Buying Foreclosures?

[kitkat]

Has anyone bought a foreclosed home? I've been looking into the housing market back in our hometown, and there's so many of them in nice neighborhoods. The prices are absolutely ridiculous. It'd actually be substantially cheaper in some cases to buy a foreclosed home then to rent anything (even after you consider taxes/insurance). I've just read that it can be a huge pain and it's not recommend for first time buyers.

So, has anyone done it? Would you recommend it? Is the work really worth the reward?

TIA!

[RunAwayLove]

the house i live in now was a foreclosure and my roomate bought it. we LOVE it were slowly replacing appliances and what not were going to remodel the kitchen but when they bought it only the guest bathroom needed to be remodeled

[*MarineBug*]

my dad is in commercial real estate and buying forclosure is great I would recommend getting a well known and liked real estate agent. They are worth the money and will show all that is available.

[*Pamela*]

Both homes we've bought were HUD forclosures. As long as you have a good realtor and good inspections, I wouldn't really see the issue, 1st or 50th home. It can definately be worth it! PM me if you have any questions...

[guynavywife]

I bought a home that had been forclosed on by the lender.
The biggest problem I ran into was finding who actually owned the title. Since lenders tend to buy and sell mass amounts of deeds, it took almost 6 months to close.
Some things to know about a foreclosed house: You are buying it AS IS. No one is required to tell you of any problems with the home.
YOU may be liable for any utility bills that are owed. You may not even know about these bills until you try to turn on the water, power, etc.
Banks also take their time in doing anything. don't expect the process to go quickly.
Don't expect them to negotiate too much.

buying from a homeowner who is being foreclosed on can be dangerous for many reasons, including unknown mortgages and secured debts on the home.

if you find a house you like, talk to the neighbors. They will tell you about anything they know about the house, the people who lived there etc.

[gunsgirl]

it is completely doable- get pre approved, talk to a realtor, be patient some can take 3-6 months to close, pay for an inspection,and you can negotiate with a bank sometimes for closing costs and repairs.

[piggypunkinetta]

We bought a foreclosed home. We didn't have any real issues other than the bank would not pay for repairs. They ended up paying half of the repairs at closing since we could not close, the VA said no, without the repairs being made. No title issues here.

[Trey]

Originally Posted by piggypunkinetta We bought a foreclosed home. We didn't have any real issues other than the bank would not pay for repairs. They ended up paying half of the repairs at closing since we could not close, the VA said no, without the repairs being made. No title issues here.

Exact same story here....

We did not close on time, but it was OUR bank's problem, not the selling bank's problem. From offer to close it was about 45 days... we bought a fixer in a GREAT neighborhood with a HUGE yard, so we are thrilled. I would definitely do it again in a heart beat.

Short sales are an entirely different story.

[militaryprincess]

Our first house was a foreclosure. We had no problems. It was stated that it was sold as is. I recommend an inspection. We are still living in it and fixing things up over time. We've been here almost 5 years.

[jessesq1]

Originally Posted by guynavywife I bought a home that had been forclosed on by the lender. The biggest problem I ran into was finding who actually owned the title. Since lenders tend to buy and sell mass amounts of deeds, it took almost 6 months to close. Some things to know about a foreclosed house: You are buying it AS IS. No one is required to tell you of any problems with the home. YOU may be liable for any utility bills that are owed. You may not even know about these bills until you try to turn on the water, power, etc. Banks also take their time in doing anything. don't expect the process to go quickly. Don't expect them to negotiate too much. buying from a homeowner who is being foreclosed on can be dangerous for many reasons, including unknown mortgages and secured debts on the home. if you find a house you like, talk to the neighbors. They will tell you about anything they know about the house, the people who lived there etc.

Why can't you do a proper title search on a foreclosure? Is it a time issue? If that's the case, I would be very leery to buy one.