking price.
Instead of searching for the lowest-priced homes, search for listings that are priced too high or that have been on the marke a long time. Typically, these homes went to auction and didn't sell. Now they are real-estate-owned (REO) properties, which also means bank-owned properties. These homes are the ones that banks are probably most anxious to sell.
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Another way to find great foreclosure deals is to consider homes that need a lot of work. If other buyers are avoiding foreclosures that need extensive work done to be habitable, then you stand to get one at a very low price. Even buying a foreclosed home that's nothing but a shell could be a good investment if you have the money to repair it.
If you have a home that's in poor condition, yet in a great neighborhood, work with a contractor to determine the cost of renovations and the prospective sale cost once it's fixed. You may find that after a full renovation, the home will be worth more than what you paid for it and the repairs.
Another way to buy great foreclosure deals is buy without emotion. You may fall in love with a foreclosed home only to find that several other people are also interested in the property. A bidding war defeats the purpose of buying foreclosed homes. If you end up paying market value for a home that needs repairs, then it isn't a good deal.
The whole point of buying a foreclosure is to get a great price on a home or a real estate investment that you may not have been able to afford otherwise. You can find foreclosure deals in your area on Reply! free of charge.