The Internet has helped to simplify the foreclosure home buying process, by allowing potential home buyers to peruse listings online, either for a monthly fee, or in some cases, for free. Areas with high concentrations of distressed properties are usually the best place to find good deals, but it is important to examine the neighborhood closely before you purchase a home on impulse. This article will provide some tips to help you find the right home for you

There are two main options for purchasing foreclosed homes: through auction, and through the purchase of a real estate-owned or REO home. Although many people do use auctions to find their homes, you should keep in mind that doing so means that you are purchasing a home sight unseen, without taking the time to have a home inspection done. Depending on the age and the condition of the home you purchase, this could result in some very expensive repairs. REO homes, however, are usually brought up to the standards of the neighborhood before they are listed. And of course, purchasing this type of home gives you the opportunity to make sure that it is the right one for you, before you take ownership.

REO foreclosed homes are not always a bargain, however. Sometimes, homeowners in foreclosure actually owe more on their mortgage than what the property is actually worth. If you purchase an REO home where this is the case, you may be assuming a loan that is overpriced, so you owe it to yourself to research home values in the area to make sure that you are getting a fair deal. Even if a foreclosure is overpriced, you may be able to negotiate a short sale with the bank. A short sale is when a bank or lender agrees to accept a lower price for a home than the amount that is owed on the mortgage. Often, these types of sales are in the best interest of banks, which typically spend $25,000-50,000 during the course of the foreclosure process.

When exploring your options for purchasing a foreclosed home, it is important to do your research. Find out everything that you can about the demographics and average home value of the neighborhood that you are interested in buying into. You should also make sure that you are not purchasing a home with severe structural damage, no matter how good of a deal it may seem to be”unless of course you are willing to make some major repairs. Follow the tips in this article, and you will be well on your way to finding the foreclosed home that is right for you.

During a conversation the other day, a new Note Buyer told me that he decided to start investing in buying defaulted mortgages. He had been wholesaling properties for a very long time prior to this.

The thing that worried me was when he made the following statement. He told me that the reason why he was getting into the business of buying defaulted mortgages was not only for some good cash flow, but also to keep people in their houses.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ll be the first to admit that Humanity counts. But…

Make sure you are looking at the bigger picture.

When Buying Defaulted Mortgages, Don’t Only Focus On One Exit Strategy

It will not work.

A SINGLE exit strategy for the defaulted mortgages that you buy may be what you want to pursue. (in this example he was looking to hold all the notes as cash flow by modifying them and getting them to re-perform).

How To Buy Defaulted Mortgages: Multiple Exit Strategies Are Needed

You have to be like Rafael Nadal in order to invest successfully in defaulted mortgages.

Nadal can do it all. He has a great serve, an awesome forehand, and can play an excellent game on both the grass and clay court.

You should have the same approach when you are buying defaulted mortgages. Have the ability to pursue multiple exit strategies at once in your note buying business.

Don’t get stuck with just one note buying strategy.

Using Foreclosure as a Buying Defaulted Mortgages Tool

When trying to modify a loan, sometimes the only way to get a borrower to cooperate with you is to start the foreclosure action.

Why?

Sometimes people need a wake up call, like a foreclosure notice to get them to take control of their situation. If they have been missing payments on a regular basis with no real threat, why take action? The notice combined with your help to modify their loan may be just what they need.

Don’t be like the investor I talked to. Don’t fall into that trap.

Don’t think that 1 Exit Strategy to your Defaulted Mortgage Buying business is enough to make you successful.

To do well in the note buying business, know all of your 5 Exit Strategies.

The controversy over bank foreclosure properties just keeps growing

As of the end of September reports, the number of bank foreclosure properties is up a whopping 71% over the previous year. The root cause of these astonishing figures lies with the banks and mortgage lenders. During the period of the well-touted ‘ownership society’, just a few years back, banks were making loans to many people who were clearly not qualified to assume a home loan which their income could not support.

It was recently revealed, largely through corporate whistle blowers, that mortgage brokers were encouraging applicants to not supply relevant information and even to inflate their income on paper, so that their loan would go through. Many such borrowers could barely make the payments at the lower initial rate. When the higher rates kicked in, the number of bank foreclosure properties began to rise rapidly, as almost none of these home owners were then able to meet mortgage payments.

It’s disingenuous to believe that the banks did not see this coming. However, they did receive their money for a while, including interest and whatever late fees might be involved. As borrowers began to default, the banks, on the whole, failed to attempt renegotiate lower rates in order for the borrower to avoid foreclosure.

The result? People lost their homes, their investment and their credit standing. Millions of bank foreclosure properties flooded the market. Often, the values of homes, in entire neighborhoods across the country, plummeted. Therefore, people who owned homes and made their payments are now faced with property values that fall far below what they owe on their mortgages. Perhaps these are future bank foreclosure properties in the making.

This $700 billion bailout of the banks is a thinly veiled payoff, leaving the banks hale and hearty, while saddling the taxpayers with this debt for generations to come.

Following the initial approval of this bank bailout, AIG brazenly threw a $440,000 party to celebrate their largess, while they and other failed banks threw millions in ‘golden parachute’ packages at the CEOs, who logically and ethically were accountable for making the loans in the first place. At the same time, banks were still refusing to loan, even to other banks. Now they are reportedly moving $2 trillion amongst themselves and won’t disclose to whom they are lending!

Other controversial issues arise in this scandal of bank foreclosure properties. Falling values make this buyers market. With the current credit crunch, few can qualify. This invites foreign investment, which doesn’t bode well for our economy.

How about all of the people who already lost their homes, pre-bailout? Why did the government wait until bank foreclosure properties had reached such a crises point?

Moreover, this proposed home owner bailout addresses only home owners who are at least 3 months behind, owe more than the property is worth and who face imminent foreclosure. This represents only 20% of mortgage delinquencies. Will this make a real difference to resolving the crises in the end?

It remains to be seen what the final resolution to the problem of bank foreclosure properties will be. The situation begs the question, how much more quickly might the economy be stimulated if some of this $700 billion were paid to working people, instead of buying up the debt of failed and unscrupulous bankers?

instead of the rescue at the top, give some of this money to working people ” this will stimulate economy if no one qualifies, consumers aren’t buying, small business will go out of business, job losses