About Short Sales

It’s unfortunate but foreclosed homes currently represent half of all of all the homes sold in the US. Before the bank forces foreclosure there is in a period called pre-foreclosure which can last anywhere from two to twelve weeks. Many of the real estate gurus have made a fortune on pre-foreclosures and consider it as one of the best, if not the best, way to invest in real estate.

A lot of times the banks don’t want to deal with having to foreclose a home, so they will allow the owners to sell it during the pre-foreclosure period. You can get a great bargain in buying a pre-foreclosed home.

Here are many advantages to buying a pre-foreclosed home from a homeowner rather than bidding on a foreclosed home at an auction:

- Pre-foreclosed homes are often sold for less than foreclosed homes. To avoid credit problems a homeowner is motivated to sell their home before the bank takes possession.

- Since you won’t be at an auction, you will be given more time to talk to the home owner about any questions you may have concerning the house.

- There is usually less competition for a pre-foreclosed home than a auctioned foreclosed home. You won’t have to worry about placing the highest bid.

- More time to evaluate financial scenario then at an auctioned property.

- Many people can become more emotionally driven during bidding and pay more then they had intended to.

- You have time to have a pre-foreclosed home inspected resulting is less risk.

- You will be allowed to make a low down payment on a pre-foreclosed house. This is not the case at a foreclosure auction.

Make sure you bring along an inspector when you check out a pre-foreclosed home. You should also check to make sure there are no past judgment liens or unpaid taxes on the property. The risks in buying a pre-foreclosed home are not that much more then buying a home the traditional way through a real estate company.

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Seized properties and government surpluses are sold through government auctions to the public for low prices as determined by a bidding process. There are government auctions consistently held all across the United States and Canada. No matter where you live, there will likely be government auctions held near by.

Surplus inventory sold at government auctions come from the federal, state, and local governments. Often the government has a large surplus of unneeded items, and will liquidate them to the public at one of their many auctions. This can happen often as the government’s equipment requirements are constantly changing.

Quite often many of the government auction items come from businesses declaring bankruptcy. These items can be virtually anything from existing inventory to general assets including furniture, equipment, jewellery, antique items, fur coats, computers, etc.

Government auctions include seized properties which are made up of bank foreclosures, bankrupt commercial businesses, properties owned by convicted criminals, etc. Police often seize property if the owner is sentenced for a crime or if the property was used for a crime. The government also seizes the homes of the owners who are unable to keep up with their mortgage payments.

A property is considered abandoned if the owner dies and has no known relatives alive to inherit, or if the owner walks away from it for whatever reason. This can happen if the owner feels the house is worth less then he currently owes. This has been happening quit often lately in a declining housing market.

You can find out where and when government auctions will be held in your state by searching the internet. There are many membership sites that will offer you details on the abandoned properties, seized properties, and government surplus items that will be offered at your local government auctions.

Read government auction reviews on the web to find out where the best membership deals are. This will help prevent you from falling into the many scams that are on the web.

The real estate market has been suffering great losses in the United States due to bank foreclosures. Both bank foreclosures and pre-foreclosures are at all time highs and the homeowners and lenders are both suffering from it. Many honest, hard working American homeowners are suffering financial crisis due to the collapsing economy and are losing their homes at record highs. Some homeowners are forced to face bank foreclosure after getting behind on just a couple of payments. The ridiculously high interest rates and outrageous late fees are making things worse for both sides. How can the banks expect to get any extra money from the homeowners who are struggling just to pay the minimum payments?

If homeowners facing foreclosure can act quickly enough, they can go ahead and sell their home for low prices before the banks officially forecloses them. This is called “pre-foreclosure”. Pre-foreclosure is a grace period that is given to many homeowners who are close to foreclosure. During the pre-foreclosure period, the home still belongs to the borrowers and they have a right to sell it to interested buyers. The pre-foreclosure grace period can last anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months, varying from state to state.

The homeowners have a chance to earn a little money as well when facing pre-foreclosure. Pre-foreclosure is a grace period after the time they made their last payment and before they’re officially facing foreclosure. The public is notified ahead of time that a home is facing foreclosure, which gives interested buyers time to make a deal with the homeowners before the bank officially takes the home back. Pre-foreclosures give homeowners enough time to sell the home at a very low price as well. They money they receive can help them in affording another place to live.

Investing in foreclosure and pre-foreclosure homes and reselling them for much more is now an excellent way to earn a lot of money. For instance, you can buy foreclosure and pre-foreclosure homes for 10% of their worth, and then resell them for 70% of their market value. Even if you’ve never had an interest in real estate before, the opportunities are abundant. But where will you find these opportunities?

You can always look through your local classified ads, but there are also state by state listings that can be found on the internet! There are many foreclosure and pre-foreclosure listing sites which will allow you to bid and purchase electronically. Unfortunately though, wherever there is money to be made, there are also scams. Some so called “foreclosure” and “pre-foreclosure” listing sites will charge you an outrageous membership fee, but then fail to give you the access to any real listings! They will only provide you with expired and out of date listings.

Of course there really are legitimate, truthful foreclosure and pre-foreclosure listings found on the internet for every city in America. Many government auction sites offer real bidding opportunities for foreclosure homes. So how will you know exactly which membership sites are trustworthy and which ones are not? Thankfully there are government auction review sites that have all the information you’ll ever need. The professionals behind the government auction reviews go digging into government auction sites and test their legitimacy. They have inside information on several government auction sites and listings.

Many of these membership sites offer real, top deals on real estate, bank foreclosures, and contact information for homeowners selling their pre-foreclosure homes. Make sure you read the government auction reviews before you sign up for any membership sites. You will receive the best advice and information about the most trustworthy foreclosure and pre-foreclosure listings!