Beverly-Hanks Real Estate Blog » 4 Tricks and Traps Foreclosure Buyers Need to Know

4 Tricks and Traps Foreclosure Buyers Need to Know

Interest in buying a foreclosed home is on the rise, but so are concerns about the risk involved in the process. In a December survey, Trulia found that 49 percent of Americans were at least somewhat likely to consider buying a foreclosure, up from 45 percent in May 2010. But the number of US adults who believed there are disadvantages to buying foreclosures had also increased, from 78 percent to 81 percent over the same time frame. Among those folks who had qualms about purchasing a foreclosure, the top concerns were:

that buying a foreclosure might involve hidden costs,
that the buying process itself is risky, and
that the home might continue to lose value, after escrow closes.

While there certainly are risks that run with buying a foreclosed home, the most risky way to do it is also the least common method: at the foreclosure auction itself. Auction buyers often don’t have the opportunity to fully vet the foreclosure to ensure that they are receiving clear title and/or to make sure they’re not getting a lemon. With that said, most foreclosures are resold not at the foreclosure auction, but as an REO (short for Real Estate Owned - by the bank), listed by a real estate broker on the Multiple Listing Service and on Trulia!

When you buy an REO in this way, you have lots of opportunities to use some tricks of the trade, so to speak, to avoid some of the traps you may fearHere are my Top 4 Tricks and Traps for Foreclosure Buyers:

1. As-is means as-is, period

2. The banks speaks no evil

3. The contract terms, they are a changin’

4. Expect the unexpected.

For more explanation of the 4 Tricks and Traps CLICK HERE or if you are trying to find foreclosures and real estate deals in the Western North Carolina or Asheville real estate markets, go to Beverly-Hanks Real Estate Deals section of beverly-hanks.com