Finding a Foreclosure
There still remains to be a large percentage of foreclosure homes still on the market and plenty of eager investors waiting to jump back onto the band wagon to make returns on their dollar in the next few years. Real estate property has it lows and highs, unfortunately due to a great mishap in how sub-prime and risky prime loans were distributed and approved, this downturn occurred with much more severity than in recent history of real estate downturns. If you are on the lucky side of the fence, meaning you are buyer and have the funds to purchase, then this is an excellent time to purchase a home, whether it be a short sale, foreclosure property or an REO (real estate bank owned property).
Short sale properties and REOs can be found on the the MLS, similar to other real estate properties and you can request a real estate agent to show you around these homes but be prepared for either a long wait on a short sale offer or a very fast response with REOs in popular buying areas. In either instance, you’ll want to come prepared with financing prior to looking for a home these days.
Foreclosure properties are a bit different as they will require a bit more hunting on your part. You’ll want to do plenty of research online to compare properties and read through some foreclosure guides (read more here). There are services online that will allow you search a foreclosure database. Some services offer a country-wide search, while others, like www.foreclosureplatform.com, only offer searching through the Puget Sound, Washington area.
