# Forclosures?



## TJN66 (Aug 29, 2004)

In the how much you bought you house thread people were saying they saved a bundle by buying a foreclosure. 

How in the world do you do that? 

I would love to have a nice house...fixer upper is even better (can redo it the way we want it then) with 5+ acres in NC. We have remodeled the house we are in now extensively and did the work ourselves. We can do wiring, plumbing, rebuilding walls, move doors, replace windows etc so we are not scared to take on a fixer. But we do need to have one we can live in while we are going it.

Does such a house exist? A forclosure...I need to go look that up and see what I can find. 

Any tips in what I should be looking for and at?

Thank you so much!


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

TJN66 said:


> In the how much you bought you house thread people were saying they saved a bundle by buying a foreclosure.
> 
> How in the world do you do that?
> 
> ...


We were looking to move, and praying hard.
I had all but given up, when the Lord nudged me to look online one more time.
Talk to Tucker's website.
There it was.
The house was on the market for 170,000.
It appraised for 260,000 with 2 inches of water in the basement.
4K square feet and 5 acres.
It was truly a gift from God.

We looked at SEVERAL bank-owned homes, and they were ALL trashed.
People demolish the place before the sheriff puts them out. Blows my mind, but they do!

This is totally a buyers market. 

After praying, I would spend time online looking. Don't pay anyone to 'find' bank owned home for you...those are scams.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Do you have a realtor? Tell them you are interested in foreclosures. They should be listed on the MLS just like anything else. The farm we bought last fall was a foreclosure. 

I found a real estate guy and got on his auto list. I told him my requirements and he emailed me a link every time a property was listed that fit into my specs. When we got the link for the farm we bought, it didn't specify foreclosure. I only found that out after I inquired for more information.


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

I would put word out to several realtors that you aren't put off by a house needing work and actually prefer one if the price reflects it. A friend of ours bought a place, suburban house, no real acreage, near us for a *very* good price since it had been ripped up. Wasn't clear if the prior owner had done the damage in anger at being evicted by foreclosure or if random thieves had broken in while it sat vacant, or a combination of both, but cabinet doors were all gone, wiring ripped out, plumbing including hot water heater stolen, etc. This seems to be very common over the last couple years; perhaps even the banks themselves would respond if you asked them if they were trying to unload such damaged properties?

I'd think present circumstances might even be THE opportunity for younger folks skilled at such repair work to find a homestead. Obviously there'd be many more places like newer suburban ranches on a half acre rather than rural small farms being foreclosed. However, maybe the more rural locations would be more easily gutted by thieves, too. I'd think time calling realtors and banks and maybe looking over Craigslist and Zillow would be very well spent right now.


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## Uddermost Farm (Apr 25, 2012)

There are several web sites that list foreclosures for sale. www.HUDHomestore.com allows you to look by state, county, city etc. However they require you to have a licensed realtor to place your bid and they don't list acreage with the info. But you can click on the map and get an idea of the size of the lot. REO Property - Bid and Buy lists Fannie Mae foreclosures, again selecting by state and city. My husband and I looked at the one in Siler City ... email me privately and I will tell you more about it if you are interested([email protected]). I think you can place a bid on those homes without being a realtor. You can search Find Real Estate, Homes for Sale & Houses for Rent on REALTOR.com - Realtor.comÂ® and Trulia - Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Apartments for Rent, Local data -- they tie into realtor databases. Zillow - Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Recent Sales, Apartment Rentals allows you to search specifically for forecolsures. There is the drawback that not all realtors flag their properties as foreclosures (also known as REOs = real estate owned). The problem with buying a fixer-upper is with the financing. Some lenders will not finance a home that is not "move-in ready". For instance, if the HVAC has been stolen or the appliances are missing, which happens alot, and the bank/seller will not replace them, which they usually don't, you can't purchase it with a mortgage. A good place to start is meeting with some lenders (your bank or credit union) and talk with them about what types of foreclosures they will finance ... before you spend time finding the perfect place only to discover you can only buy it if you have cash.


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## Newlife (May 27, 2012)

Lots of great advice here. 

The only thing I can add is that you may want to talk to the local banks as well about your desire to purchase a property and the types of requirements you may have. Often times, they have non-performing loans on the books, but they just don't want to start the official foreclosure process (sooo many reasons for that.)

You may find that the banks have some properties that haven't been listed with a realtor and aren't even on the market yet. I know, that right now there is a lot of pressure on the big name banks to improve their balance sheets and they may be more than happy to work directly with you to avoid the foreclosure process.


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## Uddermost Farm (Apr 25, 2012)

_You may find that the banks have some properties that haven't been listed with a realtor and aren't even on the market yet. I know, that right now there is a lot of pressure on the big name banks to improve their balance sheets and they may be more than happy to work directly with you to avoid the foreclosure process._ 

Newlife, you sound like an insider in the banking industry. I would love to deal directly with a bank. Who is the person to contact about their REOs? I have made inquiries directly via email and phone and never gotten a call back! Thanks


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## mountainwmn (Sep 11, 2009)

I have bought a forclosed house of the HUD homestore page. Well, I went through my realtor and it was also listed on all the MLS sites. You can also check out the sherriffs sales in your county and the tax sales at your county courthouse. I've looked into them but never actually bought one yet. 
Really though, right now it almost seems the prices are better through regular sales. I kept my eye open for a while, and the place I'm at now was an estate. Listed on the regular MLS, it is a trailer and hard to finance. They were asking what they paid for it 3 years before and I offered half. It's hard to get financed for a mobile home and they were happy to get rid of it.


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## fffarmergirl (Oct 9, 2008)

I don't know much about foreclosures but I know about fixer-uppers!

I learned the hard way - look at what the house is sitting on. Do not buy a 120-yr-old house that was built on sand LOL.

Both fixer-uppers I've bought were around 120 yrs old. The first one was built in a town that's right on top of an old sand bar. It takes a while but eventually it makes a huge difference. That house was a nightmare. Not a single square corner in the place (couldn't tell until we got to the fixing up) and a major pain to fix up. Anything that could go wrong went wrong - hidden problems everywhere. I hated that house with a passion. We called it the money pit.

The house we're in right now is built on top of solid bedrock. The basement was dynamited out. The basement floor is one big solid rock and the basement walls are made from big rocks. The house is built on a rise with good air flow around it. The timbers are as good as if they were just put up yesterday. No rot anywhere. I love love love this place.

Both houses were built well, using good solid large lumber (like they did things 120 yrs ago). The difference is the location.

Also - they didn't insulate houses back then. Probably better not to buy a 3,000+ square foot place (like our first one - AKA The Hell Hole).


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## Newlife (May 27, 2012)

Uddermost Farm said:


> _You may find that the banks have some properties that haven't been listed with a realtor and aren't even on the market yet. I know, that right now there is a lot of pressure on the big name banks to improve their balance sheets and they may be more than happy to work directly with you to avoid the foreclosure process._
> 
> Newlife, you sound like an insider in the banking industry. I would love to deal directly with a bank. Who is the person to contact about their REOs? I have made inquiries directly via email and phone and never gotten a call back! Thanks


Haha, no, I'm not some secret insider to the banking system...at least not any more (cue the mystery/suspense music).

Here's the deal. Banks or other lending institutions really don't want to advertise they have junk on the books. They probably aren't going to respond to email inquiries.

However, if you take some time to make some face-to-face appointments, you are much more likely to get some traction. I don't know what your relationship is with the bank in your area, so your specific techniques and methods might vary. However, if I was picked up and moved to your neck of the woods, here's something I might do:

I'd stop by and visit with the loan officer and mention that I was interested in purchasing a house and wanted to get a better idea of what loan products they offer, their rates, etc... The loan officer can offer to pre-qualify you which usually means running a credit check and crunching a few numbers. In the meantime, make some small talk.
Once they finish, they will say "Congratulations, you qualify for $XXX,XXX dollars in financing."
At some point during your conversation, you should ask if there are particular types of loans they are looking to add to their portfolio. Let them know that you are considering several different types of properties and funding options and wanted to find out what they were looking for. 
This will give you an indication if they are planning to keep the loan or if they plan to sell it off right away.
Find out if they handle their loan servicing in-house. If they do (fairly likely with smaller, regional banks) then ask to talk to them a bit. Let them know you are interested in buying a place and wanted to find out if there were any properties out there that looked like they were at risk for a foreclosure.

The basic thing is for a deal like this, it's kind of like the emperor with no clothes. In public, they will not admit that people are living in houses for several years in a row without paying anything on the mortgage, because that would expose their nakedness. However, face-to-face, (especially after spending time with you to qualify you for a loan), they may realize it is better to pass along a property at a cut-rate deal to you, rather than pay the fees/commissions/expenses of a foreclosure and it gets a bad loan off their books without the world knowing they are wearing no clothes 

Normally, there's a weekly meeting at each bank to discuss the status of their portfolio of loans and to try and figure a way to make the portfolio better. You may have to stop buy once a week or every other week "just to say hi", but eventually one of the portfolio managers will get the idea that you are there to provide a solution and may cut you in on a good deal.

Alternatively, you could also take out an add in the paper or post some signs in areas you are interested in (or Craigslist if that is popular in your immediate community) advertising something like "Save your credit, avoid foreclosure, I buy houses..." or something along those lines. Yep, you will get a lot of curiosity callers that way, but at the same time you might actually shake loose a few deals.

The key is to get known to the banks. The bank manager or some VP in charge of managing the loan portfolio or loan servicing will eventually think of you when trying to clean up their books. However, it will have to be face-to-face until they get to know you better.

Just some ideas


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

I bought a foreclosure last summer and it was a rare find...most of them are completely thrashed but this one was move in ready.
It is outdated and needs some work, but the value is so much higher than what I paid that it is worth putting money into.

I agree with those who said talk to a good realtor and let them know what you are looking for.


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## TJN66 (Aug 29, 2004)

I just emailed a realtor that called me yesterday from NC. I had registered on a foreclosure web site to search and they called one day after and they also emailed me with listings. I gave a detailed list of wants and price point. Here's to hoping something nice shakes out.

We are not scared of remodeling as long as the bones of the house are good. The house we have now was built in 1940 and solid..although not always plum lol! We have remodeled the whole house including a full kitchen,living room, dining room gut job. We rebuild the wall on the front of the house, moved the door and windows to better configure the living room space. Moved the washer and dryer upstairs and move the water tank downstairs to a vent free system. The only thing we did not do ourselves was change the fuse box to a breaker box and replace the original furnace with a more efficient one. That was a little beyond our capabilities =]

As for being young lol..we are mid 40's so we want to be moved, done remodeling and settled by our early 50's. I want to be able to enjoy living in the south were I don't freeze for 9 months out of the year!

Thanks for all your help. I have some books coming from the library to see how it all works with a foreclosure. In our search we have found some really cute ones that could be lived in while fixing it up. Our search will eventually uncover that diamond in the rough I am sure of it!!!


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## jessimeredith (Sep 12, 2004)

Popping in to thank Uddermost! I had the HUD link but not the REO one. We've found a little house on it that's caught our eye and is affordable enough for us without having to tap into the VA loan if we don't have to...just waiting to hear back from the realtor!


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Same thing happened here. We bought a foreclosure, it was a third of it's appraisal value. Great house, land, barns. Luckily no one trashed it, though it does need some remodeling. (Walls moved - nothing serious.) This one was a foreclosure because the man was an embezzler.


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## Kevo (Mar 28, 2012)

You also may want to check out.....
http://reo.wellsfargo.com/WBREOHome.aspx
or
http://realestatecenter.bankofamerica.com/pages/map-search


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## Uddermost Farm (Apr 25, 2012)

Thanks Newlife for a detailed explanation of how you would go about it. Another form of sweat equity 

jessimeredith, glad the info was helpful.


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## Tinga (Jul 24, 2011)

Check out :Fannie Mae REO Homes For Sale - HomePath.com

They give you a few days before they list it on the MLS. They also offer special deals for "renovations". We are currently looking at a piece of property through them.


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## Judy in IN (Nov 28, 2003)

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: Get an HONEST Realtor/Broker. Our daughter has pre-approval from her bank, was going to put 20% down, went back and forth with FM through the realty office. Her last offer was $41.5k two weeks ago.

Her offer was open ended. We were waiting for the property to go over 30 days to see if they reduced it. Asked Realtor today. He asked Broker Monday, and she said it hadn't been reduced. Find out today FM reduced it to 39k, brand new Realtor IN THE SAME OFFICE brought an offer of 36k, broker submitted it without notifying our Realtor, and now FM has accepted the low offer. 

We are calling our attorney in the morning. Something stinks to high heaven here. I intend to sue the realty company. We've already spoken to the regional manager and the state's attorney general will be next.


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## Newlife (May 27, 2012)

Tinga said:


> Check out :Fannie Mae REO Homes For Sale - HomePath.com
> 
> They give you a few days before they list it on the MLS. They also offer special deals for "renovations". We are currently looking at a piece of property through them.


HomePath is also a good site. The thing I've noticed here is that once it gets listed, the prices tend to drop quickly until it is sold -- as in every 60 days or so (I haven't figured out the exact pattern, but that seems close).

There aren't a lot of listing where I am looking, but I suspect more will be popping up. There's also a possibility to get financing through them for the purchase and/or rennovation.


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## Newlife (May 27, 2012)

Judy in IN said:


> THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: Get an HONEST Realtor/Broker. Our daughter has pre-approval from her bank, was going to put 20% down, went back and forth with FM through the realty office. Her last offer was $41.5k two weeks ago.
> 
> Her offer was open ended. We were waiting for the property to go over 30 days to see if they reduced it. Asked Realtor today. He asked Broker Monday, and she said it hadn't been reduced. Find out today FM reduced it to 39k, brand new Realtor IN THE SAME OFFICE brought an offer of 36k, broker submitted it without notifying our Realtor, and now FM has accepted the low offer.
> 
> We are calling our attorney in the morning. Something stinks to high heaven here. I intend to sue the realty company. We've already spoken to the regional manager and the state's attorney general will be next.


Judy,
I feel your frustrations. I learned a long time ago that it is more important to start hunting for a good realtor before you search for property. 
One time, when I was moving from another state, I sent out more than 100 emails to realtors explaining who I was and what type of properties I wanted and that we were shopping for the realtor first.
I developed a short request form for background information. Got about 20 completed replies and disregarded all the others who didn't complete my questionnaire.
Of the 20, only 5 or so were qualified and experienced to handle the transactions I wanted so I sent out another, more extensive survey/questionnaire.
Just one reply to that one. Those folks (husband/wife team) turned out to be pure gold -- I did three deals through them.

Unfortunately, they licensed in the areas I want to move to next. I can't tell you how many times I call to get more information (because I'm serious about making an offer if everything checks out) and get the old "oh, that just had a contract put on it." Or better yet, no one returns calls or emails and then when I do get in touch with someone, turns out that a family member or friend of the realtor bought the place 

Hopefully you can get this resolved!
Oh, don't forget to talk to the Board of Realtors for that state. They may decide to yank the broker's license and you may get a faster response than going through the AG's office.
Either way, sorry to hear about it and good luck.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

We didn't use a realtor to find properties, just kept a close eye on Real Estate Including Residential and Commercial Real Estate | RE/MAX, LLC. because they seem to pull in everybody's listings and keep them updated. 

We bought one foreclosure a couple years ago and have another one under contract just waiting for the close date to get here. A third one, my dad has a cash offer pending a response. We found all of these ourselves. Two of them are "steals" and the other one is about 30% off. It has land, which hasn't crashed in value like houses.

The 3rd one was listed with a different realtor but the realtor we worked with on house #2 was able to show it and do the paperwork on the offer. Honestly don't know how all that works, but we like her and she seems to be more than competent. She gave us some good "heads up" about doing the due diligence on these foreclosed properties. 

Keep looking, with or without a realtor. There are some good deals out there!


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## TJN66 (Aug 29, 2004)

Thanks for the advice everyone. We are looking and dreaming =]


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## Judy in IN (Nov 28, 2003)

Newlife said:


> Judy,
> I feel your frustrations. I learned a long time ago that it is more important to start hunting for a good realtor before you search for property.
> One time, when I was moving from another state, I sent out more than 100 emails to realtors explaining who I was and what type of properties I wanted and that we were shopping for the realtor first.
> I developed a short request form for background information. Got about 20 completed replies and disregarded all the others who didn't complete my questionnaire.
> ...


Newlife,
We have already talked to and exchanged emails with the regional manager of this nationwide company. She doesn't care. She told us we should have submitted a new bid when the price was dropped. That's pretty tough to do when the listing Realtor (who is also the broker) conceals the price drop from us AND our Realtor. We have sold property and bought property with this Realtor multiple times, and I don't think the fault was his. He's always been upfront with us.

As late as this morning, the property was listed on the MLS at the original price of $48,900.

Hubby looked up the ethics complaint form on the internet. He says the standards are pretty da*n low; somewhere around used car salesman level.

I am not going to roll over without a fight. We will call our attorney in the morning, MIBOR, and the news channels. Let's see how this company likes the light of public attention shone on their doings. 

People talk about how corrupt China is....they've got nothing on the U.S. We have plenty of crooks here.


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## ladybug (Aug 18, 2002)

We just bought our house as a foreclosure back in March, it was appraised at 145,000 (once repaired) and were able to purchase it for 35,000. It only cost us about 2500.00 in repairs to fix it like new. It is a 3 Br/2Ba on a little over 4 acres. I used realtor.com to find this house, but you can also use Auction.com-my mom bought a house right down the road with a pond, 3 Br/1Ba house and 25 acres for 45,000 total at auction. That is a STEAL for what they are selling for at full price! Good Luck and I hope you are able to find one soon!


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## clovis (May 13, 2002)

any updates, TJN66?


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## TJN66 (Aug 29, 2004)

Nope still looking.


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