Real Estate Investing:Smart Home Buyers Seek Out Foreclosures

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Real estate auctions have become popular places for investors and prospective home buyers to find great deals on distressed property that is bank owned. With the growing number of houses going into foreclosure due to homeowners are defaulting on their loans, more and more houses are being made available to savvy consumers through real estate auctions.

Once a house is taken over by bank, through the foreclosure process, the bank owns the house and rather than attempting to sell the house through a Realtor or broker, the majority of bank owned property is submitted to a third party auction house that collects information on behalf of the banks and holds real estate auctions to sell off the property quickly and assist the banks in recouping the money they have lost from the foreclosure of the loan on the property.

Real estate auctions are open to the public and are typically held outside on the steps of a county courthouse. Savvy real estate investors and those looking for a good deal on a house or vacant property are allowed to bid against the bank to purchase properties at a discounted rate below the current market value.

To ensure that only qualified and serious bidders attend these real estate auctions, auctioneers require any bidder to present a cashiers check for amounts up to 00 to be handed over at the completion of the sale. The remaining balance due that the winning bidder owes for the property is due usually within 24 hours of the real estate auctions date.

Those attending real estate auctions are well advised to have their financing in place prior to bidding on any piece of land or foreclosed home as securing a loan after bidding on a property will take up to ten days to be approved and funded.

Real estate auctions are listed online and auction houses often list the address of the houses being auctioned and the real estate auctions date. Sometimes an opening bid is listed along with the property the price is set by the bank that owns the property and will not be lowered at the auction.

Homes being presented at real estate auctions range anywhere from ten to forty percent below market value depending on the type of house being offered and its location. It should be noted that unlike buying real estate through a broker or agent, all homes sold at real estate auctions are as is and it is up to the buyer to have an inspection of the property done before moving into such a home. Also important is the fact that any repairs that need to be made to a home are the responsibility of the buyer and not the bank or the auction house.