Buying a house is a large investment. In certain states, the average price of housing is around $300,000. In certain states, it is well over $300,000. Obviously, not everyone has the financial stability to make this kind of investment. Fortunately, there is the option of purchasing a foreclosed home. This is a much more affordable option with the price averaging summer around $200,000 or less. However, there is a reason why these homes are cheaper and why they were foreclosed, so buying the cheapest one might not be a good idea.
Even though this is a cheaper alternative, you have to accept the fact that this is still going to cost you a lot of money. It makes sense to do a little bit of research on the house before you invest.
To assist you in figuring out whether you are making the right decision, here are some of the things you will need to have in mind when buying a foreclosed home.
1. See it in person
People often make common mistakes when buying a foreclosed home. One of those common mistakes and probably the worst one is buying the property without seeing it in person. This is something that you cannot afford to do.
Even if it sounds great on paper and in pictures, there could be some downsides that you are not seeing from those pictures. Instead, getting your car and try to the property and seed for yourself. Even if it is too far away, it still worth it to see it with your own two eyes instead of relying on a piece of document and a few pictures. Who knows, maybe those pictures were taken five years ago. In five years, a lot of things can change.
Of course, you should inspect it from both the inside and from the outside.
However, just your own two eyes are not enough to see all the positive and negative things about the house. To get a true insight, you will probably need a professional to help you.
2. Hire a professional inspection
Fortunately, there are a lot of professionals out there that offer services just for these occasions. These professionals can do a proper home inspection and analyze everything that is good or bad with the property. Of course, this is going to cost you, considering how expensive this investment is going to be, spending $1000 on inspection is definitely worth it.
This professional could also give insight on the potential repairs that you could or have to do. This will help you figure out exactly how much money you will need to waste on repairs after you purchase the foreclosed property
3. Make the purchase in the presence of a lawyer
Whenever you plan on making such a huge investment in your life, it is always a good idea to have a lawyer with you to ensure that the process goes smoothly and that everything is done legally. You would not want to miss any important details that could cost you some legal issues in the future.
So, when you are finalizing the transfer ownership of the foreclosed real estate property, the lawyer will be there to ensure that everything is going based on the agreed terms as suggested by www.friscialaw.com.
4. Ask around the neighborhood
There are many explanations why our home has been foreclosed. It could be because of unemployment, some big credit card debts, a divorce, medical expenses or illnesses, and even death. Sometimes, it could be because of certain infestations or other similar problems.
Since you are planning to become an owner of this foreclosed real estate property, you have the right to know what exactly happened in the past. Unfortunately, a lot of real estate agents might not give you the true explanation of what happened.
To get a true insight into the real estate, it might be a good idea to ask around the neighborhood. Most probably there are a few neighbors that have seen or at least know what happened with that house and the original owner.
If you find out that the real estate agent is or was hiding something from you, you could use that to your advantage to lower the price. In fact, it is illegal for them to keep any kind of information hidden from you.
5. Hire an electrician
Previously, I did talk about hiring a professional for inspection, but that is only for some of the more essential things. They are there to ensure there are no cracks in the roof, the foundation, or some other damage that could pose a threat to the structural integrity of the building.
Now, it is time to start thinking about some of the more basic things such as plumbing, electricity, heating, and other similar things.
One of the more important things that you will have to inspect is the electricity. Without it, your new home will basically be useless. An electrician will be able to check out the fuse box and the entire writing system to ensure there is no fire hazard and that the system itself can safely supply enough energy to all of your appliances and devices.
6. Hire a plumber too
Once the electrician is done, it is also a good idea to hire a plumber to analyze the plumbing. A good professional will be able to properly analyze the piping system and whether there is enough water pressure to supply every sink, toilet, and shower.
This is important because when a house is left unoccupied for several years, there is always a possibility the plumbing system has been damaged from decay. Do not worry, this should not cost you a lot of money. Although, if there is a need for repairs of the plumbing or even the electrical system, you might have to spend a few thousand dollars.
As you can see, buying a foreclosed home is not easy at all, but if you keep all of these things in mind I mentioned above, I assume that your buying process will be much simpler and less stressful.
