Protecting Your Foreclosure Rights

While people who are being foreclosed on have rights, you as an investor must be conscientious of those rights while still knowing when it is time to stand up for your own rights. Yes, believe it or not, foreclosure investors have rights, too. Let’s take a look at one of these laws that is meant to protect the individual losing the home and how you can use the same law to help protect yourself.

Right of Redemption

The Right of Redemption law gives the previous homeowner, the one whose house was just foreclosed on, a certain amount of time after the sale of the foreclosure to “redeem” their property. This can be a big pain for foreclosure investors who are on a strict time crunch to get the house remodeled and back on the market for a profit.

While the homeowner should have a chance, this can wreak havoc on the nerves of a foreclosure investor. It is important to be extremely careful because your profitable investment could wind back up in the hands of the default borrower again and you could be out a lot of money. Be sure to work this redemption time into your overall plan.

Know the Period of Redemption

It is important to know the Right of Redemption period of the jurisdiction for the property you are trying to purchase. Each state varies and different counties or parishes within those states could have their own laws. Some periods can last up to a full year, giving the previous homeowner plenty of time to work their way out of their foreclosure issue. Some areas in Florida, on the other hand have time frames as little as one day.

Until the period of redemption is up, you should really hold off on doing any repairs. The last thing you want is to have a fully remodeled home when the homeowner decides to reclaim their property. If this happens, seek legal advice because the owner, technically, does not have to pay you anything for your work. The only thing they are responsible for is back taxes and any other mortgage and insurance fees associated with repossessing their house. The best way to avoid this is know the law and be willing to wait to take possession and to do any remodeling.

Buy Your Rights

You do have the option to purchase Redemption Rights from the owner at the time of sale. Many times buying these rights will put you out another couple thousand dollars, but you will be able to proceed with your plan. Many owners, if they are being foreclosed on, are in no position to exercise their redemption rights to begin with, but the last thing you want is the off chance that it happens.

You can also try to buy the rights from an owner and then “reclaim” the house after it is sold for a fraction of the price at auction. This is a risky move and it helps to have a realtor and a real estate lawyer on your side.

You do have rights as a foreclosure investor. While those rights must come second to the rights of the previous homeowner, they are rights nonetheless. If you have any questions about all of your rights as an investor, be sure to seek legal counsel with a foreclosure attorney.

Click this link to go to previous article: http://atlah.org/atlahworldwide/?p=10223

Go to Leonard Volodarsky’s website at www.theloandoctor.com for more information

Finding The Right Bank

In the foreclosure-investing world, it is important to have the right bank backing up your decisions. You want a bank who will work with you as quickly as possible in order to seal the deal and win the bid on that prime foreclosure. Having a bank that does not work well with you and your timetables, even if they have great percentage rates, can hurt your business because you may end up losing those great foreclosure bids. There are four simple things to look for when determining if a bank is right for you and your foreclosure investment business.

People

You have heard it before about a restaurant, “the servers make all the difference in the world.” The same is actually true about finding a good bank. Having the right people who can get on board with your vision and understand what you need in a bank is almost more important than the house you are bidding on.

When people can relate to you and make your banking time enjoyable, it says a lot for how well you will do in the foreclosure investing world. Even if a bank’s interest rates are a quarter of a percent higher than the crummy bank down the road, it may be worth it because your attitude and confidence when bidding will be much better with a bank you can trust as opposed to a bank in which the people just gave you the run around.

Hours

A bankers lax hours may be a source for jokes, but it’s not funny when you’re trying to run an investment business. Pick a bank and banker who is there when you need them to be. Many banks are now open later, but make sure you pick one with online banking and a 24-hour customer service line. Again, the online agents must be good people, too, who are willing and able to help you get answers whether it is midnight or midday.

Location

Picking a bank with many locations is always a good idea. When getting ready to go to war on foreclosure biddings, the last thing you want to do is drive an hour across town to visit your bank. Your bank should have a location that is convenient to wherever you are.

Keeping the locations close allows you to swing by, pick up a check and get back before anyone realizes you were away. It is also helpful to have a bank close to the auction just in case you need to make any last minute changes to your account or request more money.

Speed

Having a friendly, knowledgeable, and convenient bank is great, unless it takes a minimum of two weeks in order to get a response to a request. The bank you choose must be quick with their responses. If you can’t get a fast answer to a question, get another bank.

It is important to balance that speed with being efficient, but a bank that is top in both categories is one that you want to hang onto. If there is a problem with another investors’ funding at an auction and your bank can turn around a counter offer quickly, you might have a shot at scoring that foreclosure after all.

Picking the right bank is important if you plan on investing in foreclosures. Make sure you look for the quality of people, the hours of operation, the locations of branches, and the speed at which everyone operates. Most importantly, find a bank that fits your needs and works the way you like best.

Click this link to go to previous article: http://atlah.org/atlahworldwide/?p=10220

Go to Leonard Volodarsky’s website at www.theloandoctor.com for more information

What To Look For In Foreclosures

Foreclosure investing can be difficult if you are not sure what to look for in bank-owned homes. There are certain learned skills that come with consistent investment in foreclosures. Let’s take a glance at what a trained foreclosure investor’s eye looks for when seeking out the best home for his or her buck.

Location

Just like the price of homes sold normally, different locations offer different price ranges for foreclosed homes. Depending on the budget, foreclosure investors will decide which area they want to purchase in. Usually, the bigger the price tag of other homes in the area mean the investor will make more money off of the single sale of the house.

With smaller investment neighborhoods, the single sale may not be a high return, but there is usually a quicker turn around on the sale. Some investors only secure funds for short periods of time, which means the house needs to be flipped and sold quickly. This would call for a smaller investment neighborhood that will see more possible buyers in a short period of time.

Market Value

Foreclosure investors also look at the market values of the surrounding homes. These prices will determine the sale price of the invested house. Knowing the market value allows investors to be smart about which homes they decide to invest in. The value of the houses in the area could be the determining factor between buying a house in one neighborhood over another house in a neighborhood five blocks away.

Market value also helps the investor to know how much work to put into a house. There is only so much work that can be done to make a house profitable. After that, the investor is just throwing money in to make it look nice with no return on investment. Understanding the market value gives the investor the cap for maximum sale price in the neighborhood.

Work Needed

By knowing what the sale price will be capped at, foreclosure investors are able to determine if the work needed to fix up the house will be worth the investment. Well trained foreclosure investors know a general range of prices for what it would take to fix certain issues within a house. All of these fees needed to get the house ready for sale again get factored into the investment price.

Time also costs money. Understanding the amount of work needed let’s the investor know how long he or she will have to support the mortgage and bills for the house. If the work is a quick turnaround, there will be less money spent keeping the house up. If the work will take a long time to complete, the investor knows to plan for a bigger budget.

Understanding how to estimate time and work needed to fix a foreclosure comes with time, patience, and practice. Knowing what you should be looking for when deciding on a foreclosure is all about understanding location, market value, and what a good house should look like. Take your time when assessing a foreclosure and ask for advice from someone who has experience. Finding the right foreclosure to invest in will make all the difference in the success of your project.

Click this link to go to previous article: http://atlah.org/atlahworldwide/?p=10183

Go to Leonard Volodarsky’s website at www.theloandoctor.com for more information

How To Invest In Foreclosures

Foreclosure investing is extremely different than what most people envision it to be. The easy lifestyle proposed in TV infomercials or magazine ads is, for many, just a dream. These get-rich-quick commercial spots sell better than the truth; hard work and a lot of time and money invested. Let’s take a brief look at how to invest in foreclosures.

Work

People who are big into foreclosure investing usually put a good deal of time into their research and preparation for buying a foreclosed house. Once the buying process is complete, it is time to put more work in fixing up the property and working with a realtor to get the house back on the market for sale.

Foreclosure investing is no walk in the park, but it can be extremely profitable if done correctly. The first thing to do when investing in foreclosures is to have a good estimate of time and work needed to complete the process because if you only plan to have everything tied up for one month and it ends up taking six, you have just cut your profit deep.

Money

The next issue to deal with is money. People who have been in the foreclosure investment business for a while do have their own set of funds saved to back up their purchases if needed. It is always good to have more than you think you need in case some of the renovations go over your budget.

While you don’t have to have all of the money yourself at the time of purchase, you should not let that stop you from searching out properties. If you can’t afford the purchase on your own dime, there are certainly ways to find investors to back you up. The only thing to keep in mind with investors is that if you have a good deal, it should be fairly easy to find investors, but if no one wants to invest, chances are it is not a good deal.

Knowledge

Without the proper knowledge of market values, you cannot do anything with a property. If you are not sure what a house should sell for, you cannot gauge if the asking price would be worth it, or if you will be able to make enough money on the sale of the house. Without the knowledge, you also do not know how much work you should put in to make it worthwhile.

It is also important to be aware of any foreclosure laws for your state, including what states are allowed to do with people who are defaulting on their loans. It is also important to understand the federal tax liens, how to find out if property information and descriptions are correct, what to do with unpaid property taxes, and even partial interest payments.

Basically, the key is to know what you know and understand where your strengths and weaknesses are.  The following is a short list of the basic ingredients you’ll need before you attempt a foreclosure investing project:

• understand the market
• have the money to invest
• have investors
• know the laws for your state

Foreclosure investing can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, if you don’t have those four items under your belt. If you have a good understanding of at least two of the three, you can spend a little time researching the others and learn as you go.

It is also good to network with other investors in your area and learn from them. Not everyone is looking to purchase the same things, so it is okay to mingle and learn from each other. Most investors like to share their stories so you can learn from their successes, as well as their mistakes.

Click this link to go to previous article: http://atlah.org/atlahworldwide/?p=10170

Go to Leonard Volodarsky’s website at www.theloandoctor.com for more information

Foreclosure Investing

Articles Included:

1. Where to Find Foreclosures
2. How to Invest In Foreclosures
3. What to Look for In Foreclosures
4. How to Flip a Foreclosure
5. Foreclosure Bidding Strategies
6. Top 7 Foreclosure Investing Tips
7. Finding Funds For Foreclosures
8. Top 10 Foreclosure Cities
9. Finding the Right Bank
10. Protecting Your Foreclosure Rights

** Please note every effort has been made to include accurate information, but further research and the advice of a lawyer is recommend before taking any advice in this article pack. We recommend you put a similar disclosure on your website as well.

Where To Find Foreclosures

In depressed markets, finding foreclosures is fairly easy; just drive around in neighborhoods and look for the signs hanging from the doors. The recent housing market has made it extremely easy lately to find foreclosed houses to invest in. Advertised in the paper, on street signs and even word of mouth, houses have been popping up on everyone’s investing radar. But what happens when the market turns around? Where do you look to find foreclosures then? Stick around and let’s take a look at how to find investment foreclosures in any type of market.

Weak Markets

By far, weak markets have more foreclosures than strong markets. Many homes once offered as short sales, may end up on the foreclosure listings and eventually deeded to the banks. There are numerous reasons to wait to buy a home until it has hit the foreclosure status, namely investment capital.

Yes, there is quite a difference in the amount of money you will spend on a home that is still being short sold versus one that has already been repossessed by the bank and is now up for sale. Finding foreclosures is as easy as looking through the classifieds. Most of the time, real estate agents specialize in one type of housing. Find a couple of foreclosure listings and chances are if you look at all of the agent’s listings, you will find many more foreclosures.

Driving around is another way to find foreclosures in a weak market. Many agents or banks will openly advertise that a home is in foreclosure. The bright signs and droves of cars are a good indicator that a house is in foreclosure.

Strong Markets

Strong markets are a different beast. When there are few foreclosures, it can be a little more difficult to seek them out, but it can be done. The trick with strong markets is to get an upper hand on other foreclosure investors. This can be done by calling a listed foreclosure agent and asking about other foreclosures that are not listed yet in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) database.

Many real estate agents will wait a couple of weeks before officially listing a foreclosure. This is so they can verify with the bank, the exact listing price they want on the property. By asking ahead of time, your agent can point out other foreclosed homes in your price range.

Bank websites are another place to look in a strong market. Many of the national banks, such as Countrywide, Bank of America, and Chase list all of their current foreclosures on their website. While these are hit or miss, because they are on a national scale, it is a good place to start.

No matter what market you are in at the present, finding foreclosures is not as difficult as you might think. With a little deductive reasoning and a bit of super sleuth work, you will be able to find the perfect house or project for your budget. Get out there and keep your eyes open for a foreclosure near you.

Go to Leonard Volodarsky’s website at www.theloandoctor.com for more information