Buying & Selling: Buying A Home In Foreclosure

ConsumerAffairs.Com, which has done masterful work in covering the many stages of the housing collapse, has an article today on buying a home in foreclosure. Author Fred Yager walks you through all the steps you need to buy a property on the auction chopping block. It's by no means a cakewalk, as Yager notes:

[F]oreclosure homes are sold "as is" which means that the 25 percent you just saved on the purchase price can easily be eaten up by unforeseen expenses such as repairs not immediately apparent in an exterior inspection. That's because when you buy a home in foreclosure, you may not be able to look inside let alone have an inspector detect structural problems that you'll need to fix before moving in...be prepared to pay for any problems such as electrical or plumbing repairs, leaky roofs, or even vandalism by angry homeowners who break things or punch holes in walls and doors, an unacceptable but not that uncommon way that some homeowners deal with the angst of losing their home to foreclosure.

A lot of bloggers and specuvestors alike crow about the ease of picking up foreclosed properties, especially now as delinquencies and foreclosures are reaching record levels all over the country. Yager's article is a good bit of cold water in the face on that score.

Yager previously wrote about what to do if you find yourself on the other side of the foreclosure gun, which I also recommend.

Posted at April 22, 2007 06:08 PM

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ConsumerAffairs.Com, which has done masterful work in covering the many stages of the housing collapse, has an article today on buying a home in foreclosure. Author Fred Yager walks you through all the steps you need to buy a property on the auction chopping block. It's by no means a cakewalk, as Yager notes: [F]oreclosure homes are sold "as is" which means that the 25 percent you just saved on the purchase price can easily be eaten up by unforeseen expenses such as repairs not immediately apparent in an exterior inspection. That's because when you buy a home in foreclosure, you may not be able to look inside let alone have an inspector detect structural problems that you'll need to fix before moving in...be prepared to pay for any problems such as electrical or plumbing repairs, leaky roofs, or even vandalism by angry homeowners who break things or punch holes in walls and doors, an unacceptable but not that uncommon way that some homeowners deal with the angst of losing their home to foreclosure. A lot of bloggers and specuvestors alike crow about the ease of picking up foreclosed properties, especially now as delinquencies and foreclosures are reaching record levels all over the country. Yager's article is a good bit of cold water in the face on that score. Yager previously wrote about what to do if you find yourself on the other side of the foreclosure gun, which I also recommend.