Foreclosure How To Buy

Archive for the ‘Foreclosure’ Category

Every real estate professional who works with homeowners in default needs to know a little about bankruptcy. At the very least, you should know enough to join the conversation because bankruptcy and foreclosure often go together.

The first thing you need to tell them is that you can’t help them with the bankruptcy itself. That’s not why you’re there. You could be accused of practicing law without a license; if you’re not an attorney, don’t give legal advice.

This is about learning the difference between what a bankruptcy can and can’t do for a homeowner in foreclosure. You don’t have to become a bankruptcy expert, but you should learn just enough about a few key terms that you can be a part of the conversation if it comes up. When you can relate those terms to the foreclosure process, you will be better equipped to help homeowners explore their options and decide if they want to speak with a bankruptcy attorney.

Bankruptcy Stay: You’ve heard of a “stay of execution,” right? Same thing, different venue. A bankruptcy stay freezes all legal action by a lender to collect money or assets from a borrower. If a bankruptcy is filed even an hour before the foreclosure auction, they can’t proceed with selling the house at that auction. The stay has already given the homeowner additional time to try another solution.

Relief of Stay: When a stay is ordered by the judge in a bankruptcy court, the lender may file a motion for relief of stay. The lender is basically asking to be allowed to continue to go after the house or the money. The judge has the option to allow their request or deny their motion.

A motion for relief of stay may be justified in one of two ways. First, if the property has negative equity, the homeowner will receive nothing from the sale of the house anyway. Since there will be no proceeds from the sale to distribute among the other creditors, the court may see no point in freezing the foreclosure process. Second, the homeowner may already be in trouble with the court because they can’t keep up with their repayment plan. The court will see no point in giving most homeowners a second chance to save the house if they aren’t cooperating in good faith with the bankruptcy process.

Abandonment of Assets: In bankruptcy court, an asset is considered abandoned when its value has decreased to the point that nobody will be interested in it but the owner and its secured lienholder. One example of an abandoned asset is a home that is worth less than the mortgage debt.

Bankruptcy Discharge: At the end of the Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy process, the court will declare and record that all of the individual’s debts included in the bankruptcy have been discharged, which simply means that the individual is no longer responsible for them.

Dismissal: In bankruptcy court, a dismissal means that the court has refused to discharge the person’s debts due to noncompliance. When an individual fails to cooperate with a Chapter 13 repayment plan or fails to submit any paperwork requested by the court, the judge can dismiss the bankruptcy and tell the person that they don’t qualify for debt relief anymore. In 2005, part of the bankruptcy reform laws made it harder for an individual to file another bankruptcy after a dismissal.

People who have trouble paying their mortgage are usually behind on their other bills as well. Bankruptcy can help some of them, but it might not do anything for others. Ask a colleague or call us at Strategic Real Estate Coach about how to manage a conversation with a homeowner about bankruptcy options. You’ll have to refer them to an attorney in the end, but at least you can learn enough to help them think things through before they make that appointment.

Educate yourself as much as possible about the concerns a homeowner might have regarding bankruptcy and foreclosure. Make sure the homeowner is aware of one thing, though. A judge’s stay on the foreclosure proceedings is only temporary. The only way to completely avoid foreclosure is to work something out with the bank before the auction.

Need to know more about helping homeowners in foreclosure? Visit the Strategic Real Estate Coach website, and check out our free report about the new Real Estate Rebel. Dare yourself to follow our ethical, proven strategies for growing your real estate business beyond your wildest dreams!

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There’s a lot to know when looking into properties foreclosure, especially if it’s your first time looking into it because while there’s a lot of information out there, it tends to be disorganized and there’s a lot of myths and blind alleys that can prove costly. Properties that are in foreclosure are available nationwide and within easy access if you know how to go about finding them because while most sources are riddled with inaccuracies and mistakes, I’ve identified a couple that are head and shoulders above the rest. They are within your reach and you need to know how to go about purchasing them too because if you know a few simple hints it’s actually very easy to make great money with purchasing foreclosures and flipping them for a hefty profit.

When I started my research online I came across a ton of interesting facts on foreclosure properties. The hard part was figuring out what sources of information is creditable and which aren’t. I asked a few friends of mine that were in real estate and previous investors in foreclosure properties where to start. That defiantly helped with my beginning search online because there is a ton of info on the web and I get a good foot in the door on my research. It was also important to me that when I found the sources of information, that I save them and pass them along to others looking into purchasing foreclosure properties.

The first important fact to remember is to understand the inspection process before buying a property. Not all properties are open to inspection, which makes it hard to really appraise the property. In the Realty Times Schulte-Ladbeck says, “The best thing you can do if you’re considering a foreclosure is to have it inspected. Just make sure that the property is ready to be inspected or you could be doing yourself a huge disservice.” It’s a huge difference in seeing something first hand than just through the listing itself.

When you learn where to find these properties, then second remedy is to know how to go about purchasing them because most folks don’t realize how to properly evaluate the current market value of a foreclosure. There are a lot of different guidelines and laws you need to follow, and because of that your opportunities are even greater, as the layers of regulation tend to weed out the vast majority less organized and informed investors. As I did my research it was apparent that there was a lot more to the process than I thought because I was initially led to believe that everybody knows how to make money in foreclosures. This is very important to understand because there is a lot of bogus information out there so I made sure I was researching only creditable information.

So in conclusion I had finally came across the best source of information online and was very pleased to know how useful it was. I highly recommend you do the same and check it out because it allows you to shortcut the weeks I spent investigating and the massive cost that many investors pile up by missing these important and easy to miss details. It is everything you need to know about foreclosure properties because the folks I researched really did their due diligence and have an unmistakable pattern of success, while others offering advice were usually giving either incomplete or false information.

Go to this Properties Foreclosuresite for much more tips on how to financially leverage foreclosures. www.PropertiesForeclosure.org shows you exactly how to get all of the information you’ll need when it comes to properties foreclosure, and how to turn them into your best financial benefit.

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Ahh, so you saw the ad that flashed, “REO Properties For Sale” and you are thinking you are going to do like the guy in the infomercial said and go buy up a few, clean them up a little bit, and then resell them and make a killing. And why not? REO properties can be had for a song, right? Who in their right mind could pass up a bargain like that? You’d think that everybody would be out there snapping up REO properties. Well, before you begin hitting the “REO Properties For Sale” ads, you better read the remainder of this article. The guy in the infomercial doesn’t tell you the full story.

You see, he doesn’t tell you the difference between foreclosure properties and REO properties. When a foreclosure property first goes up for auction, it’s still owned by the mortgage company and they want to get rid of it as quick as possible. So that much is right. However, if there were enough equity in the property to begin with, the owner in all probability would have sold the house himself and paid it off. Foreclosure sales begin with a minimum bid that includes the balance of the loan, the accrued interest, attorney fees and other related costs of the foreclosure so that minimum opening bid can oftentimes be more than the property is currently worth. Which is the reason that most homes don’t even receive a bid at a foreclosure sale.

After the foreclosure the property then reverts back to the bank and that’s when it becomes an REO property - Real Estate Owned (by the bank). Now that the bank officially owns the property it becomes one of their assets and banks now have entire departments dedicated to handling these properties. Because they’re now an asset, banks are not in such a hurry to unload them at a cheap price just to get rid of the responsibility.

The bank now goes in and makes minor repairs, takes care of any accrued association fees, negotiates tax liens with the IRS and in essence now becomes the owner of an asset, just like when you buy a home. So it’s to the bank’s benefit now to sell that home at an even higher price than was asked at the foreclosure sale so they will recoup their investment and make a profit.

Where most buyers make their fatal mistake is in assuming that because the property was a foreclosure property they are getting a better deal no matter what the price is and they do not realize that most times the property is worth far less than the asking price. The guy in the infomercial is pulling your leg and making a lot of cash telling you why you ought to purchase REO properties but you need to spend a little time learning HOW you ought to purchase them. There are some extremely sensible deals out there. But before you begin hitting those “REO Properties For Sale” ads, you need to do a little research.

Want to find out more about reo properties for sale, then visit Vladymir Rys’s site on how to choose the best bank owned houses for your needs. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.

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