Does anyone know if it is difficult. How do you go about it and any other tips?

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 11:21 am:

Here's an article:
http://money.cnn.com/1999/02/11/banking/q_bankrate/

Also, I googled "buying foreclosed home" and saw several links from about.com and ehow, and msnmoney. I would not bother with the sites that are trying to sell you either a foreclosed home or a book or advice on how to do it, but the sites I listed should be helpful with general information.

That said, I'd be very careful. In Pennsylvania, I believe the person whose house has been foreclosed and sold can come back and pay all the arrears and get the house back for several months after the "sale". And if there was any possible default in the foreclosure process, it can be overturned and the buyer may have no way to get their money back or have to wait a long time for it. I read a case recently where the Sheriff's office didn't check the real estate taxing office for the forwarding address for the property owner, but simply posted a notice on the property, and that sale was overturned in the courts some 3 years later.

By Crystal915 on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 12:02 pm:

DH and his ex-wife bought a foreclosed home, through a realtor, without any problems. It worked just like a regular sale, as far as I know. The VA even backed their loan, which I'm sure they wouldn't do if they thought there would be a problem, but every state is different.

By Mrsheidi on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 01:20 pm:

I would never buy a foreclosed home. My best friend did it in Colorado and found out later that is was a meth house. She got really sick when she moved in and had to have the EPA check the house for chemicals. She was pregnant too.
There's a reason why people foreclose on a house. They aren't the type of people to take care of it.

By Cocoabutter on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 01:45 pm:

For some people, that is true. The lady who used to live across the street from us got foreclosed on her home b/c she was living in it with her bf when he split. His name was on the mortgage and he wouldn't sign off, so she couldn't sell it. She had to allow the bank to foreclose. But overall, she really did take good care of it.

On the other hand, we have a similar situation down the street where there was a double lot and the owner sold one lot and a new home was built 2 years ago. The guy that bought it also was living with his gf and their baby and she split b/c he never got a job. Now he has another chickie living there. There aren't any curtains in the windows- they have bed sheets hanging over them. We wondered why the real estate sign kept going up, then was taken down, then a week later it would be up again, then it would go down again. It's on the MLS (internet), but the sign is gone now. Dh found out from another neighbor that the dude doesn't want to sell the house, but the bank is apparently making him. (Not sure how that goes) So now, he is refusing to mow the yard. The weeds are as tall as my 9 yr old son! I am sure his reasoning is that he figures if he doesn't mow the yard, no one will look at the house. But the city will get after him. So no, some people simply do not take care of anything.

By Reds9298 on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 01:50 pm:

I have 2 friends who have both bought foreclosed homes through a realtor and everything went just fine.

The foreclosed homes around here are anything but meth houses. MAJOR homes with a big price tag that people just jump into to keep "up with the Jones'" and then can't make the mortgage on. One of our friends bought a $250K home (which gets you a VERY large and VERY nice home in this area)for $125K. It is absolutely beautiful.

If DH and I move to a city where there's a higher cost of living, we are planning to also look at foreclosed homes through a realtor. You can really get a great deal on a foreclosed home, but I think you need to go through a trusted realtor. That won't be our only search, but if there are any available that might interest us, we will definitely look at them.

By Dana on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 02:47 pm:

I bought a foreclosure as my first house. I LOVED my house. It was purchased AS IS at an auction. I was very happy with it. It did have repairs, but I knew that when I got it. Most importantly, never buy or bid on a home you have not visited personally. And better yet, have it inspected before buying. Now that meth homes are on the market, perhaps there is a test or records that can be checked during your research on a particular property.

I loved it, and I am looking again into making another foreclosure purchase when I find one I like.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 03:04 pm:

My friends bought a house through some sort of auction. I think it was a foreclosed house. Their oldest daughter was a year old, or so. Now, she is 24!

The house needed a lot of work, though. The guy had left the house, with a loaded fridge. The first thing they had to do, was clean out and dispose of that fridge! Ewwwww.

I also think there was something with broken pipes, since they have a boiler and radiators for heat.

They just recently redid the whole kitchen area and it's gorgeous now! By the way, they used those laminate tiles for the floor and it's gorgeous, too.

By Reds9298 on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 04:26 pm:

It's funny, because I guess I thought foreclosed homes were just the really nice ones in the well-to-do neighborhoods. We have been through a couple and they were terrific. Live and learn!

By Monicamomof3 on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 08:28 pm:

Dana- what is the first step I should take? Do I have to have cash?

As for going through a realtor, does any realtor know about foreclosed homes.

Also, what about realtytrac.com (I think that's what the website is called). It is a site that has a list of all the auction, foreclosures, etc in your area. Can someone let me know if they you know anything about this site?!

I have no clue what I am doing! LOL!

By Reds9298 on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 08:36 pm:

I think realtors know about foreclosed homes for sure, you just have to ask. If you don't already have someone you trust, ask people you know for referrals for realtors.

Sorry I don't know about the $ part of it.

By Anonymous on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 08:40 pm:

Well, we have actually foreclosed on a home. And, no, we aren't the type to "not take care of it". It was a beautiful new home and we treated it like royalty. There were some problems in our life, and we ended up not being able to afford it anymore. We ended up foreclosing on it.

Just wanted to give you a different perspective. It's not really fair to judge everyone based on one experience that you've heard of.

By Reds9298 on Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 09:20 pm:

Anon- Your situation is exactly the one I imagine when I think of foreclosed homes. Either a life situation happens where one can no longer afford the home, or people simply realize after they start paying for it that they got excited and also way in over their heads.

I agree with you. I never think anything "bad" about the people who foreclose on homes. Like I mentioned before, I didn't even realize there were foreclosures on homes that were anything but really nice.

By Tonya on Friday, June 2, 2006 - 08:55 am:

The city I live in right now on average has between 50-75 homes a month forclosed on by the banks because the people living in them cannot afford them or they move and they are not selling and they let the bank take them over.

My first house I bought when I was 20 with a 1yr old boy as a single mom was a forclosed home. It cost me 45K. The bank financed it and I did it through a realtor.

It needed some repairs but not allot. My family helped me with those. When I sold it 4 yrs later I sold it for 75K. I was able t otake a 2nd mortgage on it and put a new roof on and new windows and doors within a year of buying it.

Make sure you have a good inspection done on it before you buy to see what all needs to be repaired and ficed. Good luck.

By Anonymous on Friday, June 2, 2006 - 03:13 pm:

I agree with the 1st anon. We lost our house to foreclosure when my dh family business went under. We all had gotten second morg. on our homes to get the business going and we all lost our homes as we all went with out a pay check for 9 months. We loved our house and did what we could to keep it up as we really wanted to stay. We did all we could but just didn't have the money to get caught up.

By Anonymous on Monday, June 5, 2006 - 12:51 am:

Sometimes a forecloser is better on your credit report than a bankrupcy. We had to choose between the two and we chose forecloser. My husband is in law informent, and we are in no way meth users or bad people. We are suffering from the forecloser, but it was the best decision we made. It could have gotten a lot worse. Our house was very well taken care of. We are very ashamed of our forecloser, because of misconceptions. I hope you all won't judge everyone who has to choose foreclorser.

By Crystal915 on Monday, June 5, 2006 - 12:18 pm:

Ditto those who said not all forclosures are because of things like drugs or bad people. I've seen examples where couples were divorcing, and one party wouldn't sign off on the sale, so the other had no choice but forclose. In Killeen, TX, where DH bought his first home, it's right outside of Fort Hood, so sometimes a soldier will buy a home, end up moving or getting out of the military, and for whatever reason cannot keep up the payments or find a buyer. Forclosed homes are quite common there, and there is a good chance we'll be looking to buy one when we move back next year.

By Debbie on Monday, June 5, 2006 - 12:53 pm:

Forclosures are on the rise right now, and most of the time it has nothing to do with drugs or the type of people living in the house. A lot of people are getting laid off, or got in over their head. Also, interest rates are going up and some people financed with adjustable rates, so now they can't afford their home.

I don't know a lot about buying a forclosed home. I would just make sure you research the procedure for your area. That way, you will know the laws and there won't be any suprises.

By Kaye on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 09:13 am:

Just out of curiosity, those of you who have foreclosed. Why didn't you sell the house? I would think getting some of the money back would be better than getting nothing.

By Luvn29 on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 09:43 am:

I'm not one who has foreclosed, but I live in an area where at times, houses have been on the market forever. I think sometimes it may be because houses just aren't selling, and they probably can't afford to make the payments while they are waiting for it to sell. That's my guess. I know some people live in areas where it's no problem selling a house, and it's hard to imagine it any other way. But in some areas, houses can sit on the market for years. I've seen it here.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 10:19 am:

There was just an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about people being priced out of their homes, on May 24th.

Affluent buyers losing homes

Home foreclosures nationwide have surged this year, amid evidence that many well-to-do buyers borrowed beyond their means.

How bad is it? Foreclosure.com reports 14% more homes being lost to creditors this April than a year earlier. RealtyTrac.com reports 33% more people in some stage of foreclosure this April than April 2005.

What's startling isn't just the higher numbers, but who they represent - the affluent, not just the down and out.

"These are the ones with a bigger ability to get money - the executives, businessmen and professionals - buying more than they can possibly afford," said Brad Geisen, president and CEO of Foreclosure.com in Boca Raton, Fla. "They were banking on price appreciation continuing to go up fast, and pulling their money out in time."

It didn't work.

"With interest rates almost double what they were two years ago, their payments are up - and they're finding it's not as easy to sell," Geisen said. "Some leveraged the equity in their primary residence - to the max - to buy a second home."

The article goes on from there.

By Colette on Friday, June 9, 2006 - 03:36 pm:

http://www.realtytrac.com/pub/articles/aol/modified/msecure_financing.asp?a=b


this was a link on my local news page today.

By Anonymous on Monday, June 12, 2006 - 10:20 pm:

I'm the Anon who chose forecloser over bankrupcy, and to answer the question about trying to sell. We did. Our house was on the market for a long time, and no one was interested. It was an older home, and new homes were cheap and on the rise, so we only had one person come look at the house the whole time it was on the market. It was a very depressing time!