REAL ESTATES FORUM

Im a first time buyer looking to buy a home, condo or a townhouse.
Im interested in looking into foreclosed properties. I did a lot of
search on the web, but all the sites require membership. Can someone
please advise where I can get free & accurate listing/information. Is
buying a foreclosed home/condo/townshouse a good idea?

Thanks in advance.

the absolute easieset way to do whta you want to do is to look in the Sunday
paper. Look for ads in real estate from agents that sayHUD VA Foreclosed
homes. these are the type agents that work this field, and they have a TON of
information on YOUR AREA, and prices. If you want a deal, they will know about
it.

Truly

The websites are not as fresh, and not as knowledgable in your specific area.

good luck to you

John

The only problem being, if a Realtor has a HUD foreclosure, it is
because no investors wanted it when it was sold on the courthouse steps.
This most likely means that the property is overpriced. There have been
very few HUD properties that one would consider a bargain in the past
few years.

JRF30 wrote in message
news:20041021133200.03602.00002623@mb-m04.aol.com...

The only problem being, if a Realtor has a HUD foreclosure, it is
because no investors wanted it when it was sold on the courthouse steps.
This most likely means that the property is overpriced. There have been
very few HUD properties that one would consider a bargain in the past
few years.

JRF30 wrote in message
news:20041021133200.03602.00002623@mb-m04.aol.com...

Thanks for the input...If searching for a forclosed property in the
newspapers is not a smart way to do it since the properties that are
advertised in the paper are most likely over priced or not in good
shape ot its too late by that time, how does one go about searching
for a good forclosed deal/proerpty?

Sam I Am wrote in message news: dd.18549$OD2.1388@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>...

> The only problem being, if a Realtor has a HUD foreclosure, it is
> because no investors wanted it when it was sold on the courthouse steps.
> This most likely means that the property is overpriced. There have been
> very few HUD properties that one would consider a bargain in the past
> few years.
>
> JRF30 wrote in message
> news:20041021133200.03602.00002623@mb-m04.aol.com...
> > > Can someone
> > >please advise where I can get free & accurate listing/information. Is
> > >buying a foreclosed home/condo/townshouse a good idea?
> >
> > the absolute easieset way to do whta you want to do is to look in the
> Sunday
> > paper. Look for ads in real estate from agents that sayHUD VA
> Foreclosed
> > homes. these are the type agents that work this field, and they have
> a TON of
> > information on YOUR AREA, and prices. If you want a deal, they will
> know about
> > it.
> >
> > Truly
> >
> > The websites are not as fresh, and not as knowledgable in your
> specific area.
> >
> > good luck to you
> >
> > John

kmp882002@yahoo.com (Naya) wrote in message
news:...


I do not know whether you are located in the south Florida area but I provide
these free lists to my active investor clients. I also provide
free preforeclosure listings for their benefit. If you have any
interest in this area let me know.

Have a great day!


Jacky Goff
Residential & Commercial Realtor Specialist
Ft Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach and surrounding areas in southest Florida
Oceanfront & Waterfront Properties
Web site: http://jackygoff.myrealestatebroker.net/

kmp882002@yahoo.com (Naya) wrote in news:1294e9a1.0410210929.56f7b176
@posting.google.com:


A local realtor who specializes in this kind of thing.

It can be. But there are a few things you need to know.
1st) Think about why a house would be in forclosure. If
the owner had any equity in the property, and was smart,
he will sell the proerty to protect his equity before
he falls so far behind in payments.
These forclosures tend to be mortgaged to the hilt.

2nd) The houses are sold as-is. There will be no repairs
or cleaning to the house prior to the sale. These houses
are not move-in ready. In many cases you will need to
spend some time and money to fixup and clean up the house.
You will definitly need some ready cash to do this.

3rd) there is no seler help with closing costs.


No problem

--
Just my $0.02 worth. Hope it helps
Gordon Reeder
greeder
at: myself.com

Where is George Bush leading this country
and what are we doing in this hand basket??

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 02:14:43 GMT, Sam I Am
dijo:


Not that HUD foreclosures are necessarily a good deal (around here
they are not), but what you say leaves me thinking you dont quite
grasp how HUD foreclosures work. For the benefit of others, let me
elucidate.

HUD is the agency which oversees the Federal Housing Administration
(FHA). FHA insures loans against default. There are extensive rules
about how the insurance works. If the lender does not follow the rules
they invalidate the FHA insurance. Since FHA loans are written at high
loan to value ratios, lenders take care not to jeopardize the
insurance.

When a bank has an FHA loan that is in default the first step the
lender is to notify the FHA (in addition to sending the usual late
notices to the borrower). After the loan has been in default for a
certain time period FHA requires the lender to advise the borrower to
seek consumer credit counseling. If this does not provide a solution,
then the lender seeks permission to foreclose. As soon as this is
granted, the lender proceeds with the legal steps to foreclose.

However, unlike private loans where the lender can refuse to bid at
the sheriffs or trustees foreclosure auction sale, FHA rules require
the lender to open the bidding at the total amount owed, including all
expenses as allowed by the court or state law. If the loan is an old
loan where there is substantial equity in the property, someone from
the band of thirty thieves who haunts these sales will outbid the
lender. Anyone bidding at one of these sales is required to pay all
cash. So if someone outbids the lender, the lender just got cashed out
for the entire loan amount and all their costs. The FHA insurance just
became irrelevant. The lender cannot seek compensation under the
insurance because the lender was not hurt.

But if the loan was so new that the loan balance was still high enough
that no one outbid the lender, then the lender will end up being the
successful bidder. This means that the lender will end up in title to
the property. The lender could just offer the property for sale,
either for sale by lender or by listing it with a real estate broker.
But chances are they will not recover all that they are owed if they
do. And this is where the FHA insurance comes in. The FHA insurance
allows the lender to trade the property at this point to the FHA for
FHA bonds. The bonds bear interest at the same rate as the rate on the
loan, and mature in semi-annual installments over the same term as the
remaining term on the loan that was just foreclosed. (Important point:
A lender will get all their money back, including the agreed interest,
but will never make a profit on an FHA foreclosure because they get
the FHA bonds, not cash for the property.)

Now the FHA is in title to the property. Once the FHA is in title they
spend a few months deciding what to do with it. Some properties are
sold as is. Some the FHA decides to go in and rehab before reselling
them. One way or the other, the property ends up on the FHA foreclosed
property list (officially called the list of HUD acquired
properties, so as not to use the nasty foreclosure word). When HUD
puts the property on the market they do so at a price their internal
appraisers determine. This is typically far less than the dollar
amount of the bonds they gave the lender for the property. In other
words, HUD loses money on it. But that is what the insurance is all
about. HUD collects premiums from all FHA borrowers, and that is the
source of the funds to cover the losses. Since its inception in 1934,
the FHA has lost money only in a couple years, and those years were
only small losses, made up in subsequent years. HUD remains today
revenue neutral, costing the taxpayers nothing.

So the big point I want to make is that HUD properties are frequently
not very good deals, but not because nom investor wanted it when it
was sold on the courthouse steps. They are not good deals because HUD
was trying to minimize their losses when they put it on the market and
they usually overestimate what they can get.

And having said that, at least in the market areas where I deal, HUD
gets more than market value for their properties. The public assumes
that if it is a foreclosed property it must be a good deal, and
typically pays above market as a result. Personally, I never bother
even looking at them, nor do any of the other investors around here.

--
Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.