subject: Repo Homes For Sale A Guide [print this page] With almost a million foreclosed properties on the market, this is the best time to get a great deal on a quality home. With so many options you can buy a brand new house and not a fixer-upper. This guide will give you the basics in what to look for when making one of life's biggest investments.
The first thing you should do is check out your own finances. You have to make sure that buying a foreclosure makes sense. If you don't have a large part of your outstanding debt paid down and a sizable down payment, buying a repo is not in your immediate future. Part of the reason why there is so many foreclosures today is because people rushed in without having a down payment and 3-6 months back up expenses. A lot of people got conned into thinking they were going to be some sophisticated home flipper by a guru at a seminar or TV show. The best thing we can do is learn from them and make sure we have all out ducks in order or risk falling victim to history repeating itself.
Now that you have your finances down, you should find local banks, companies and real estate agents in your area to call. Thanks to the internet this have never been easier. Simply do a search for repossessed homes in your state or city. This will pull up a few sites that have databases of all the companies in your area. Pick out 3-5 and give them a call. Also, another great thing to do is search for "home tour bus Your Area" You might get lucky and find a home foreclose tour in your area. If anything else, going on a bus tour can be a fun way to spend a Saturday. You can also meet some local veteran buyers in your area and swap information. Also, be sure to ask all businesses if they have a website. A lot of companies now are posting listings on their websites.
By this stage, you should be ready to make an offer provided everything checked out. Even with prices slashed in half in some cases, it never hurts to ask for a discount. If the offer is accepted, make sure to read over the initial application fully. Also at closing be careful to check all the fees the loan company is charging you. Sometimes companies will charge you fees for services they never provided . Considering these fees can be in the thousands of dollars, it's worth your time to go over them.
Finally, don't feel stupid to ask questions. It's better to know exactly what something is now rather than pay for it later. Most agents and banks will be happy to help you as they want the buyer to be happy with his/her purchase. If you have friends in real estate or the mortgage industry call them up and make a day of it. Now that you have the basics down, you can get started in buying your new home.
