because I just found a house that says asking price $799.00! in a nice area, 5 bedroom 3 bath... Could this really be legit? and whats the catch?
2007-04-27 18:22:57 · 8 answers · asked by calimija_619 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
it's complicated.
To make a VERY LONG story short, when you buy a house in foreclosure unless you really did your homework you may be stuck with more liens that you think.
Example: you bought a property on foreclosure from first lender at around $799.00(let's assume there is a second lender which is owed $350,000.00) you might STILL need to pay the second lender their money.
The same applies to unpaid Real Estates taxes, liens, judgments, mechanic's liens, etc, etc, etc.
Be careful don't be fooled!
Maybe the best way to do it is make an offer on a "short sale" contact a real estate agent that help you find a short sale.
Let me know if you need to know what a "short sale" is, you can also find more information online.
2007-05-01 17:01:06 · answer #1 · answered by maya_team 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it's a hook. If you've ever seen the informercials late at night that say "Buy distressed and foreclosed properties" If you read the fine print at the bottom, it says basically that actual listings will vary and results are not typical. Is it an 800 #? If so, then It's probably a company trying to sell you a list. There are many ways to go about finding foreclosures, and determining if they are a good deal or not.
Watch the legal announcement's section of your area's official legal newspaper (usually each county has one newspaper that's been designated as such, where all legal notices get printed). Each state, different set of rules, but on one day of the month, all foreclosures must be announced in the paper. If you call the paper, they'll tell you what day each month they run ("Second Wednesday", or something like that.)
The notice will give the property address and the foreclosure amount.
You can also visit http://www.reoworld.com
OR
http://www.ocwen.com/reo/residential/res_reofindbystate.cfm?CFID=4004510&CFTOKEN=78028356
You can research the property further at the courthouse or possibly on http://www.netronline.com/ to see what other liens have been put against the house (like second mortgages, taxes, etc). You can then determine how much, if any, equity is in the house and whether it'll be worth chasing.
The best thing you can do, in most cases, is buy the property from the forclosed-upon party for less than market value (there are many reasons why they might want to dump the property) and then resell it for enough to pay off all the liens plus enough to cover your work.
And it is a lot of work... for every foreclosure, only a small fraction are really worth going after. And for every notice in the paper, only a fraction will go to auction.
2007-04-27 18:45:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh, there is a catch alright. Foreclosed homes are from people who wouldn't or couldn't pay the mortgage payment. Once they understand the bank really is going to take it away from them, they can become very destructive. There are some really bad horror stories about what people have done to the homes, and the piles of garbage they have left behind.
Also, usually you have to pay off the loan that is still owed on the house, and if there are back taxes, those, too.
That said, there are some really good deals out there if you are willing to do the sweat equity. You can even fix them up and resell them for a profit. Check with city and county authorities for how to look them up and bid on them at auction. Have fun with it.
2007-04-27 18:38:23 · answer #3 · answered by Jeanne B 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
NO, it sounds like a scam to me. Most of the incredible deals on foreclosures are sold on the court house steps (in Georgia) before they ever make it to the market.......You should ask a local realtor, questions and advice are usually free, LOL
2007-04-27 18:47:45 · answer #4 · answered by RealEstateGirl 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No such thing as a free lunch. Find out who is offering it and google them. That might tell you quite a bit. If it is really that cheap, you don't want it. There has to be something very wrong with it.
2007-04-27 18:37:17 · answer #5 · answered by Fermat 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps, but I am not convinced
2016-09-22 22:38:24 · answer #6 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thank you all for your replies and opinions!
2016-08-24 00:49:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No way it could be legitimate.
2007-04-27 18:29:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋