There are a lot of people out there looking to make money in real estate. Many decide or feel like they are better served if they look for properties in a home foreclosure listing as opposed to ready to live in properties.
The main reason for this is because of the prices. Of course the price of a foreclosure is much less than that of a home in good condition that is listed on the MLS or being sold by the owner.
This is mainly because the condition of a foreclosure is unknown and you are basically purchasing “at your own risk”. They usually need a substantial amount of work that needs to be done on it and therefore it is priced according to its condition.
I would admit that getting your investment from a home foreclosure listing is a good choice, but there is something that you need to make sure of once you are in receipt of this listing.
Are you in suspense yet?
I bet you are.
You probably think you already know.
Did you guess “price”…?
…Well that is not the answer.
Yes price is important, but we already know that the price is going to be much lower than the current market so that is already expected.
The one thing that I believe you should look for in a home foreclosure listing is the date the list was printed.
Sounds simple, but it is very important if you believe your time is valuable.
I don’t know how many times I went to or sent an investor to a property on a recently dated list and still found that the property was already sold.
You get in your car, burn some gas and ride up to a property only to see a contractor already working on it.
It pisses me off because it happens a lot more than a little. How simple is it to take a property off the list after it is sold?
Many sites don’t keep their list updated as well.
They bait you in by telling you about a property on their list that is in your neighborhood. Yes the property was listed for that price, but they fail to tell you that it is no longer available.
Watch for the date and make sure the home foreclosure listing is updated before you even bother to purchase it. If you get it for free then you didn’t lose much…
…Except your time and gas.
