What does buying your first house and bank owned property have in common. For most people when they hear about foreclosure, they are not thinking about the investment potential. What strikes my mind is the monumental opportunity some lucky investor will have by taking the time to structure a deal that makes it possible for the bank to get the property off their books, and for you the investor to make a hearty profit.
You should also be pre approved for a mortgage loan. Of course if you’re rich, then money is not a problem. but if not, then your just like most first time real estate investors. Foreclosure investing revolves around an investors ability to think outside the box to structure deals in such a way as to make the purchase profitable. A seasoned real estate investor will research all the available information on any property you are interested in.
When you think about it, where else can you buy property with such a deep discount except in foreclosure investing. Banks are trying to recover the money they have wrapped up in the property, they are not trying to sell real estate for profit. They do not want them on their hands, but need to get rid of them. You are able to find really great deals. There are even some homes that are priced the same as apartments.
Any property that is a bank owned property can be called an REO. “real estate owned”. All banks want to recoup as much of the money they put into the property as they can and still get it off their books as fast as market conditions allow. Often a bank owned property can be priced 5-30% below current market value. Dealing with a bank on your own can prove difficult,that is why the services of a real estate agent with experience buying bank foreclosure properties is something you should seriously consider before approaching a bank with your offer.
Besides the price and availability of bank owned properties, they also make owning a home more affordable. The prices for homes have fallen, yet still remains out of reach. You may need a single family home, but cannot find one that fits your pocket. Foreclosures are basically bad news for some and good news for others. For the savvy investor, these are the days when investment properties are not only abundant, but priced to sell.
Now is the time you can get the best price on the size house you want. The economy is not in very good shape today. Many people cannot afford to make car or home payments. This leaves the ones who have saved up in the past at an advantage. How long have you been saving for a house of your own? How would you like twenty to forty percent more property for the same price as traditionally purchased real estate, looking into bank owned property can save you big money.
This motivation, combined with the principle of supply and demand, results in foreclosed properties being available to investors below their market value. The difference between what an investor sells a property for, minus acquisition cost and expense, is the investor’s profit. Investors can increase this profit in two ways. The first is to maximize what they sell the property for by making improvements. Since foreclosed properties are taken against the wishes of the homeowners, they will not be in pristine shape without some work before re-selling, as a traditionally marketed real estate is.
Creative financing is nothing new and with the price of everything going up all the time the average person has become very creative in structuring their finances and that in a nut shell is the heart of foreclosure investing. You need to think about the financing of the bank owned property in a different way, you need to set up the financing in such a way that it not only pays for itself, but churn’s out a healthy profit for you.