finding foreclosures?

[vwboomer]

Since I"m probably going to be looking for a house (or might decide to rent for a year to see how works goes) I think a foreclosure might be a great deal. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, but sometimes stupid people get loans for things they can't really afford - no reason I shouldn't benefit from that right?

I know about realtytrac but I don't want to pay to look at foreclosures. Do banks generally sell foreclosures themselves or broker them out? As in, could I walk into a bank and get a list of properties they have foreclosed on? And if they do deal with realtors, are they likely to sell it for what's owed on it, or try to sell it for fair market value?

[He Man]

i signed up for a foreclosure list for 6 months about 2 years ago. It is pretty good, you get all the details in a report packet. I opted to get it emailed in Pdf every 2 weeks, paperback was more expensive. It was only 24.99 a month. The listings even included pictures. The prices are generally much lower than market value in some cases but not all. Sometimes there are liens against it and you they will transfer to you so make sure you take a real good look. One listing wanted about $700,000 for the building (empty and abandoned) and it also transferred a $600,000 lien. It took a lot to get the broker to even mention the lien, but needless to say, I told him to eat shit after that.  who the make the beast with two backs does that?  Depending on where you are ( i am in the city) there may also be hundreds of major violations that must be repaired an inspected before you can even move in.

I've never asked a bank for a foreclosure list, they probably dont have them becasue that would require them to hire an extra person to organize all that info and that woudlnt make sense. GL.

[tonyj311]

our realtor showed us a few forclosed houses. That would be an easy place to start.

Oh- dont have your hopes up too high when you walk in to them. People tend to not take very good care of the house when they are about to lose it.

[Jobu]

our realtor showed us a few forclosed houses. That would be an easy place to start.

Oh- dont have your hopes up too high when you walk in to them. People tend to not take very good care of the house when they are about to lose it.

Yep.  That's why foreclosures sold at the Courthouse steps are almost always sold as is without a walkthrough.

And like HeMan was saying, beware of second and even third mortgages that may not be immediately visible without a title search.

[vwboomer]

From what I've seen, they are generally auctioned. If that's the case I have no interest. I don't have the cash in hand so that's out.
I dont mind a fixer uper. I can do anything. It would just have to be habitable.
There's a house a few blocks from here. 5br, 2ba. 2 car garage(which is being charitable) 1990 sqft. $42k. I drove by. Looks like 42k Probably been foreclosed on as it looks it's been vacant for awhile. Still, might be worth a look. offer 35k or something. get the loan for another 15 and fix it up. I like doing these things. and now that I've cut my teeth on the house that the future x would be buying me out of, I'd do a new house better lol

I'm still waiting to sign my papers and get an appraisal of this property. I sure would miss my bar room, and my brewery most of all. But one must move on if it's financially a better thing to do.

[Cotton]

$42K?  Is that the full cost or the down payment? 

[ducducgooseme]

$42K?  Is that the full cost or the down payment? 

+1...   a house that cost as little as a 1098r?!!!  where the hell do you live, Barrow Alaska?

[vwboomer]

$42K?  Is that the full cost or the down payment? 

lol that's the whole cost. I think the median house price round here is about 125k. I could never afford something like that. I don't even like tying up 400/mo on my truck payment.
Now don't get me wrong, houses in the lower brackets need work. The house I'm in now was 81k 4 years ago. It already had a 2yo roof. 4br 2ba. 2car garage. It used to be 2 family but a door was installed and it was magically a 1 family.
I installed a tankless water heater. There used to be 2 water heaters. Before we moved in we had the double 60 amp service upgraded to single 200a. Also had central air installed, along with ductwork to the upstairs. The cost for those 3 things was about $6k. Otherwise it was mechanically solid.

I think it will appraise somewhere in the 100k area. I could finish up a couple projects that need minor details to get the most out of it, but screw it. That would be benefiting her as well.

I'm in Sheboygan, WI btw. Sadly, most of the cheap houses that would be nice with some work are in shit neighborhoods in the center of the city. Now and again you can get lucky like we did tho.


I laugh when I think about housing prices in areas like CA. sillyness. Granted, incomes are higher ( i get around 46k, down from 63 2 years ago ) but still. too much money!

[ducducgooseme]

mmmm sheboygan...  isnt that the land of the custard and butter burger?   

median house price $125k and median cholesterol level 23472347234   

[erkishhorde]

I'm in Sheboygan, WI btw. Sadly, most of the cheap houses that would be nice with some work are in shit neighborhoods in the center of the city. Now and again you can get lucky like we did tho.

I laugh when I think about housing prices in areas like CA. sillyness. Granted, incomes are higher ( i get around 46k, down from 63 2 years ago ) but still. too much money!

Wow, I never realized how big the economic differences could be across the country.

[vwboomer]

mmmm sheboygan...  isnt that the land of the custard and butter burger?   

median house price $125k and median cholesterol level 23472347234   

Land of Cheese and Beer
and I think the general cholesterol level is indeed higher than most iq's

Last I heard, WI has somewhere in the neighborhood of 17,500 bars too. So there's variety

The difference in housing prices is staggering when compared to CA or the northeast. Hell, Chicago. Yes, incomes are higher in those areas, but who in their right mind pays $500,000 for a 3br ranch?

Eh, I'm a bang for the buck kinda guy. That goes for everything from cycle gear to food to housing to spiced rum (admiral nelson baby!) (i make exceptions for beer tho).

I don't mind workin on stuff if I'm going to see a return. at under 45k for a house, in a decent neighborhood it'd be tough not to get a return. Hell, even if it's a shithole, it's less than rent by 2/3

[vwboomer]

heres a link to the house that was listed, just for grins
http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=53081&typ=5&sid=a4041e69a9bd441b81fa02c68a71f422&lid=1101504873&lsn=2&srcnt=422#Detail

Even if you figure 10k into improvements, it's not bad. Barring foundation problems or anything like that.

[red baron]

How much could something like that rent for?

[Le Pirate]

Man...that looks like it could be a great deal 


that estimated monthly payment is about 1/4 of what i pay in rent everymonth, btw. Maybe I should be buying a house instead of dumping it into rent every month

[vwboomer]

How much could something like that rent for?

Found a nicer sounding one I'm going to drive past on my way to work tonight
http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=53081&typ=4&sid=c028f80550b848f794d680fd41455b5b&lid=1101622039&lsn=6&srcnt=83#Detail

It is a foreclosure that was listed on Realtytrac last week. So apparently they dont' all get auctioned, but the banks deal with local sellers.


If it's a 2br up it would rent for around 300-450 depending on condition and all that. Realistically probably 350. which is more than the house payment. nuts right? I wouldn't want a renter if I did buy something like that. I'd probably see if it was feasible to knock open a doorway so i could convert it. Convert service over to 1 panel as well since the power company charges like .50/day for each service.