How to make money buying and selling foreclosed homes

One man's loss is another man's gain. Or so the saying goes.

The latest loser in this equation is not the person that was forced into selling off their timeshare, or their garaged '65 Corvette Coupe, it’s your neighborhood bank. After years of progressive gains, home prices have plunged in a nationwide trend that still is not over, opening up opportunities for even the most average entrepreneur to turn a tidy profit.

Home foreclosure rates have jumped close to 30% over the past few years, and banks are eager to trim these dead weight loans off their books. Buying and selling foreclosed homes is an attractive option, but what do you need to know?

You have seen the commercial spots for so-called private and government foreclosure listings that are suddenly made public and you are goosed up after watching yet another home makeover show, but you need to do a little homework before heading off to the auctioneer.

Gather Your Info

Buying a foreclosed home has some twists, but you should familiarize yourself with the nuts and bolts that govern any home purchase or sale. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) is a set of laws that regulate such transactions. Take time to review your rights as a buyer or as a seller.

RESPA requires that certain disclosures be made at various points during the transaction. Some of these disclosures specify various up-front costs. Others discuss options available from a lender and go over your escrow details. Since you will possibly be moving through this process absent a realtor, you need to be aware of the basics.

You also have the right to request a barrelful of information regarding any property you are interested in purchasing. Such things as the property's water supply, its building materials like the roofing and insulation, lead-based paint or other potential hazards, waste disposal, property taxes and average utility bills, can and should all be provided upon request.

It is your choice as to the inspector that you want to hire, and in most cases, it is the seller's job (or the banks) to pay for an outgoing inspection. Try to gather as much information on the property before going all in; there is no "lemon-law" in the housing market as there is with buying a vehicle.

Make sure you do some in-house legwork on the internet too. Various websites can help you to locate homes in foreclosure. Foreclosures.com is one such site. For a fee,Realtytrac.com will provide you with up to date properties that have gone into foreclosure as well.

Realtytrac also maintains a database of distressed properties, HUD homes and REOs (real estate owned homes - those for which the bank holds the deed). The site also monitors monthly and quarterly foreclosure rates, breaks foreclosures down by state, and is a helpful resource for those who may be close to foreclosure themselves, or for the potential foreclosure buyer.

According to recent tends reported by Realtytrac, the national average when buying a foreclosed home is about 25 percent below the full market value. That is some sweet action.

Get the skinny on Liens

Another possible hurdle that should be investigated is whether a lien has been filed against any potential property you are looking to purchase. A lien is a legal claim against real property. Since you are looking into buying property that someone else did not or could not fully pay off, there is a good chance that a lien was filed as collateral to secure the lender's interest in the loan.

Other liens may be filed by the state or county, perhaps for unpaid property or state taxes, or even by the IRS. If an individual owes more than five thousand to the IRS, a Notice of Federal Tax Lien may be filed on real property. If this is the case, the IRS may be willing to subordinate the lien, or discharge the parcel (the house and land) from the lien. See IRSPublications 783 and 784 for more information.

Contractors can also file Mechanic's Liens for unpaid work that they did on that property. If more than one lien is filed, they are called "competing" liens, and are subject to what is called "date priority." Simply stated, whatever agency or individual got their hand in the pot first by filing their lien will be paid first by any proceeds.

A Title Search would uncover any such liens, and you should be aware that liens on properties bought through foreclosure typically transfer with the sale and remain on the property. That means you may have to pay them off before the property is free and clear. If you do not get a title search done, that home you think you just paid off may suddenly resurface with another large debt that must now be satisfied before you can assume ownership.

Go for Broker?

Buying a home through the foreclosure process is oftentimes a less formal transaction, and a quicker one, than looking to purchase property through a real estate agent or agency. Real estate agents receive their commissions through the seller. For this reason, some agents steer clear from the foreclosure market, although most are willing to provide you with a listing of foreclosed homes in your area.

For the first time foreclosure buyer, you can probably forget about trying to buy the property directly from the bank. Sitting down at the table with a bank requires a certain understanding of legalese. Although buying from the bank affords a fair amount of surety, (you get to fully inspect the property, demand a clear title, etc.) it is probably the least financially rewarding option and requires quite a bit of know-how.

The same can be said for the auction format. Besides having certain credentials required by the state to buy and sell at auctions, this marketplace is fast moving and a little tricky if you do not know your stuff. Hiccup, and that shanty with the corrugated steel roof is suddenly yours.

If you do choose to go with the auction format, keep in mind that a full inspection likely will not be possible, and that you usually have to pay in full with cash or a cashier's check, or at least a present a pre-qualified loan letter from a bank or lender that specifies the funds they plan to lend you.

You are not left in the cold without any assistance however. Try using a broker. For a fee, typically less than what may be charged through a real estate agency, a broker acts on your behalf, negotiating contracts, purchases and or sales. Banks use brokers to sell most of their foreclosed properties, and once you have eyed a few properties that a bank holds outright title to, there is a good chance you can work with the broker to get the home for less than full market value.

Many banks will let foreclosed property go for less than what is owed. If a bank cannot recoup full payment on the loan, they will “short-sale” the property, and accept less than Fair Market Value. A good broker may be able to ‘sniff’ out these deals.

Know the Neighborhood

Of course, you are not buying a foreclosed home in the middle of nowhere. Be sure to check out the neighborhood to see if it is suitable to you and your (or any) family.

If you are going to be "flipping" the property after you have put some work into it, then consider what type of family may be interested in moving in. What is the crime rate? How are the local school systems?

Remember, foreclosed homes in some areas have the potential to appreciate more than others. That largely depends on such factors as what was already mentioned, as well as comparable sales (the price that other homes in the immediate neighborhood have sold for), the neighbors, the home's proximity to a nearby city or any attractions, ease of access, how the home is situated on the lot, street noise, etc.

Get to know everything about an area you are targeting, consider the above, and then look for foreclosed properties in those areas in order to maximize your earnings at sale.

Another suggestion is to verify with local lease agreement provisions whether foreclosures in their area require tenants to vacate the homes. Since many foreclosures may be set up as multiple family rental properties, you probably do not want to take on the role of Joe Pesci in the movie The Super. It is better if the lease requires tenants to leave; most do, but still a good thing to be sure of.

Pre-Foreclosure

A great way to get your hands on foreclosed properties before they are mired in legal muck is to look for homes that may be in pre-foreclosure.

Just as it sounds, pre-foreclosures are homes that are going, but have not yet fallen, into permanent default loan status. In this case, you may be able to buy the home directly from the homeowner. Pre-foreclosures require the least amount of capital going in. You also have the opportunity to thoroughly inspect the home and conduct a timely title search.

In a pre-foreclosure transaction, the homeowner agrees to sign the deed of the property over to you, and you then assume the existing mortgage and make the payments to the lender. This option is attractive to the owner as well, because it allows them to avoid foreclosure and the horrid credit impact it carries, as well as salvage some of the equity in the property. Once the loan has been satisfied, and if the owner has equity over and above any liens on the property, you and the owner will have to negotiate how that equity is to be split, if at all.

I know what you are thinking though. How do I find properties that are in pre-foreclosure?

For sure, there is a short window of opportunity to get your hands on these properties, so you will need to work diligently. Once a property hits pre-foreclosure, owners have about 2 to 3 months to bring themselves current. If the homeowner does not rectify the default condition, the lender may post a notice of sale, sometimes right at the local county courthouse. This is done at least 21 days prior to any auction. If homeowners find they cannot bring themselves current, or know that they will not be able to, that is your chance.

Again, go online. Many agencies and even web sites that FSBOs (For Sale by Owner's) advertise on may show homes in pre-foreclosure. Local newspapers also list notice of public default debts that have been secured by liens.

In various stages of the foreclosure, notices are recorded at your County Recorder's Office. This public information is available to anyone, and is free. Visit your county's office and do a search for a Notice of Default (NOD), Lis Pendens (a fancy term that means a lawsuit has been filed on assets), or for a Notice of Sale.

In pre-foreclosure, you, your broker or your real estate agent should contact the owner directly to inquire about the property. Make sure you are in a position to make immediate payments if need be. You may be referred by the homeowner to a trustee or to an attorney, especially if that property is subject to the terms of a bankruptcy. The trustee or attorney cannot release specific information to you regarding a bankruptcy filing, but they can confirm if the property is in full foreclosure or not.

Remember your manners when trying out this option. Making contact with a homeowner who is in a financial dilemma is inherently thorny. Know that the owner in default retains his or her ownership rights, and may very well be attempting to avoid foreclosure. Selling their home or turning it over to you may not be something they want to consider, at least not as of yet. If it is clear they are trying to keep hold of their home, then move on. Telephone contact with these individuals may be tricky. For this reason, it might be best to try a mass mailing of a professional looking postcard to properties of interest.

Closing the Deal

Buying a foreclosed or pre-foreclosed home probably means that there is some fixing up to take care of. Unfortunately, once a homeowner knows that the bank is going to take control of their property, maintenance and repair work drops to the bottom of their to-do list.

Be prepared for structural or electrical problems, roofs that leak, etc. Vandalism may also be something you have the regrettable responsibility to deal with. Not from the kid with the spray can, but from the irate householder who is about to lose everything. Repairs that were not immediately evident may suddenly eat away the amount you may have shaved off the top of the market value.

Whenever you buy a foreclosed home, your contract should always have some type of contingency clause that may allow you to back out of the sale. That way, you exercise control on the property, and can also exercise your option not to buy it based on the home's physical or financial condition, or if you find it is sitting on a hotbed of buried nuclear contaminates.

Since many owners do not have the money or do not feel the need to make extensive repairs, you will probably see the term "as-is" on some of the purchase agreement paperwork. These two little words carry a lot of influence. This means you have agreed to purchase the property in its current condition, and you waive any realistic ability to later make qualms over the fact that there is a rodent population that rivals a small city living in the floorboards. Again, make sure that your contingency clause is clearly stated in your contract.

Keep a track of all your estimated repair costs and capital investments, both for tax purposes and for estimating your asking price when the property goes on to the market. Your chances of realizing a nice profit and keeping you in the "black" will increase if you keep track of such expenditures.

If you and the owner agree to proceed with the sale or transfer of the property into your name, then you will have to negotiate the terms of the purchase, taking into consideration the factors already mentioned. The foreclosing lender, trustee, attorney, real estate agent or broker may need to be present or included in these talks.

Certain intangibles may come across the bargaining table. It is surprising how many little factors may come up. The owner may want to stay in a pre-foreclosed home until they find a place to live, for example. As far as purchasing agreements, if you are not familiar with how to draw one up, consult with a local real estate agent. They will help you with one for a small fee.

If you can assume the loan outright, as in the case of a pre-foreclosure deal, you may be able to easily take on the current terms of the loan. If not, the bank may allow you toreamortize, or change the terms of the loan, such as the payment amounts, length of the loan, interest rates, etc. Other lenders may require the full amount of the loan up front.

Tips and Hints

A few other tips to be mindful of – It may be a good idea to focus on homes that have only been lived in for perhaps 10 years or less. The longer someone has lived in his or her home, the greater the equity that has been built up. Dealing with the homeowner regarding this equity, especially in the case of a pre-foreclosure sale, may be problematic.

Too, remember that your target goal should be saving at least one fourth off the full market value. At the same time, this will be subject to the recent home recession trends. This means you may have to settle for making a little less than that, especially considering the way property values in some markets have nose-dived.

Many new foreclosures stem from problems in the sub-prime market, and people are losing their homes after being hit with huge jumps in their monthly payments, particularly in the case of adjustable rate mortgages. Because of this, the lender may likely be pursuing an amount that is close to the full market value of the property, or at a slight discount only.

To sum it all up, buying and selling a home in foreclosure is no doubt a gamble. As with any risky venture, you do not always win. Nevertheless, by doing your groundwork in advance, familiarizing yourself with your local state's foreclosure laws and sticking to a couple of necessary principles, buying a home that has been foreclosed on and then marketing it can be a profitable and rewarding endeavor.

Which Foreclosed Homes For Sale Are Right For You?

Buying foreclosed homes for sale is a trade that you should master if you want to acquire only the best properties. Sometimes, a foreclosure may come very cheaply but is not necessarily the right property for you. When choosing home foreclosures, you should take into account both your personal and business goals in order to make the right decision.

Limitless Choices

The subprime mortgage crisis did not hit only the lower middle class but rather, it also managed to affect a large portion of the well-off sectors in the society including the upper middle class. As a result, you can find a lot of good properties in posh, decent neighborhoods that are for sale at rock bottom prices. Finding them is easy but whether one is the best for your investment takes more than a customary glance.

There are many types of foreclosed homes for sale that you will find in the market. There are single family units, multi-unit foreclosures, mobile homes, distressed houses, VA homes, government foreclosures, condos, apartment units and many others. Sifting through thousands of foreclosures every day can be overwhelming and is always a gargantuan task. This is why it is important that you set certain parameters in choosing the right property for you even before you start your search.

For this, you would need to determine what your goals are in purchasing foreclosures. Are you buying for investment purposes, rentals, or for private use? When you ask yourself this question, a lot of other factors will also arise from your answer. For example, if you are buying for investment purposes, what type of market are you going to cater to? If you want to try the rentals business, what type of building can give you the most profit? On the other hand, if you are purchasing for your own use, how big a house do you want to own? All these must be taken in account when you purchase your foreclosure.

The key to finding the right foreclosed homes for sale will greatly depend on your purpose and setting it well ahead of your search can give you direction and focus. In doing so, you will not only save time and money, but will also enable you to grab the best property deals quickly.

Short Sales, Foreclosures and Bank-Owned Properties

There are many properties in some stage of foreclosure or taken back by lenders at this time and a lot of buyers ask about these because they've heard that this is where you can get an incredible deal. After more experience with these types of properties I've found that there is a lot of false information and hype out there and want to provide you with some more information that can help you understand this whole subject a little better.

During the boom years there were tons of seminars and books on how to make a fortune in real estate by buying and flipping houses. Though some people were able to make good money quickly that way during the period of about 2003 to mid-2005, many others are now part of the foreclosure statistics.

Similarly, there are now lots of websites, seminars, books, etc. on how to make your fortune buying foreclosure properties. They present stories of exceptionally good situations that make it sound like this is how every foreclosure situation goes even though it is really more of a rare occurrence for the average person. Maybe these are the same people who promoted the seminars and books on "flipping" (and maybe they are also the ones who email you about winning the UK lottery or about the $50Million they want to send you from Nigeria:).

That's not to say that there aren't good deals available in properties that are in some stage of foreclosure, there are. BUT - there are some things you'll need to understand because the process can be quite different from the normal.

First of all there are some different types of 'foreclosure' properties and I want to start off by clearing this up for you.

There is a 'pre-foreclosure'. This is a property where the owner has fallen behind on their payments to a point where the bank has begun the foreclosure proceedings (usually by filing a notice of pending legal action).

There is a 'short sale'. This generally means a pre-foreclosure property where the property is being listed at a price that is less than what is owed on the outstanding loans. You can recognize these in listings as it will either say "short sale" or "3rd party approval needed" or "list price may not be sufficient to cover all encumbrances" (meaning that the bank will have to approve it in addition to the seller accepting the offer).

One word of caution though, some realtors will list a property as a short sale or "possible" short sale without even having their client complete a "short sale package" (the paperwork that will have to be submitted to the bank with any contract) - avoid these as in most cases they end up going nowhere or take months to hear anything back.

There are also "bank-owned" properties. Bank-owned means the bank has completed the foreclosure proceedings and now owns the property fully. These are usually the easiest and quickest of the different types of foreclosure properties to deal with although they are often (not always) in pretty bad condition.

That gives you a basic overview of the types of "foreclosure" properties you may run into.  Now let's look at what you need to know about them if you're thinking about venturing into this area.

The most difficult type of these to deal with at this point in time (in most cases) is a short sale. With a short sale, you will have to be prepared to wait weeks or even months to hear anything back on an offer. If your offer is at the asking price and 100% cash, then that may shorten the time period. But even in that situation there is no guarantee that it won't take weeks or months.

As an example, I spoke with another realtor a few months ago whose client not only put in a full list price offer but also offered to pay for the title insurance that would normally be paid by the seller. It still took 3 weeks to get an answer and what came back from the bank was that they wouldn't consider the offer until they had a special disclosure signed by the buyer that is required on houses built before 1978. Only problem is that the house was built in the last 5 years and this disclosure isn't required. But the bank doesn't care and wants the disclosure before considering the offer. And it took 3 weeks to get even this ridiculous reply back!

One other case is a realtor that listed a short sale and got a very low offer which she submitted to the bank in November (this was even after the house was listed for $200,000 less than the current owner paid for it 2 years ago). As of February she still hadn't gotten a reply back from the bank. So that was 3 months with no reply.

Recently I had a client put in an offer on a short sale that just came back on the market after the lender rejected the offer that had been submitted to them nearly 6 months ago.  The offer was lower than they wanted but they rejected even doing a short sale because the owner had been continuing to pay their monthly loan payment – and it took them 6 months to let the owner's realtor know this.

So with short sale properties, you first need to find out if it is actually a good deal. I had one client recently looking at a townhouse that is a short sale and based on recent sales in the complex and comparing the condition of the properties this townhouse was priced at least $15,000 too high for even its market value.

If you do determine it is a good deal (especially when it is below market value) then it is best to offer a price that the bank will consider. This is especially true when the lender has already dropped the list price once or more. If you go too low, you may never hear back. And keep in mind that in some cases during the waiting period for a reply, other buyers can submit an offer and if the bank feels the other offer is better than yours - they can then accept it and reject yours. You can also miss out on a really good deal by playing the negotiating game – trying to get the price down even more when it is already priced really well.

I saw an example of this with a client who put in an offer on a townhouse directly on Tampa Bay.  We found out they already had another offer in and I told my client to offer full list price (which was still a great deal).  We found out after the deal closed that the other offer was $15,000 less – suggested to the buyer by his realtor.  My client's offer was the one submitted to the bank with the other offer held as a backup.  As we got closer to the closing we ran into some problems with my client's lender and the other buyer offered $30,000 more than my client and then $70,000 more than my client, both full cash offers.  Fortunately we got the problems worked out quickly enough and closed the deal but the other buyer definitely regretted missing out on a great deal by trying to get the price down a little further.

It is also fairly well known that short sale deals are often more difficult. An April 18, 2008 article said "The success rate for short-sale offers is low...20 percent of short-sale offers in the area [Las Vegas] lead to completed sales, compared with 85 percent for more traditional sales. Redfin, an online real-estate brokerage based in Seattle, says it represented buyers on 65 short sale offers in the first quarter but expects only two or three to result in a completed sale."

And the final insult with short sales is that even if the bank accepts your offer and things are proceeding along well, they can decide in the 11th hour to cancel the deal. This info was given to me by an attorney who works for our state Realtor association.

I've found that the best short sales to work with are the ones that have already gone through the approval process and have just come back on the market.  Usually this happens when the buyer just doesn't want to wait any longer and cancel their offer right before the lender comes back with an answer.  The advantage here is that the lender has already done all of their work in processing the short sale and has approved it as a short sale and has normally stated what they will accept for a price.  In addition, they often give a time period of about 30 days that this approval is good for so if you jump in at that point you will usually get a fast reply and can have the whole process take a much shorter time.

Other than recently approved short sales, the easiest of all foreclosure properties to work with are bank-owned properties. This is where the bank has completed the foreclosure proceedings and now owns the property. In these cases the time frame for getting an answer back on an offer will be much quicker. However, in a high percentage of cases the property can be in very bad condition.

One of my clients put in an offer on a foreclosed property after checking it out pretty thoroughly and providing a list of the problems they found (including mold and termite damage).  The bank rejected the offer.  Months later they came down in price and we looked at it again.  The hole in the ceiling over the dining room where my client found some of the mold and termite damage was repaired and with no attic there would be no way for anyone to know what we had seen up there and I have found that some banks do not disclose these things (even when provided the information) and try to get away with that by stating they "never occupied the property".  By the way, even if they did not occupy the property, if they are made aware of any problems or their realtor is they do need to disclose it.

Another client put in an offer on a foreclosed house but after we had an inspection done and found the house needed a new roof, new A/C system, new ducting, new appliances and there were settlement issues (possible sinkhole) she cancelled the contract.  This was with Fannie Mae and it took 2 months to get them to send her deposit back.  We checked the listing after she cancelled and noticed that nothing about the settlement issues was noted.  So with foreclosed properties you must have a thorough inspection done because that is your only way to find out the true condition of the property.

Bank-owned properties can be a good deal for you if they are in decent condition or if you are willing to do the work necessary to bring it up to the standard you want. But keep in mind that you will get very little or no information about the property from the bank so the risk of hidden problems is higher.

A very important point with any of these type of properties - you must have your financial arrangements taken care of before even bothering to look at any. In all cases that I have seen so far, an offer won't even be accepted in a short sale or bank-owned situation unless you submit a preapproval letter for financing or proof that you have the cash to buy it.

I only recommend short sales at this time for investors who are cash buyers and will have no problem with waiting an average of 60-90 days for the whole process, or if they have been recently been approved by the lender.

In most cases, your best bet is finding a property that suits your needs and is a good value where the owner can sell for a good price without being in a short sale situation. Many of my clients have found this to be the best thing for them (and the least stressful and frustrating).

So there's a brief rundown of some information on foreclosure properties and how buying them differs from buying other properties. Please make sure you understand this if you plan to try to purchase any as if you aren't properly prepared or try to ignore the way these go, you'll just be wasting everyone's time and may end up getting unnecessarily frustrated.