Article by Carolyn Capalbo
Foreclosure ‘bargains’ may soon be thin on the ground and this may cause a ‘rush’ on the listed sales now available. The good news is that there is a more expansive program just introduced to help distressed home owners. The newly formed, ‘Project Lifeline’, means that more people may now be able to save their homes from foreclosure.
We can only feel relieved to think there may be more help for distressed homeowners. This is great news for distressed home owners, and news that we all applaud; no-one wishes to benefit at some one else’s expense.
However, it is a sad social statement to write that it is currently a good time for bargain-hunters to invest in a foreclosure property. Does the possibility of buying a foreclosure or a Real Estate Owned (ROE) property leave you feeling slightly uncomfortable?
If it seems as if we are benefiting from someone else’s ill fortune, then it has to be remembered that someone who is completely uninvolved in this sad procedure WILL benefit from it. Once the home has gone to foreclosure, the original owners cannot legally re-buy it anyway.
For you, as an interested buyer looking for a bargain property, you need to know that your choices amongst these properties may soon be diminishing as a direct result of the help that has been put into place.
A lender can foreclose once a home owner is at least two months in arrears by giving notice of foreclosure. The final part of a foreclosure is public auction sale, but before this, the owners do have certain time allowances to bring the loan current. Time varies from state to state.
Forget the drama of the Auctioneer’s hammer; buying a ‘distressed’ property is far more complicated than that. For instance, when looking for a foreclosure you will also come across REOs and short sales.
Real Estate Owned properties are not short
