Buying A Foreclosure Auction

Buying Foreclosures At A Public Foreclosure Sale Auction

Buying foreclosures at the auction is a great way to purchase a property under market value. Most properties are auctioned at the property address, some at the courthouse. The location will be listed in the foreclosure auction listing. The property is auctioned off to the public and the highest bidder walks away with the property. This can be very rewarding to those who are in a position to buy the property within a short amount of time and can be devastating to those who bid without proper financing in place.

Most auctions require a small deposit down of the purchase price on the spot and the remaining balance usually within 1-30 days. So make sure you have you deposit ready and your financing is in order before you bid. If you are unable to get financing within the allotted time, you will most likely lose your down payment, and they will auction the property off again.

Buying foreclosures at the auction is also the riskiest place to pick up a foreclosure. You are buying the property in "As Is" condition so it's very important to do your homework before you just go to an auction and bid on a property.

When buying foreclosures at the auction, we recommend you:
- first visit a local auction to get a feel for the bidding procedure, find out how much is required as a down payment and when the rest is due
- get proper financing in order (speak with a lender)
- research properties and do your homework prior to the auction date (get a title search)
- calculate potential profits
- determine the most you will bid for the property
- follow the property to the auction and participate
Buying Foreclosures that are Real Estate Owned (REO)

How to add foreclosure auction listings to your real estate buying watchlist:
When foreclosure auction listings are posted, you have about a two week window before the auction. This is where you can get in contact with the owner or foreclosing mortgage holder to purchase the property before the auction.
Another way to use foreclosure auction listings to your advantage comes when no one purchases these properties at the auction. These properties will then go into the reo - bank owned property listings. At this step, you will be able to get into contact with the bank and work out a deal. The banks are not interested in selling real estate, they want to lend money. The Reo process is a great opportunity to purchase foreclosures at tremendous savings.

Purchase Real Estate for Investments

Purchasing real estate is a good way to invest your money and provide yourself some increased financial security. It's a good way to increase cash flow and offers many profitable investment options. But, if you're new to real estate investing, you may ask, "What is real estate investing all about? What are the benefits to me and how can I get started?" We'll answer all those questions and help you get on your way to investing in real estate now.

What is Real Estate Investing?
Real estate is a tangible, cash-generating asset, much like gold or silver, and appreciates in values just like these precious metals. Being a tangible asset, however, it does not function like a bond or stock that can quickly lose value; it remains an excellent, long-term way to invest.

Real estate investors benefit from financial leverage, using a mortgage to build wealth in a way that other forms of investments do not. Real estate investment has proven to be a powerful method of creating wealth over time and there are three main forms of return-on-investment (ROI): cash flow, return on taxes and appreciation.


Cash Flow
Cash flow represents the most direct type of return, since it is money you can "put in your pocket" right away. Investing in real estate is a way to increase your cash flow. That, in turn, can provide the working capital you need to further expand your investment opportunities and obtain greater financial security.

Return on Taxes
Many investors in higher tax brackets are less concerned with cash return and more focused on the tax advantages of real estate investment. A great tax benefit for the new investor is a first-year, 100% tax deduction for up to $100,000 of business equipment purchased. This would include appliances.

Then there's also the tax benefits of being able to deduct mortgage insurance as well as points paid on a home loan. Click here to read more about Homeowner Tax Deductions.

Appreciation
The largest ROI is typically from home appreciation. Properties can have significant increases in value over time and if you have long-term goals, one option is to buy land without a structure on the property. If you buy property in the path of development, you may be able to sell at a profit in the future, perhaps when you're ready to retire and need more income.

What Are the Benefits to Real Estate Investing?
Renting
Real estate is such a smart investment option because you can maximize your ROI by finding excellent properties that can be purchased at a great price. Some properties may need more work that others, but with a little TLC, it can be turned into a nice rental property. Renting property allows for a steady and reliable stream of cash flow from the rental payments since there is a high occupancy demand for a well-kept and reasonably priced rental property.

Flipping
If renting is not for you, you can also purchase, repair and resell for attractive profit. This is referred to as "flipping" a property and is a popular real estate investment option. If you're handy and ambitious, this option may be a better alternative to renting the property out.

Start Investing in Real Estate Now
Some basic strategies can be used successfully in all real estate market conditions and get you started on becoming a real estate investor:

Do your research: Educate yourself about the differences between renting and "flipping" properties and which markets offer the best opportunity.
Select an area of interest: Choose an area where you think you could get a satisfactory return on your properties. Assess the true value of these properties based on when you expect to rent or sell the property. Keep in mind, the value of a particular house is not solely what it appraises for, but also what someone is willing to pay to rent or buy.
Learn about your market: This will help save you time by avoiding homes that are not worth the investment.
Enlist the aid of a real estate professional: A real estate professional can help you gain a more concise picture of where your interests should lie.
Contact a reputable mortgage lender: A good mortgage banker can help you determine which mortgage options are best for your situation and answer any questions you may have. Whether you decide to rent or flip your investment property, there are some excellent financing options available. Talk with a Quicken Loans home loan expert to determine which financing options are best for your particular investment interests.
Investing in real estate is among the best ways to develop income streams and offers many profitable investment options. Knowing your market and having a plan before you begin to invest is key in your success as a real estate investor. Determine your best interest and take the plunge; your pockets will thank you for it later! If you'd like to know more about financing an investment property, call a Quicken Loans home loan expert today at 800-710-4755.

House of Cards: The Mortgage Mess

For the full story of House of Cards: The Mortgage Mess as shown on 60 Minutes on CBS go to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/25/60minutes/main3752515.shtml

Here are a few key points:
It sounds complicated, but it's really fairly simple. Banks lent hundreds of billions of dollars to homebuyers who can't pay them back. Wall Street took the risky debt, dressed it up as fancy securities, and sold it around the world as safe investments. It sounds like a shell game or Ponzi scheme; in some ways, it was a house of cards rife with corruption, greed, and negligence.....
Jim Grant calls it an invitation to fraud. "You apply to a bank, or a mortgage broker for a loan. And you would fill out a form. And you would say, 'I have an income of, oh, $400,000 a year.' They say, 'You do? Fine. Just sign right there.' And they would nod, and because they were being paid, not by the veracity of the information, but by the consummation of the deal. The lending office would say, 'Ah. You have verified this?' 'Why, yes, we have.' And the lending officer would say, 'Great. So do I,'" Grant says.
"And he got a cut, too?" Kroft asks.
"Yes, oh, yes. Everyone gets a cut," Grant says.
Almost all of the people involved in the transactions made huge amounts of money, then passed the risk onto someone else. Instead of keeping the dicey loans in their own portfolios, the big banks and giant mortgage companies that originally underwrote them, resold the mortgages to big New York investment houses....

But Matt and Stephanie Valdez say they knew exactly what they were doing when they bought a small two-bedroom for $355,000. They could afford the initial payments and planned to refinance the mortgage before the interest rate jumped to 11 percent. But they couldn't do it because the value of the house had fallen below what they owed on the mortgage. They say they can afford the higher payments, but see no point in making them.

"The house keeps going down, payments keep going up. Where's the logic in that? And how can we fix it? I mean, that's what this whole thing's about for us is how can we fix this? And if we can't fix it, then what do we do?" Matt Valdez asks.

"Why pay a $3,200 payment on a 1200-square-foot home? It makes no sense," Stephanie Valdez adds.

"That's what you agreed to do when you bought the house," Kroft points out.

"Fine. If the value is going up. But we're not going anywhere. The price or the value is going down. It makes no sense because we will never be able to refinance and get a lower payment. There's no way," Stephanie Valdez replies.

"You're saying, essentially, that you're going to stop making payments on it? You're just gonna let it go into foreclosure?" Kroft asks.

"You know, that's the only advice we've gotten so far is walk away from the home. We don't want to do that to our credit. Why can't our mortgage company work with us?" she says.

There is a certain cold logic to just walking away.

Real Estate Short Sale Strategy

Increase Your Income With Short Sale Strategy By Donna Robinson, TREA Director
In todays market, with foreclosures reaching record highs, and many sellers owing more money than their property is even worth, it is time for a strategic change in business strategy.

With a fundamental situation that presents us with literally thousands of properties being "dumped" on the market with each passing month, and most of those properties having little or no equity, it is getting more difficult to sell any properties for full value.

Listings are sitting on the market for months, and many of those listings on which we have spent valuable time and effort are going into foreclosure, leaving many agents with less income and no way to sell their listings for what the seller actually owes.

Anyone may negotiate a short sale. You do not have to be licensed to negotiate with a lender or bank. You merely need to follow the specific procedures necessary to complete a successful short sale.

But this situation is creating a need more than ever for agents and brokers to understand how to use short sales to help their sellers sell and their buyers buy. If you are an agent you can use short sale strategy to save your listing commissions and help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Short Sale means getting the lender to sell a property for a discount below the amount the owner owes for the property. With the growing number of foreclosures, more and more lenders are having to resort to short sales in order to move inventory that cannot be sold for enough to cover the payoff.

We are seeing more short sales and hearing incredible stories from around the US about short sales in some areas where the lenders are discounting properties by as much as 30 to 70 percent! This results in a very profitable deal when done correctly.

Whether you have overpriced listings that aren't selling, investor clients who want the best possible deals, or you are representing aspiring home buyers who want a good buy in a personal residence, short sales could be your ticket to more production in a slowing market that still has a long way to fall before things start to improve.

But short sales require a certain amount of expertise, not to mention specific forms, letters and procedures. You have to know what you are doing. But if you do, you can create opportunities for your clients by getting discounts amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, that can turn "no sale" into a great opportunity for your clients.

If you are also an investor you need to know how to use short sales strategy to add bigger equity spreads to your own investments. Buying at a discount will help insure strong positive cash flow on rentals, with higher equity spreads. It's the "safe" way to go in an eroding market.

But the trick is, how to get this crucial information without spending $1000 or more on a seminar or course? They are out there - anywhere from $500 to more than $1500 for information on what will surely be the hottest buying / selling strategy of 2007-2008

But we at TREA have been working on a very cost effective solution for you. If you are serious about making money in real estate in 2007, you absolutely must know how to execute short sales in a professional manner.

I am currently using this same short sales process to help increase my personal production as an agent to help sell overpriced listings, as well as help my investor buyers find better deals and I am confident short sales can do the same for you too.

There is no need to languish in this market - you must adapt to the changing market conditions with strategies that take the fundamental market conditions into account.

I predict that this market will continue to worsen for months to come, making short sales even more necessary than they are now. By 2008 the banks may be desperate for any way out possible.

Because of the obvious need for this strategy, I am very happy to announce that The Real Estate Arena is recommending a new and timely course called "Short Sales Short & Sweet", written by Real Estate Broker, Marie Whitton. Marie is my personal real estate broker. Together we use short sales to increase production for both sellers and buyer clients.

The course is easy to read, and designed to help you get up and running with short sales as quickly as possible. And frankly the price is so low that it's a "no brainer" for those of us who want to adjust our strategy to take advantage of the market conditions.

If you are looking for ways to make more money in a tough real estate market, this could be your ticket.

Short sales help homeowners avoid foreclosure, and it may be the only way to make a particular deal work for an investor or home buyer. In todays market short sales are a timely and important strategy to have in your toolbox.

Advertisement: Football fans, get your Super Bowl Memorabilia @ http://www.sportstrail.com

Recession aka Foreclosures Rising

More than two years into the housing downturn, unpleasant surprises and market rumors are continuing to wreak havoc in an industry that may be leading the economy into a recession.

The market received its first jolt yesterday from KB Home, a leading home builder that investors have viewed as well-positioned to ride out the downturn. KB posted a net loss of $772.7 million, or $9.99 a share, for its fourth quarter ended Nov. 30, more than nine times wider than the loss that analysts expected.

Much of the loss stemmed from a $514 million noncash charge due to changed accounting for tax purposes. Nonetheless, investors took flight, driving KB's shares down 9.2%.

Getting Worse

• The News: KB Home, which was seen as well-positioned for the housing downturn, reported a wider-than-expected loss.

• What it Means: The report signals housing remains in free fall with no bottom in sight.

• In Other News: Countrywide shares fell 28% amid investor anxiety.

The other home-related stock taking a battering yesterday was Countrywide Financial Corp., a leading provider of mortgages. Its shares dropped 28% amid growing anxiety among investors about falling house prices and the surge in foreclosures.

The housing news and worries about weaker consumer spending helped drive down the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 238.42, or 1.9%, to 12589.07. Banking stocks were broadly lower, with Citigroup Inc. off nearly 4%. The Dow has fallen 11% from its early-October high, a decline that fits the traditional definition of a correction.

"The state of American business this year will depend, I believe, on how we get through the toughest housing correction in our lifetimes," Daniel Mudd, chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored mortgage investor, said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington yesterday.

Rumors that Countrywide might be preparing a bankruptcy-court filing fueled its decline. The company vehemently denied such plans. "There is no substance to the rumor that Countrywide is planning to file for bankruptcy," a Countrywide spokesman said.

The weak earnings report by Los Angeles-based KB Home was a signal that housing remains in free fall with no bottom yet in sight. "As we enter 2008, we see no indication that markets are stabilizing," KB's chief executive, Jeff Mezger, told investors during a conference call yesterday.

Builders and mortgage companies have been grappling for months with falling home prices and the meltdown in the market for subprime mortgages to people with weak credit. In recent weeks, the outlook has darkened further for housing as unemployment rises and the broader economy treads closer to recession. Last week, the Labor Department reported the U.S. unemployment rate rose sharply in December to its highest level in more than two years.

"Job losses are the final piece," says Paul Puryear, a real-estate analyst at Raymond James & Associates. "If we are in a recession -- and we may well be there right now -- it's going to be hard to sell a house."

Driving KB's quarterly loss was a $514 million charge related to its deferred tax assets. The ability to save on future or past taxes can be entered on a company's balance sheet as an asset. But some auditors say it isn't clear when the home builders will be able to realize these tax savings because of their losses in recent years. So they are requiring some companies to effectively write down much of their deferred tax assets.

Analysts say other builders may face similar write-downs because of the industry's uncertain outlook, and that builders may not be profitable until 2009 or 2010. The deferred tax assets, although written down for now, will eventually produce a gain.

KB has been cutting prices to move homes. Its average selling price dropped 12% to $247,800 in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. But the supply of homes remains stubbornly high. Also, more of KB's buyers are canceling contracts for homes than some analysts had expected.

The write-downs are spooking investors and forcing some builders, including KB, to renegotiate the terms of their revolving credit lines with lenders. That's because the tax-asset charges, coupled with continued write down of land and home values, could cause many builders to fall below a minimum tangible net worth level required by their lenders.

KB said it expects to strike a new agreement with its banks by the end of its first quarter. Red Bank, N.J., builder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., which reported a $216 million tax-asset-related charge last month, said it has received the necessary waivers from its lenders.

"It's a total headache for the builders,'' says Ivy Zelman, chief executive of Zelman & Associates, a housing research firm. "I don't think it's going to push any of them into bankruptcy. But it's another poker chip that the banks have in their favor."

Many analysts took comfort in KB's ability to generate cash and reduce its debt. The company increased its cash balance by $625 million from a year earlier, while its ratio of debt to total capital improved to 31% from 43% a year earlier.

As for Countrywide, investors are worried not only about its subprime exposure but also about its holdings of other types of risky loans including option adjustable-rate mortgages. Option ARMs allow borrowers to choose smaller monthly payments that increase their loan balance. If borrowers aren't careful, they can end up over their heads in debt.

Kenneth Posner, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said he believes a bankruptcy filing by Countrywide is unlikely, at least in the short run. Mr. Posner said the company appears to have enough cash to meet its debt obligations in 2008, though there is a "thin margin for error."

The company plans to release fourth-quarter results Jan. 29. After reporting a loss of $1.2 billion for the third quarter, Countrywide forecast that it would return to profitability in the fourth quarter. Now, though, "very few people I talk to believe that's realistic," said Frederick Cannon, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in San Francisco.

Isn't there an easier way to do a property title search?

Isn't there an easier way to do a property title search?

In the modern environment of the internet, and "everything online", it is common to wonder why the process of running a title search is so complex. Property title records are recorded and stored as hard-copy paper documents. Information that is contained on hard-copy documents cannot be stored easily in an online database, as can most other types of records. Because of this, title searching involves searching through all of the recorded documents for a property. Property records are recorded the individual county, each of which has different procedures for the records office.

For example, to search for mortgages, the title examiner must first locate the copies of mortgage documents signed by the property owner. All of the papers for a property are not kept together in a group. These copies are kept in books, with each volume corresponding to a particular day and year. In order to locate all the open mortgages, the examiner must go through all the books over time, and find the documents that pertain to the subject property. The county normally keeps an index, which helps the examiner know which books to look in. The examiner must then look for documents that release any of these mortgages that were refinanced, or paid off. The same process is repeated for liens.

In some counties, there are multiple records rooms to go through. All of the information about the liens, and mortgages is contained in the wording of the documents, which must be retrieved and read individually. From this process, the title search abstract is created for a property.

For more info on how to do a title search or helpful title search links,
http://www.thenoteservice.com/title-search.html

Buying A Bank Owned Home (REO)

Is Buying A Bank Owned Home (REO) Property a good move?

The real estate market is in its second year of decline and there are many buyers who are looking at buying a foreclosed or bank owned home. In fact, there are many bank owned properties on the market right now and it is projected that the number will increase through the summer of 2008.

For a free list of banks offering bank owned properties, also known as reo properties, go to http://www.thenoteservice.com/free-bank-owned-listings.html

Buying a foreclosed home is not right for everyone and it does not mean that you are going to get a home at a low price. It takes a lot of effort and time to find the right property. I know many investors who pursue properties in the bank owned market who claim they may have to look at 30 homes before finding one worth purchasing.

So this is not an approach that one should take on lightly. Great deals do not come in the bank owned market and it is one can end up with a property that requires a lot of repair and could cost more in the end. But there are some good buys on the market if you spend the time to find them.

There are two main ways of purchasing bank owned homes. The first is in the normal real estate market where properties are offered through real estate agents. The second is through the auction market where the home is sold to the highest bidder.

Auctions

The auction process is the riskier approach to buying a property I recommend that you only pursue auctions if:

1) You know how to properly research a property
2) You know about the building or remodeling trades so that you can assess the condition of a home
3) You have a lot of time to do proper investigation and you are not in a hurry to move
4) You can afford a potential loss of your deposit-sometimes you will win a bid only to later find out the property is not right for you

Why is the auction process riskier? When a property is purchased at auction the buyer does not have a traditional due diligence period to investigate the property. So before you go to the auction you need to so some research on the property. What you are looking for is:

• how much is owed on the mortgages
• if there are liens against the property
• if there are taxes due to the municipalities

An auctioned property is not going to deliver the title to you free and clear of encumbrances. So it is up to you to pay off any liens on the property. This, of course, adds to the total cost of the home.


You also may not have much time to inspect the property. In fact, you may not get to see the inside of it at all. So before the auction try to look at it if you can. Looking at the outside is usually easy, just drive or walk by the property, if it is vacant you may be able to peer in the windows. (I urge you to get permission before going on the property.) What you want to do is get an idea of the condition of the property so you can determine how much it will cost to repair, if repairs are needed. Some things to look at:



• the condition of the roof
• the condition of the exterior- does it need paint or repairs
• the condition of the interior -does it need kitchen or bath updating?
• the condition of the heating systems
• the condition of the plumbing

These are the major cost items with one exception. If the house is not on a public sewer system then it may have a private septic system.
Septic systems can be very expensive to replace and there is no easy way to determine the condition short of having an inspector check it out. It is unlikely that you will have the access or time to perform such an inspection.

Real Estate Markets

Banks often attempt to market properties in the normal real estate markets using real estate agents. To find these homes contact a local real estate agent or search through the local Multiple listing services at your favorite real estate web site.


Why is this a better way to shop for a bank owned home? First, there will often be more information about the home available. Real estate agents will often do some preliminary information gathering and will make it available to you. Second, you will have the opportunity to look at the house, both inside and out, to check its condition. Third, yo will be able to make an offer that has a due diligence period so that you can do proper inspections of the home to uncover defects. This way you know exactly what you are buying. In the event you find a major defect in the home during inspections you have the opportunity to back out of the purchase and get your deposit money back (make sure this contingency is included in your offer to purchase)


Buyers who want a bank owned property but may not have the skill to properly investigate on their own, this is a great approach. If you do find a bank owned home you love and decide to make an offer be prepared to wait for a response to your offer. Banks are not very responsive. It could take 1 week or more for a decision on your offer and 4 weeks is not uncommon.