…“Treat” yourself to these foreclosure tips and take the fear out of buying!
- Budget Carefully. Foreclosed homes often need repairs, so you need to factor that in early on. Make sure you have a solid budget. Determine what you can spend on a home without putting any extra strain on your budget. Decide how many and what kind of repairs you’re willing and financially able to do. This will help narrow down the home search.
- Get Pre-qualified. A pre-qualification will help you narrow down your home search to the price range you can afford. The bank will ask for proof of funds or a qualification letter when you make you’re offer; so, it’s important you have that ready.
- Sign-up for Listing Alerts. Well-priced homes go quickly. Getting notified as soon as possible can get you a leg up on the competition. We email out Wilmington area bank owned homes weekly or you can tell us exactly where you’re looking and we can setup a personalized portal to get them to you daily. Just let us know if you’re interested.
- Look at the Community. You’ve found a home you might be interested in. Now, take a look at the community. Determine how homes are selling and if it’s a desirable neighborhood. Your Realtor can help you with this. If you’re buying the home to live in, this can help determine if homes are depreciating in that area and how banks might respond to financing. If you’re an investor, this will determine how much profit is in the home. A smart purchase isn’t just about analyzing your needs now, but also in the future.
- Remember It’s Sold As-Is. Foreclosed homes are sold in “as-is” condition. That’s because the bank doesn’t want to deal with repairs. So, it’s important you take into consideration anything you see needing repair before making the offer. Is there a broken window? Factor that cost into the offer. If you do an inspection and find something wrong you couldn’t see before, it doesn’t hurt to ask for the repair to be made. Listing the home “as-is” doesn’t mean that the bank won’t acknowledge needed repairs. They may just give you a credit, but that depends on the bank’s policies and the amount of loss they’re already taking.
- Do Your Due Diligence. Thoroughly investigate the home. Find out how long it’s been empty. The longer it’s been vacant, the more repairs there will probably be. Have the home inspected for both structural issues and pests, and make sure YOU look through it thoroughly. This is the best way to know exactly what repairs need to be done to determine how much work you want to handle. It’s also a great idea to have a contractor(s) write up a quote on what it would cost to do any repairs. Then, you can determine if it fits your budget.
- Check for Liens. Sometimes homes carry liens that can become the responsibility of the buyer. If the seller doesn’t disclose them, they’re usually found through the title search conducted by the real estate attorney as part of the closing process. This is standard procedure and it’s important to be aware that these liens do exist.
- Use an Experienced Realtor®. Banks have a lot of rules and stipulations for buyers submitting offers. They’ve been known to instantly reject offers when their forms are not filled out correctly. An experienced Realtor will know what they require and can help make the whole process a lot smoother.
Each agent on The Cameron Team has experience submitting offers on bank-owned homes. Let us help you through the negotiating, so you can focus on what you really need to do – make it a “home”. Give us a call at 910.202.2546 or send us a message through our Contact page. We’re ready to help you buy a foreclosed home!
