tom-beaty.com views on real estate

Many owners of condo units who want to make some money choose to either sell or rent out their unit. If you are in this kind of position, here are some tricks you can use to get the word out there (and get a good price), especially if you plan to do a lot of the work yourself, instead of letting an agent do all the work.

Firstly, catalogue the good points about your condo accurately and in detail. You might think you know your condo like the back of your hand, more so if you have lived in it for years. However, you might just miss some assets that could have netted a good customer. A good way to avoid this is to go through your condo systematically with a pen and paper. Start from the first room and proceed through each of them. You might even sub-divide the rooms into sections, so as to avoid missing things.

Do not forget assets that exist “outside” the apartment. In other words, these are advantages that have to do with the unit’s location. Is your unit near convenient places like a subway station, a business center, a shopping center, or an entertainment district? Is it very close to hospitals and police stations in case of emergencies? Does the window offer a spectacular view? The building or complex in which your apartment is located might offer some excellent services that make life easier for those living there. These are all great attractions to potential buyers.

In addition, when scouting for customers, do not write off useful demographic groups without good reason. For instance, people tend to associate condo units with relatively young residents. We tend to think of older people as living in houses, or even rest homes. This is most definitely an over-generalization. Many senior citizens would not mind living in an apartment, which may be easier to maintain than a house.

Condo unit auctions are an interesting option, too. One of the best things about the process is its speed. Bidding can start and finish in the course of a single day, or even in a few minutes’ time. This means that you do not have to go through the inconvenience of a long sales/marketing process, touring lots of people around the apartment and always being ready for visitors. Whether or not you set a minimum price at the auction is up to you. Setting up an auction without a strict minimum seems foolhardy, but it does tend to attract more bidders. If you really cannot decide, you might try getting a little professional advice on this question-if the advice is not too expensive. Interestingly enough, you might sell your condo unit as part of a set. Perhaps you have other properties. Or, you and some others might decide to pool your property as a set up for auction, and then divide the proceeds accordingly. Make sure that the agreement is set before the money comes in to prevent messy arguments.

Beverly Manago is a freelance writer focused on the real estate industry, and a consultant for My Single Property Website, a web 2.0 marketing tool that lets real estate agents create stunning virtual tours and single property sites easily. She also contributes to the Best Real Estate Email Newsletter there.

Stimulus, stimulus, stimulus. That’s all we hear every day now. As the outrageous and skyrocketing unemployment numbers rise, we hear more and more about stimulus. The cries grow louder as the shouts for proof of success are stomped down by those inside the beltway in Washington.

So to their point: did the stimulus actually help? Is the stimulus helping currently? And how much of the stimulus remains to be spent in 2010 and 2011?

What has this stimulus done for investing and the Real Estate markets? What about big and small business in America?

These points are very important to look at when determining whether or not Government injection of money into the monetary supply is a viable option during a tough economic recession.

When the government injects a single dollar into the monetary supply, not to mention $1.2T, as this administration has done so far in the past year, that single dollar injected reduces private ’stimulus’ by nearly $1.50 from a small business entrepreneur. That $1.50 no longer goes to buying more property, plants, or equipment.

Not only that, but there is no need for the small business owner to hire another worker either.
Pair that up with the $1.00 injected by the government, which is usually borrowed from another country, or through increased taxes, and you have a double-negative spiral created from this simple ’stimulus’ transaction.

So now that there’s nearly $1.2T in extra money in the monetary supply, we can assume that nearly $1.8 trillion dollars have now been scared out of the American economy from your friends, small business owners, family members and other citizens.

So as an investor, in both real estate and in the stock market, what do you do in this situation? The majority of people take their money out and hide it under their mattresses. This adds even more stress to an overly distressed market.

To the average investor, now seems like a time when they should run. But truth be told, now is the time to invest in solid LONG TERM investments like Real Estate. Earn the revenue of a regular cash-flowing investment rental property; plan your future around purchases in Real Estate that are only going to go up in value from their lowest prices in decades.

Now is the time to be bullish. Now is the time to invest your IRA or 401(k) in Real Estate. Now is the time when all of the savvy investors are buying up the deepest discounted commercial and residential property in 50 years.

Solidify your future. It is in your hands.

Paul R. Whitacre is a managing partner at WealthyIRA.com.
The passion of WealthyIRA is to teach everyone to invest their IRAs and 401(k)s in the deepest discounted Real Estate in decades. Check out how to invest your IRA or 401k in Real Estate at WealthyIRA.com Blog. Follow us on Twitter at WealthyIRA. Email Paul here.

Distributed by ContentCrooner.com

In recent times, foreclosures have become the norm and people have increasingly faced the opportunity to buy a bank owned home. These homes are usually uninhabited and are owned by the bank that initially provided the mortgage to the previous owner but it could have been acquired by another bank.

You can buy a home through a foreclosure auction, although the minimum acceptable price tends to be quite high. Sometimes the minimum acceptable price in a home at auction is more than the property is really worth. In order to learn how to buy a bank owned home, you need to read on.

If the home is not purchased at auction, it becomes a regular home and is called an REO property. The bank makes sure the property is vacated, will make repairs if necessary to the home and will negotiate any tax liens. Any home owners’ association dues are paid by the bank before it is sold to you, hopefully.

The bank has an interest to try and make a profit on the home so you cannot expect to have a really cheap deal out there. When you learn how to buy a bank property, you come to realize that you aren’t necessarily getting an excellent deal out of buying the property. The bank will almost always give you a counter offer to your offer and you can come back with another bid.

Once you decide on a price, which can result from multiple offers and counteroffers, you can negotiate the closing issues, such as who pays closing costs, etc., with the bank individual responsible for foreclosures, usually a foreclosure specialist.

When you learn how to buy a bank property, you understand that always takes longer if you are buying a home from a bank. There are many delays because a lot of people need to see each document before it passes inspection. You always have bank managers and bank owners who need to approve of each aspect of the deal so that it may take longer than a month or more to get the paperwork completed. This is one of the things that make buying an REO home different from buying an individually-owned home.

Most of the time, the bank will decide to sell the property as it is so you will definitely want to get decent inspections of the land and the home so that you know what condition it is in. Banks won’t likely want to make repairs on the home so that you will have factor in this cost when buying the home.

Take all this into account when you are making your initial and subsequent offers so that you can have the leftover money to make repairs as necessary. Banks are more likely to give you a proper offer if you have documentation of many repairs to be made.

If you don’t get the property right away, watch it on the market for a while. In learning how to buy a bank owned home, you’ll find that, if you put your offer back in the mix a second time, the bank might be more receptive to your offer if the house isn’t moving very well. You may get a different response the second time around.

Find Spanish Fork Homes Promoted by denver internet marketing. Gary Hall is a freelance writer.

Distributed by ContentCrooner.com

There are many people that live in apartments all across the nation. The community environment and the lack of hassle that comes with renting is a prime situation.

If you are looking to rent an apartment there are many tips that will make your search much easier. Being smart about your choice make take more time now but will be well worth it in the long run.

First, you want to make sure that the apartment is equipped with all of the necessary safety features. This means that there should be smoke detectors installed, fire extinguishers present and carbon monoxide detectors.

The safety equipment should come with the apartment and it is very important that you have it. These pieces of equipment could save your life.

When you walk through the apartment you are going to want to make sure that you check all of the pipes, toilets and faucets for any leaks in the plumbing. You will also need to make sure that there are no mold spots.

Mold spots are most common in kitchen and bathroom areas. Make sure you look at the wall area closest to the floor for any mold problems.

You will also want to check the water pressure in the unit that you are walking through. You can do this by turning on the water in the shower and turning the showerhead on.

You will also want to check the temperature of the water. Turn on the shower to the temperature that you would want to shower in and then leave the shower running as you go through the rest of the apartment.

By the time you leave the water should not have lost all of its heat. If the water is cold as you are leaving it is very possible that you will find yourself running out of hot water as you shower.

Even if the water is still hot when you leave you will want to find out if the water heater is shared between multiple apartments. If you share with a neighbor that takes long showers everyday at the same time that you want to shower you may not have any hot water.

If the water heater is an in-unit accommodation you will want to inspect it. Make sure that there are no chips or leaks in the heater.

If you find evidence of rusting, cracks or chips you could have a potential carbon monoxide problem. A good way to tell if there are problems with your water heater is to look for debris around the water heater.

You will also want to inspect the washer and dryer that you will be using. If the washer and dryer are inside of your unit you want to make sure that they are up to date and they are working properly.

If you will have to use a laundry facility you will also want to see the facility. It is important that this facility is only open to residents of your apartment complex.

You will want to go into the laundry area and check to make sure that there is enough lighting and that there are plenty of washers and dryers. This area should also be clean and well taken care of by the apartment complex.

Along with the washer and dryer you will want to make sure that any provided appliances work correctly. Turn on the oven, turn on the burners, stick your hand in the refrigerator and test the microwave.

There is nothing worse than moving into an apartment thinking that you have a working microwave, oven, refrigerator, washer and/or dryer and finding out that something does not work. This can throw a wrench into your plans.

Renting an apartment can be a very rewarding experience, but it is not for everyone. If you are looking to eventually own your own residence you are going to want to stray from making monthly rental payments in an apartment.

Terry Daniels is a resident of Austin, Texas and has written hundreds of articles relating to tourism and is a great Austin apartment locator. He has been involved in local travel and tourism for over 20 years.

Contact Info:
Terry Daniels
TerryDaniels09@gmail.com
http://alltexasaptlocators.com

Distributed by Content Crooner

So the big new recently was the FED increasing the discount rate. While the increase was not totally unexpected it comes at an interesting time. The FED is showing signs that they are worried about inflation and feel that the economy is on more solid ground. This is interesting because recently the economy has shown more signs of weakness. We saw most of the major mortgage products increase this week. The 30 year rate rose from 4.93 to 5.05 this week. This marks the largest fluctuation (up or down) we have seen this year with mortgage rates being surprisingly stable. Even with this rise rates are still near historic lows. The 15 year rose from 4.33 to 4.40. The 5 and 1 year arms rose from 4.12 to 4.16 (5 year arm) and 4.23 to 4.15 (1 year arm). Below are rates from the weeks from Jan 28, 2010 to Feb 25, 2010 along with rates from August 27, 2009 (six months ago).

Feb 25, 2010
30-fixed 5.05 15-fixed 4.40 5 ARM 4.16 1 ARM 4.15

Feb 18, 2010
30-fixed 4.93 15-fixed 4.33 5 ARM 4.12 1 ARM 4.23

Feb 11, 2010
30-fixed 4.97 15-fixed 4.34 5 ARM 4.19 1 ARM 4.33

Feb 04, 2010
30-fixed 5.01 15-fixed 4.40 5 ARM 4.27 1 ARM 4.22

Jan 28, 2010
30-fixed 4.98 15-fixed 4.39 5 ARM 4.25 1 ARM 4.29

Aug 27, 2009
30-fixed 5.14 15-fixed 4.58 5 ARM 4.67 1 ARM 4.69

As we can see even with the jump this week rates have been relatively stable staying between 4.93 and 5.50 over the last month. In addition to rates is also interesting to look at mortgage payments. We took today’s rates and translated them into a payment for a 200k loan using our free mortgage calculator. We also did the same thing with rates from February, 11 2010 and rates from August, 27 2009

Feb 25
30-year $1079.76
15-year $1519.78
5-year ARM $973.37
1-year ARM $972.2

Feb 11
30-year $1069.97
15-year $1513.68
5-year ARM $976.86
1-year ARM $993.26

Aug 27
30-year $1090.82
15-year $1538.17
5-year ARM $1033.67
1-year ARM $1036.07

As we saw before the last two weeks has seen minimal movement. For a 200k loan the payment is 9.79 more a month for an increase of less than one percent.

So moving forward what do we see? The general expectation has been that mortgage rates were going to rise over the next year. Now with a weakening economy there are some arguments being made that mortgage rates might remain roughly where they are for the next year. If you are thinking of getting a loan it’s probably better to get one sooner than later. While there is some argument about whether rates are going to go up, with rates at all time lows, there is no speculation that rates are going to go down. So while there is a risk to waiting to lock into a mortgage there doesn’t seem to be a huge benefit to waiting.

Ki works as a realtor in the Austin real estate market. His site escapesomewhere provides a free mortgage calculator along with some mortgage widgets.

Distributed by ContentCrooner.com

In preparing a home for sale, some homeowners don’t have a clue where to concentrate their efforts and appreciate a valuable tip or two. Read the questions below. If the answer is yes to any of these, follow the strategy to fix it:

* Is the wallpaper throughout your home outdated?
If yes, replace the wallpaper, or paint or texture over it.

* Is your paneling outdated?
Typical grooved paneling is outdated. If you have this type of paneling in your home, paint it a neutral color. High-quality paneling without grooves, which is $30+ a sheet unfinished, as of January 2010, is timeless. Tongue-and-groove is also timeless. Knotty pine and other high-quality paneling, however, are outdated.

* Are your cabinet embellishments outdated?
If yes, modern knobs are available for sale at most hardware stores. Pick out some classy ones for an inexpensive and easy way to make the cabinets in your kitchen and bathroom “pop.”

* Is your kitchen up-to-date?
Do you have outdated vinyl flooring? How about the counter tile that needs new grout or the old faux brick backsplash? Replaced outdated vinyl flooring with either updated classy vinyl or inexpensive tile, which is easy to do-it-yourself. Hire out the vinyl installation. For the faux brick or other faux backsplash and wall covering, remove it. It is outdated. Paint the wall a neutral color.

* Is your master bath up-to-date?
If you have neutral tiles and colors, you’re good to go. If not, you’ll need to consider replacing the colored tile and toning down the bright wall colors. Don’t go crazy by buying travertine and the most expensive fixtures. Stay with the standard of the neighborhood, since you may or may not recoup your money in the sale. If you’ve got frumpy bathroom cabinets and mirror, consider replacing them with inexpensive modern and classier ones. Whether you do-it-yourself or hire it out, it always benefits the seller to ensure the master bath is updated.

* Is your home painted inside and out with neutral colors
If you have a pink house inside and out, you can pretty much be guaranteed that if you even get an offer, you will have to concede several thousand on the sale price of your home. It is worth it to purchase the paint and apply it before putting the house on the market.

* Is your carpet a neutral color?
Carpet must be a neutral color, too. If you have blue, mauve or any of the other 70s and 80s crazy colors, you need to consider ripping out the carpet. Find out if you have hardwood floors underneath. If it was built in the 60s or before, you may be in luck. Refinishing hardwood floors can add thousands to your bottom line. Or, if no hardwoods are present, find the cheapest elegant neutral-colored carpet to replace your old outdated rug.

* Do you have colors in your home from a previous decade?
Are you seeing a common theme here? Neutral colors are the way to go throughout your home if you’re looking to sell your abode quickly.

* Do you have popcorn ceilings?
Another clue that your home is “dated” is popcorn ceilings. They went out with foofy bangs in the 70s. Scrape them off and paint them.

When you’re deciding on the work to be done, it’s better if you do a walkthrough with a pad of paper and pen in-hand prior to performing the work. Make note of all the things that need repair in each room, even the little things. The more repairs you do, the less dickering you will experience with buyers during offers. There is a lot of preparation that goes into getting your house ready for sale. Go to the effort and expense to get it done, and you will reap a powerful payoff.

Ki helps people looking in for homes in the Austin real estate market. His site provides a free Austin home search along with statistics on Austin real estate. There are also several charts showing mortgage rate trends.

Distributed by ContentCrooner.com

Most economists blame the messy bursting of the housing bubble for the Great Recession, yet it’s jobs that are discussed the most on the news.
So what is the relationship, if any, between jobs and housing when it comes to the future of the economic recovery? Is it one of those vicious cycles where people can’t get jobs until the housing market recovers, but with a shaky job market no one is buying houses to put an end to the decline in housing? Just reading that sentence is enough to cause a headache.

Recently Mint.com, a personal finance website, had a map showing the future of job growth around the country. Then a couple of days after that there was a map depicting the current state of the housing market. The job growth map was based on information compiled by NPA Services, Inc, a statistics company In Washington, D.C.

The map depicts job growth in the next 20 years in major cities all over the country. It neither indicates what sectors the future jobs will be in, nor does it give information for how NPA Services arrived at these numbers. The housing map was compiled with information from the National Association of Realtors.

According to the jobs map, Denver job growth by 2030 is expected to be 1.3 million and the current housing market there has improved with sales up 1.8 percent. Colorado has gone from being down in home sales more than 11 percent in 2008. Colorado’s current unemployment rate is 7.5 percent. With an unemployment rate better than national average it’s perhaps not a stretch to see job growth in Colorado.

Los Angeles is expected to increase jobs by 1.9 million in the next 20 years, but that area is still taking a hit in the housing market with prices down over 12 percent. Home sales have yet to come back statewide and California’s unemployment rate is 12.4 percent. It might take twenties years for California to hit its stride again.

Atlanta is supposed to be the job Mecca over the next 20 years with 2.5 million jobs heading to that city, yet housing hasn’t rebounded there, with home prices down over 16 percent. Sales are starting to come back after being down 6-10 percent in the state of Georgia, but Georgia’s unemployment rate is 10.3 percent. With home values so low, it could take awhile for this area to be out of the recession.

Texas, where the current unemployment rate is 8.3 percent, is expected to see significant job growth in most of its major cities in the next 20 years. The housing market in Texas also started to rebound at the end of last year.

The housing news for January is not good. The winter is historically not a great time to sell a house, and this winter has been particularly tough. According to the Commerce Department, housing sales were down 11.2 percent last month. There was a small gain in sales in the Midwest, otherwise this drop was seen in housing markets across the country.

It’s an interesting idea that the areas where housing is recovering will have jobs soon to follow, but at this point it’s just fancy graphics. As a special section in Time last year pointed out about the future of jobs in America, 20 years ago the Internet was hardly heard of, there was no blogosphere or Facebook. How can anyone know exactly what might happen to the job market in the next twenty years? We still have to get through this year.

Ki helps clients interested in moving to Austin Texas. His site has a search of the Austin MLS along with general information on Austin Texas real estate. For people interested in keeping up with the market their is a blog covering Austin real estate with sales and statistics broken down by Austin MLS area.

Distributed by ContentCrooner.com

Purchasing commercial real estate for you company is very exciting. This indicates that your company has had recent growth or is upgrading.

Either way it is a sign of progress. As mentioned in the previous article, there are several steps that should be followed to make a wise real estate purchasing decision.

In addition to the advice given in the previous article, a business owner should also consider following the suggestions given here. As soon as business has the capital for the down payment, they should switch from a rental payment to a mortgage payment.

The money will then go to the purchase of the asset for the company instead of simply paying money to someone else. Essentially, once the mortgage is paid off most of the money that you paid toward is will be back in the business.

Before purchasing, think about purchasing a place that has more room than is needed right now. Now only is it fun to anticipate growth of a company, but it can save a lot of money and time in the long run.

In the mean time, you can charge rental income for the extra room. To qualify for a loan, you may have to occupy most of the building, but you can still rent out part of it.

Once you own the building, establish an Eligible Passive Concern (EPC) or real estate holding company to own the new property. By creating a master lease between the EPC and the operating company you will connect the two entities.

When you decide to sell the business you can keep the real estate business and the property by extension. This will result in rent checks still coming to your mailbox once you have sold the company.

If you are struggling to pay the down payment for the building, consider working with another company or business owner to form an EPC. This partner company will also have to be examined for a loan, if you applied for one.

Be very wise when selecting a partner company and be very specific in things such as buy-out provisions from the very beginning. Write down your agreements and specifications.

This will prevent disputes and misunderstandings later on. A commercial specialist will save you time and money, if you select a good one.

Extra people will hinder the process and waste your time. Time is a precious commodity for business owners.

Do not waste it by involving unnecessary people such as residential mortgage brokers or bankers. In addition to slowing you down, they may have less expertise than a commercial specialist.

A commercial specialist would know which deals are the best as far as loan terms and fees. Hiring a specialist does cost a little more in the beginning, but think of it as part of the down payment, and they will save you a lot of money in the long term.

As owner of the property, your company will cut costs and earn many tax benefits. An accountant will know all of the possible ways owning the property can save you money.

For example, in addition to tax deductions, there is depreciation and amortization. Amortization is the keeping track of the increase and accounting for an amount or property.

Eventually, you will pay off your mortgage and the rent income will be applied to simply company expenses. Officially owning a building with a paid mortgage is a land mark for your company.

Hopefully, through wise commercial property decision making, your company will thrive off of the new space and continue to increase in size, reputation, and prestige. Purchasing commercial real estate is even more fulfilling with self-accomplishment as you see how your company has grown and it establishing itself more firmly in the market.

A business that owns its own company can continue to grow exponentially and provide excellent services to its customer’s more fully.

Jack Landry has worked since 1991 in property investments. He loves all things financial and is savvy in handling an triple net lease.He has been a guest lecturer for the past 9 years.

Contact Info:
Jack Landry
JackRLandry@gmail.com
http://www.stanjohnsonco.com

Distributed by Content Crooner

Though selling your home yourself is discouraged in today’s housing market, it is not altogether impossible. Here are some tips for listing your home as FSBO, or a For Sale By Owner.

Why Choose For Sale by Owner?

People decide to sell their homes themselves for a number of reasons. The first reason for this is usually that they don’t want to pay for a “middle man,” as they may have debts to pay or simply want to turn a profit. Experts agree, though, that most For Sale by Owner properties turn to an agent after the first year of going unsold. But why is this?

The reason is that FSBO properties rely on drive-by views or the odd online view of their listing. They don’t have the resources available that an agent would have, and are not able to schedule showings unless they are present at the house.

How to Price Your FSBO

Pricing is a tricky subject. Doing your homework is the biggest favor you can do for your home. Start by getting an appraisal. Search for low-cost appraisal companies. Mention that you are selling your home yourself and they may give you a discount.

Once you have a professional appraisal done, begin researching the market home value of homes sold in your neighborhood in the past year. Remember that homes sold through agents may have higher markups. Also, it may be difficult to locate pricing information for For Sale by Owner homes, but not altogether impossible. Ask the new owners politely what they paid for their home, and explain that you are looking to sell you home as well.

Be sure to correctly price your home. The first two weeks that you put your house on the market are the most crucial, as that will tell you whether people are interested in your house at its determined price. The longer a house sits without selling, the less likely it is to sell at all.

Marketing Your Home

In order to get the public interested in your home, you need to be a savvy marketer. Surprisingly, newspaper ads still generate a lot of interest in homes under For Sale by Owner. And now, the Internet offers resources for FSBO housing, also. Forums and sites sometimes offer free or cheap listings that allow you to upload photos, post information about your house, and attract potential buyers.

Staging an online photo tour is an easy, cheap way to get people to see your house. Take high-quality digital photos of several well-lit, neatly organized rooms. Post them in a photo tour, and include information about the house’s age, its special features, and positive aspects about the location.

Make the Deal

If you do happen to get an offer on you home, be sure to draft a contract using the assistance of a lawyer. Don’t accept a first offer unless you also supply a counter offer. You also don’t want to scare any potential buyers away from dealing too aggressively.

Listing and selling your home as a For Sale by Owner can be tricky, but it is definitely possible. Be sure to do all of your research and get the facts before making this big decision.

Beverly Manago is a freelance writer focused on the real estate industry, and a consultant for My Single Property Websites, a web 2.0 marketing tool that lets real estate agents create stunning virtual tours and single property sites easily. She also contributes to the Real Estate Encyclopedia there.

The present housing market is a sad example of the old saying, “One man’s loss is another man’s gain.” Houses are falling into foreclosure due to unpaid mortgages, and banks are selling them for well under their appraisal value just to get them out of the way. Now is a perfect time to buy a nice home for a low cost, but there are several things to keep in mind while shopping for foreclosures.

How Much Can You Spend

Don’t buy a house just because the price is good. Ask yourself how much you can realistically spend without putting yourself into bankruptcy. If the house needs a lot of repairs, you need to take that into consideration also. As for buying a house that will later be used for rental property, have a backup plan in mind for if you cannot locate a suitable renter right away. As a landlord, you will have to make occasional repairs, which is also an expense to keep in mind.

View the House

Just as with any house you plan to purchase, you need to see the house for yourself. Often, even if the house is listed under foreclosures, there is a real estate agent attached to the property. Contact the agent to see if they are giving showings of the home. If not, find the house and take a look. Walk the property, look in windows, and at least try to get a good feel for what might need work. Take notes on things that could be fixed and major projects.

Research the Neighborhood

Some foreclosures may be located in bad neighborhoods, which accounts for the cheap sale price. Get as much information as possible on the house and its location by researching it. Check online maps and read reviews. Also, visit to neighborhood to see for yourself what it is like.

Ask Questions

There should be contact information attached to the online listing of any foreclosures you might be interested in. Get in touch with these contacts, whether they are listing agents or bank representatives, and ask them any questions you might have about the house. Be sure they can answer all of your questions, and if they can’t, ask them to find out for you. Some things to ask about might be electrical questions, past dry rot or mold problems, how long the house has been empty, and whether the house was winterized. These questions can prevent costly surprises in the future.

Get a Private Inspection

If you are serious about buying a foreclosed home, get a private inspection of the property. Remember that these inspections can cost between three hundred and five hundred dollars, but they can also prevent you from purchasing a home that is in dire need of repairs that you simply cannot afford.

Shopping for foreclosures can be an inexpensive alternative to normal home buying. These listings, however, are not without their hidden problems. As a potential buyer, you must be aware of the history of the home, what its market value is, and be willing to research and ask questions before you decide to buy.

Beverly Manago is a freelance writer focused on the real estate industry, and a consultant for My Single Property Websites, a web 2.0 marketing tool that lets real estate agents create stunning virtual tours and single property sites easily. She also contributes to the Single Property Websites Blog there.