Question: What is the best way to find foreclosure properties in my state (MD now, but also considering DE)?

Can I search online, and if so, is it free? The house would be a residence for me, I am not an investor at this time. I would not want to resell the house for a few years.

>

Answer: I have found that the best place to get a free list is http://www.yourforeclosuresoftware.com/7dayfreetrial/
because they have a 7 day free trial, I just cancelled before the 7 days and they never charged me, hope this helps!

Find Foreclosures Online

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Question: In short sales and foreclosure properties, who pays for the appraisal?

In normal sales, usually the buyer pays for it and requests reimbursement from seller in escrow.
But for these short sales, when it's really all in the bank's hands, does buyer still pay for short sale or does the bank have their own people do it?
I dont want to pay for this appraisal, then if the house doesn't appraise and we decide not to get it, I am stuck just wasting a couple hundred buckson that appraisal.

>

Answer: No the buyer is always resposible for the appraisal. often included in your mortgage

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Question: Where can I find a public listing of bank foreclosure homes in Austin, TX.?

I would prefer sites that are free and provide complete information.

>

Answer: in the austin american statesman newspaper - under public notices.

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Question: How do I find foreclosed homes in my city without paying for them?

I am always hearing about all of these foreclosed homes, and how you can buy one at a fraction of the price of a normal home. However, I am clueless on how to obtain a list of foreclosed homes. I am in the beginning stages of house hunting, and would like to know where to start. Thanks

>

Answer: You will have to go the various government websites like HUD and FHA and search their listings. This is the source of a lot of the foreclosed homes listings that you pay for.

Alternative: find a realtor who is authorized to handle HUD/FHA foreclosure properties, and have them show you the ones in your area.

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For the last two years the real estate short sale has been a popular topic of conversation with investors as well as home buyers and sellers. Yes, but is the idea of a short sale much like kissing a frog with the hope it will turn into a handsome prince?

A short sale is when a bank or mortgage lender agrees to accept less than a homeowner still owes on a home. Lenders do that when there is not enough equity in the home to attract a buyer and pay all costs of a sale.

Ah yes, but a lender does not have to agree to a short sale and even with those that might consider cooperating it can be very difficult to make such deals work. That also makes home buying very difficult.

Banks have what's called a loss mitigation department that handles foreclosure short sales. As the economy moves into a recession those departments have been swamped with foreclosures and are often unable to respond to a short sale request before the home is lost to the foreclosure auction.

A real estate agent experienced with short sale deals might be able to help, but less than about 5% of defaulting homeowners are able effect a short sale before the foreclosure.

Oh, but there's more to it than that...

The big mortgage lenders package up their loans then sell them to investors all over the world. Sometimes the first buyer was Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. They bought, packaged and sold millions of mortgage loans.

When a loan goes into default and a short sale is requested the lender needs to some how contact and negotiate with each investor who now owns a piece of the loan or loan package.

They ask Mortgage Investor #1 if he is willing to accept $X00,000?
They ask Mortgage Investor #2 if he is willing to accept $X00,000?
They ask Mortgage Investor #3 if he is willing to accept $X00,000?
They ask Mortgage Investor #4 if he is willing to accept $X00,000?

Maybe they can get in touch with everyone who owns a piece of the package and maybe not. Ah, but there's more...

Often there is more than one mortgage loan on the home and the negotiation process starts over again with those additional investors.

See the problem? With a short sale you not only have to negotiate with the investors, you have to negotiate with multiple lenders, sometimes as many as two or three. And they also must negotiate with their investors.

For homeowners facing foreclosure the question is should you even try for a short sale? Not an easy question to answer, but consider the follow:

A home owner's credit score will be damaged by going through foreclosure or by giving the home to the lender by means of a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

- Foreclosure or Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure

Sellers will take a credit score hit of something like 200 to 300 points. If before the foreclosure your FICO score was 680, it would drop as low as 380.

- Short Sale

Some say the hit on your credit score will be less with a short sale than a foreclosure. Others claim the damage will be identical. The short sale will appear as a "pre-foreclosure in redemption status" in your credit history. That may result in a credit score loss of 200 to 300 points. If your FICO was 720 you will see it fall to 520 to 420.

Are you doomed? If you have a foreclosure on your credit history will you ever be able to buy another home?

Sure you will IF you establish a good payment record with your other debts. After your foreclosure you might wait 24 to 72 months before a lender will offer a mortgage loan with a sensible interest rate. The more improvement you can show on your credit report the lower the rate of interest.

Most who have sold a home with the help of a short sale will be considered for new mortgage financing after two years if they show a responsible credit history. So the main advantage of a short sale is that you can be considered for a new mortgage loan within two years over the three- to five-year period required for foreclosures.

What about deficiency judgments? Are they going to squeeze you for every penny? Well, you could be subject to a deficiency judgment for the difference between the loan amount and the amount received by the lender in a short sale. Not to worry, many states have laws that no longer allow that and in the states that don't have such laws lenders seldom go to the expense of trying to collect from someone who apparently has no money.

Have you heard that you can be taxed on unpaid foreclosure debit? Forget it, because The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows you to exclude income from the discharge of debt on your principal residence.

Oh yes, since Washington has decided to bail out the banks they have little incentive to take less than what you owe them on any debit. Can you say, "Good bye short sales!"

About the Author:

Mark Walters is a third generation real estate investor and founder of
CreatingWealthClub.com
. For a limited time Mark is offering his big guide to finding hard money loans for real estate investing free.
Free guide to private money loans.
 
http://www.FindPrivateMoney.info

Source - Foreclosure Short Sales and the Tooth Fairy

House Search: Find Foreclosed Houses for Sale Online - Video

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Question: Repairs on foreclosed home purchase?

We are about to buy a foreclosed home in a good area of Chicago for about $80,000. What would be the best way to pay for those repairs and invest in this property so that we can live in it in a couple months?
We have the time to work on it, I was just wondering about what ways we can go about getting money to repair it... loans-wise.

>

Answer: Look into getting a 203k loan, also called the FHA rehab loan. You borrow the money needed to make the repairs and pay back the extra money with the mortgage.

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Question: Where can i find free foreclosure listings online ?

I been looking for a home to own not to resell. I been looking online for foreclosure listings but all ask to sign up and i dnt want to sign up because they ask for my card #. Is there any sites that don't require any sign ups and have the whole info about the houses not js the street

>

Answer: Hi there, most of them charge.
You can google your bank and add foreclosure to it and you get to the bank foreclosure sites.
We have used Bank of America before, they have lots of listing.
Just type in "Bank of America real estate or foreclosure listings"
Also you can ask a local Real Estate company to e-mail or fax you all listings they have that are under foreclosure. That doesn't cost you anything.
Another option is to go to your Tax offices and/or Courthouse and ask where you can look up the information.

Good Luck!

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Question: how can I find a free record of properties if the house is a foreclosure?

We just put a bid in a house that is a foreclosure, but we are very curious to know why is a foreclosure, is a 6yr old house, very beautiful in south irving,Tx and I been surffing the net looking for any information I can gather. Any suggestions?

>

Answer: The beauty of the house is not a factor. In fact, that's probably *why" the house is in foreclosure...because the buyer fell in love with it, couldn't afford it, didn't pay the mortgage and went into default.

There is no risk here that the owner was an axe-murderer and the government seized the house. It's also not possible that there is some hidden problem with the house.

Remember, it got foreclosed on, it wasn't sold or rented out. No one intentionally lets there house get foreclosed on if they have the money to pay the mortgage, but don't like something about the house itself. That only screws them for several years to come.

It's completely safe when a house is in foreclosure to assume that the mortgage wasn't being paid, as it the case right now with millions of Americans.

I suggest if you love the house, have a stable and secure income (unlike the previous resident), and can afford it, BUY IT and enjoy!

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Question: where can you find a listings of foreclosure homes?

people keep telling me to buy a house from and i can get them cheaper. but where do you find a list of them or anything about the process

>

Answer: Go to your county "records department" or it may be called "clerk of circuit court" in your area.

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Question: Process to remove personal property from land obtained at a foreclosure auction?

I recently obtained some land at a foreclosure auction. There is personal property on the land such as two old cars, boat, etc. What is the legal process required to remove the personal property?

>

Answer: We bought a piece of property in 2006, the previous owner abandoned a 66 Jag, 71 Mercedes, a 72 Porsche and a kit car - we were unable to contact him after many attempts with certified letters asking him to remove the items. It was in our contract that they were supposed to be removed at the close of escrow but it wasn't done. My husband was fed up so was I, I had an estimate of having them towed away at $250 per vehicle, so my huband listed them on ebay and we sold them all for $15,000 to a guy in Florida.. He was aware of the situation, that we didn't have the titles and he bought them regardless..

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Question: If you can't sell your house for what you owe; What do you do?

I want to sell my house but there are too many foreclosures in the neighborhood bringing values down. If I wait for the market to turn I won't be able to afford the house that will accomadate my family??????

>

Answer: Short sell it--Try to convince the mortgage company that they may need to take less than the mortgage note, due to the fact that home values have plummetted and they may never get all their money back, they may take most.

More likely scenario--You sell it for what you can, and you get a loan to pay for the difference from a Credit Union, or S&L...

http://www.foreclosures-expert.com

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Question: where can I obtain free list of foreclosures homes for sale?

in phoenix,az

>

Answer: There's two types of foreclosures. Bank and govt owned foreclosures. If you are looking for bank foreclosures, you can find them on bank web sites like Countrywide and Bank of America. The links to these banks' REOs are available on this free web site:

http://www.InvestingWithoutLosing.com

What's funny is, a lot of foreclosure sites CHARGE you a fee when all of this is free. They just compile the data together (automatically), and that's what they sell.

If you are looking for government owned foreclosures, which is often cheaper but requires more research, you should look into the back pages of this book: Complete Guide to Real Estate Tax Liens and Foreclosure Deeds: Learn in 7 Days [ISBN 0978834682] by Don Sausa. It contains one of the biggest lists of govt foreclosures and it is pretty cheap compared to the infomercials that sell them on TV. You can buy the book off Amazon or Barnes and Noble for less than $17.

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Question: Why didn't the gov't take the foreclosures from the banks as collateral and let the homeowners maintain them?

That way the housing market wouldn't drop like a rock and neighborhoods would be nice to live in, cut the social services expenditures and improve the quality of life for everyone, without screwing the regular working Joes that didn't make any mistakes in the last 10 years..
The banks aren't lending money to stimulate the economy like planned, and it isn't without due process, it's called securing your investment.

>

Answer: I see your point. The government shall confiscate property without due process of law, and hand that property over to the very people who didn't pay their bills on time.

Make sense to me.

Hey! Crack Houses are forming in my Neighborhood!

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Question: How do I find foreclosure listings without paying a membership fee somewhere?

I keep hearing about how buying foreclosures is a great way to find buy property for less money. I am a recent college graduate and don't want to throw money away on rent when I can hopefully find a place where the monthly morgage payments are less. I am looking to live in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown) of Pennsylvania.

>

Answer: I am relocating and have been looking at foreclosures. With as many are out there, many are listed on realtor.com or with local realtors. A few sources that I've tried:

Bank websites - Chase, BoA, etc.
www.hud.gov - has links to all govt owned foreclosed properties
www.ushud.com - not a lot of information
Local realtors websites

Make sure you do your research like checking the county website for valuation information, tax info etc. Since most offer no disclosures, you want to make sure you do the legwork to ensure that it is a good deal.

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Question: Can anyone recommend websites with free foreclosure listings in NY and NJ?

>

Answer: Forget websites. Go to the country courthouse where these foreclosures have to be posted. Take the name of the referree and number and call him and ask him about the property. Find out which bank has the mortgage and call them and find out how much they have into the property. Go look at the property to make sure that they don't owe more than you want to pay.

You will need probably 20% when the hammer drops at the auction and the balance in 30 days. Have the money ready or an equity line of credit to finance it till you can take it over, fix it up so a bank will give you a mortgage on it and refinance it if you want cash out.

Good way to make money but be careful because a lot of people are upside down on their mortgages at this time because they got 95% financing and property went down in value and they didn't keep it up further reducing it's value.

Good luck!

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Question: Truth, guys, the "cons" of foreclosure auction deals?

In our research about foreclosure property and the opportunities that may exist to get another home at a good or discounted price, we read lots of material that touts the advantages. Just for once, would someone give us an honest, balanced, list of possible disadvantages or "cons" we need to bear in mind?

>

Answer: Just a short list of what sprang to mind immediately I saw your question. Mostly covered in other answers I suspect.
Cons
The large cash outlay.required in a short time. Difficult to most new investors. Make sure you know the terms of the auction in advance.
Probably sold "as is" and you haven't been able to inspect. Most investors make an allowance for hidden costs.
Risk of overbidding if your research hasn't been complete.
You failed to identify all the liens and judgments and the problems "clouding" the title become your problems.
The auction was postponed at the last minute, you didn't check out the cancellations and now have penalties to pay on that unused hard money facility.
You get auction fever and overbid.
You arrive late. The auction was over in 20 minutes.
There's a redemption period and you can't get title insurance.
It wasn't a good deal in the first place and now it's yours.

.

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Question: Where can I find Foreclosure homes in Estrella Mountain, AZ for free?

I want to buy a house in Estrella but I want to spend not more then $100 000. How can I find foreclosures in that area? Mls doesn't offer much

>

Answer: The banks list all the property on their books with local real estate agents. The best bet of finding a foreclosed property lies in you seeking a real estate agent, telling this person what you are looking for and the price you would like to pay.

The best thing you can do prior to finding a real estate agent is to get pre-approved for a mortgage prior to locating a real estate agent.

In order to find out the type of loan programs you are qualified for you will have to fill out a loan application, with a mortgage broker, which you can find one in your local telephone book.

Make sure this mortgage broker or mortgage banker is able to do government loans such as FHA and VA loans if you qualify for one.

He will fill out this application, which takes awhile so grab your favorite beverage and sit down. Once you have completed the application, he will run your credit report which will have your credit scores. These credit scores will determine your interest rate.

The amount of your monthly debt payments you are required to pay as per your credit report and the amount of mortgage you can take on based on your income will determine the amount of house you will be able to purchase.

When you speak with the mortgage broker you will need the following documents to complete the loan application, there will be others, but this will get you started.

#1 One month of pay stubs for each person that will be on the mortgage.

#2 Six months bank statements from each bank in which you bank as well as statements from any 401K from you place of employment.

#3 Two years of federal income tax along with the W-2 that match.

Once he has all that he need to do he can then issue you a pre-approval letter so you can purchase a home. In this pre-approval letter will be the amount of house you are qualified to purchased.

Once he gives you this pre-approval you may now find a real estate agent to find yourself a home or he might have a referral.

Now make sure before you get your pre-approval you and your mortgage broker go over all your options as to the mortgage programs you qualify for, the interest rate, monthly payments.

If you are getting a FHA, fixed rate, two loans to eliminate PMI like an 80/20 or one loan, if you are qualified for and approved for a 100% loan.

You should select the loan that best suit your financial condition at the time. That could be an adjustable rate loan. It could be a fixed rate loan for 5 or 10 years and then adjust. Some adjustable rate mortgages only adjust once.

Make sure your mortgage broker explain all your options so you may make an intelligent decision.

What might be good for one person might not be good for you, in other words just because your friends and all your real estate buddies are telling you about the great fixed rate they got, your financial situation might call for something else.

So select the best option for you and your financial situation.

You should also get a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) which will indicate the cost you will have to pay for getting this loan. It will also indicate the amount of your down payment.

Once you have found a home the real estate agent will then prepare a contract for you and the seller to sign.

Your mortgage broker will now order an appraisal to show proof of the property value.

The mortgage broker might ask for additional information or documentation, don't get all up tight this is normal, just supply the information or find the documents needed.

After the appraisal has been completed you will be called by your mortgage broker to sign your loan docs so you can take possession of your new home.

Before signing any loan docs make sure they say exactly what you and your mortgage broker went over when you decided on what mortgage program was best for you.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck

"FIGHT ON"

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Question: How can I find foreclosed homes on the internet for free?

>

Answer: What country do you live in???

If you live in america there are lots of sites.

try these sites

http://www.foreclosurefreesearch.com/

http://www.foreclosures.com/

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Question: I'd like to view foreclosures online...?

anyplace i can view forclosed homes online without a membership or registration. I'm looking for a public, free service.

>

Answer: Read the local paper's legal section in the classifieds.

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Question: What is the best website to find pre-foreclosure/foreclosure properties?

Ive been seeing sites offering pre-foreclosure information for many houses in my area. Most of them charge $50/month. I don't mind paying the 50 but I want to make sure I only have to do it with one site. The 2 sites im thinking about are foreclosure.com and realtytrac.com
Anyone have any experience with them?
I work very long hours and don't have enough free time as it is. A site like this would benefit me.

>

Answer: All of that data is free if you know here to look. I created a page that lists all the recorders, auditors, and so forth for a Real Estate Club that I run, just do google searches for these offices, for an example, check it out: http://www.ratraceclub.com/real_estate_in_cincinnati.htm

-Angela

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