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Buying foreclosed properties is a great way to save your pennies on your real estate endeavors.  While most properties that have been foreclosed upon sell for five to ten percent below normal selling price, there are some out there who may be selling for as much as twenty to thirty percent below market value.

While purchasing foreclosed homes is a great way to buy, sell, and make a profit, there is a process to the purchasing of these properties that must be followed by everyone.  When a home is being foreclosed upon it means that the home owner was unable to make their mortgage payments on time and fell more behind than their bank or lender allowed.  Usually the mortgage loan is taken against the house, there by granting the lender or bank the right to seize the property as fulfillment of their loan.

As far as purchasing foreclosed properties go, there are some advantages to buying properties this way that buying properties the normal traditional way do not offer.  Appraisal fees can range anywhere from $300 to $600.  During an appraisal, a professional appraiser inspects the property, measuring the square footage, inspecting the yard, fencing, garage, and other appurtenant structures.  They will also do an inspection of the property itself; things like pools, decks, number of bathrooms, number of bedrooms, and such are all taken into consideration when evaluating the value of a particular property or home.  The appraisal process can be rather tiresome, as an appraisal is simply the appraiser's professional opinion.  If the lender, bank, or purchaser does not agree with the figure the appraiser comes up with the appraisal is disputed and the process begins again.  When you buy a property that is being foreclosed upon, the appraisal process can usually be skipped because the lender already has some idea of what the property is worth. This saves both of you money, and can make the buying and selling process a lot easier and smoother on everyone's behalf.

Buying properties that are being foreclosed upon is a great way to locate a fixer upper that is worth the work.  Usually foreclosed homes need repairs because the owner was, obviously, having some financial troubles that caused them to get so behind in the payments.  This is an indicator that there may be problems with the roof, plumbing, or even the yard that need fixing.  These are all things that can add to or take away from the market value of a home, and if you can purchase a home with these problems and you have the ability or monetary reserves to correct these problems, you have found yourself a nice little cash bucket.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known simply as HUD, also holds auctions periodically to unload homes that were funded through their federal mortgage program.  Sometimes these houses can be bought at rock bottom prices and are not in as bad condition as one might think, although the auction environment can drive prices up in others' determination to secure a particular property for their own needs, personal or business related.

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