Foreclosure Real Estate Investing: How NOT To Lose Your Shirt At The Foreclosure Sale For real estate professionals, this past year has been one of the most painful in recent times — defaults are up, homeownership is down, foreclosures have soared and the poorly performing housing sector is starting to create negative ripple effects in the broader national economy. Since all projections indicate that 2008 will be equally as challenging, should property investors run for the hills, put all their money in AAA rated munis, and ride out the storm until the next boom? Absolutely not! There’s no question that 2008 will bring reduced housing demand, lower prices in some areas, and fewer loan options, yet 2008 looks strong for treasure hunters. At HMB, we’ve been seeing investors scoop up bank REO’s for 40 to 50 cents on the dollar and selling them off at nice profits. After all, people will always buy property if they can get a great deal, no matter what the market conditions. Your job is to simply find the best deals. Many great deals will most certainly come from foreclosures over the next 24 months.

If you intend to jump into foreclosure auctions, follow these tips to help insure a profitable transaction: A? Do your homework: I recently had one of my investors call me and ask me if he would be risking anything greater than his security deposit if he simply walked away from a house he purchased at auction. Because he was intimately familiar with the neighborhood, he didn’t bother to visit the property. After the auction, he learned the damage to the property was more extensive than he anticipated. In a aEoehotaE? market, price appreciation could have bailed him out but, in today’s market, he was sunk. Lesson? Never buy a property sight unseen, and make sure to get the best contractor estimates possible prior to auction day. A? Read the advertisement carefully: The devil is in the fine print. You could buy a lot of trouble if you don’t read and understand every word. Examples: Many auctioneers require a Buyer’s premium. In my area, it could be as much as 10%. If your bidding on a $120,000.00 property, that’s an additional $12,000.00 expense! Even worse, you may be required to pay interest on the prior owner’s defaulting Note from date of auction forward to the date of settlement. That’s an additional 30-45 days of interest expense (or more in some instances). Worst of all, in some cases the auction purchaser could be responsible for certain outstanding liens due at the time of sale, such as water, taxes, or even condo liens. Do you really want to be responsible for the prior owner’s $3,000.00 past due HOA bill because you didn’t read the ad? A? Be careful of flipping: Flips are still possible in this market but could be dangerous to the financial health of an unseasoned or careless investor. If you intend to flip to another investor, remember he or she will be leery of buying anywhere close to retail because of the likelihood of additional price erosion over the next few years.

Did you properly discount your bid price for this? Will the property cash flow at your proposed sales price? Many investors use the 1% Rule as the aEoegold standardaE? aE” a $100,000.00 purchase price should yield a renter at $1,000.00. If you don’t carefully account for these factors, you could get stuck in the property. If you are using short-term hard money and your credit is weak, you even run the risk of loan default because you won’t be able to refinance out of your hard money loan. A? Setting property values: In addition to recent comps, you may want to go back to 2004-05 tax assessment records to review pre-bubble pricing. Is it possible for prices to retrace back to those levels? Maybe yes, maybe no, but it doesn’t hurt to bid based upon worst-case scenarios. A? Keep your cool: Don’t get caught up in the emotion of the auction. Know your absolute high price going in. Once the bidding has exceeded that price, don’t even think about it anymore. Walk to your car and leave. There’s always another deal tomorrow. A? Get finances in order before bidding: You will be required to bring to the auction a cashier’s check for the advertised deposit amount. But you may also be asked to increase the initial deposit to 10% of total purchase price within a certain time period after the auction date.

Check with the auctioneer the day of auction. Also, get lender approval prior to the day of auction. A hard money lender can be your best friend in these situations, as an approval from a hard money source accomplishes 2 things: 1) you’ll know up-front whether you’ll be able to close on the property, thereby reducing any risk of losing your deposit; and 2) you’ll get a second, and often expert, opinion on the conservative value of the property. Even if you end up using conventional lending, the hard money approval can give you great peace of mind. A? Insurance: It is critical to get a hazard insurance policy in place the day of auction. Many times, the risk of loss is contractually passed to the successful auction bidder. If you don’t have insurance and the building burns down, you lose! A? Bankruptcy: Call the auctioneer the night before (for early a.m. auctions) or the morning of the auction to make certain the foreclosed-upon borrower has not filed a bankruptcy. A bankruptcy filing stops the foreclosure process, even if it is filed one minute before auction. Probably 90% of foreclosure auctions get cancelled this way, so you’ll waste a lot time if you don’t call beforehand. A? Default: Always remember that the re-auction of a property is almost always aEoeat the risk and expense of the defaulting bidder.aE? This means if you bid on a property and don’t follow through, you could be sued for a lot more than just your deposit. Jeffrey Shiller, Esq. MD DC VA Hard Money Lender

About Author
Jeffrey Shiller, Esq. www.hardmoneybankers.com MD DC VA Hard Money Lender

Huntsville real estate pricing often runs $300,000 and below for the typical residential home, but there are certainly more expensive homes to choose from as well. There are also plenty of estate type homes available as well that are abundant in size and with very nice amenities to choose from. Today’s Huntsville real estate market is bouncing back and at current pricing, many homes are priced to sell quickly.

The general area a home is located in is important when considering Huntsville real estate options. Some things to consider are the school districts, driving distance to schools, driving distance to your place of employment, shopping centers, activities, entertainment and hospitals to name a few. Learn about traffic and heavily traveled routes to and from your work place and schools. These factors are important when choosing a place to plant your roots.

Once the size of home and Huntsville real estate general location is decided on, it is time to look at your budget. A realtor knowledgeable about Huntsville Real Estate can help by providing you with active home listings within your budget in an area you prefer to live in. When budgeting, make sure to determine if the home will need renovations. Would you rather find a home that is already updated and new and matches your needs or a home that is a little older that you can renovate and customize to your specific needs? The latter may have a lower listing price, but renovation costs could be high. Do some research on Huntsville real estate by comparing pricing along with Huntsville property taxes and any added expenses that may be relevant such as water, trash removal, HOA fees etc.

Consider location while shopping Huntsville real estate, versus just looking at a homes qualities. A home can always be renovated, but the location cannot be changed. If peace and quiet are what you prefer then you don’t want to live on a street with lots of children. If you enjoy walking you could choose a location close to places you regularly patronize. You may also want to consider the direction of the sun, where the sun rises and sets in relation to your home and yard. If you prefer sun in the morning on your bedrooms, you should consider a home with an east facing bedroom, otherwise you will wake up to shade. For your yard, you will want to make sure that the sun is on a pool and deck, or that you have a shaded area to put a picnic table. Check how the trees create shade and make sure it is not overpowering the entire yard as tree removal can be expensive.

A Huntsville real estate professional can help make it easier to narrow down your search for a home. Huntsville real estate is in demand for several reasons; home appreciation, abundant jobs in the area, low property taxes, a warm and stable climate, great neighborhoods and quality construction just to name a few.

Steve A. Thomas is your Huntsville real estate resource serving Huntsville, Alabama and surrounding areas. Steve A. Thomas Realtor, Associate Broker, ABR, e-Pro RE/MAX Huntsville/Madison Cellular: 256.694.4663 Toll Free: 800.239.4749 Ext. 4945 Web site: http://www.HuntsvilleAreaHomes.comArticle Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/huntsville-real-estate-shopping-considerations-1639084.html