i dont know much about buying my first home, however:

1. do i just call a real estate agent and ask him to find me Preforclosed homes in the city that i want?

2. will he be able to show me the best pocket communities for real estate owning ? (prospective value increases)

3. how much can you trust one, if he find a property you like, do you have to go with him or buy the info? how do i know theyll do their job the best they can and that theyre not just trying to make a profit?

4.is it easier/better to just call a real estate agent instead of going to the county clerks office to get records ?? i am only interested in preforclosed and discounted type homes.. (can someone give me the correct terms of each type of discounted real estate ?)

Now what late night infomercial did you just finish watching?

I apologize for Paul it looks like he is off to a bad morning. The first thing is it looks like you are looking for 3 bed 2 bath townhouse in the 500k range. If you are trying to steal one join the crowd as there are many people out there looking for the “Golden Deal”. You have mentioned that your time line is to live in it for about 8 years and you want to buy something fairly new. I would suggest that you get hooked up with a Realtor® in your area and have them set you up on a drip with all the new listings as they come on the market. You may have to preview hundreds of properties to find what you are looking for and you will need to act quickly when that one comes up. Be patient as it may take a long time for that one property that meets your criteria becomes available. Then you need to act quickly as many other people will want that same property and may make a better offer than you. What I have found with preforeclosure property is that most of the owners are in denial until they get hit with the foreclosure paperwork. Some of this is the lenders fault as they are trying to collect as much money as they can from the borrower. I have one property that I am working with that is in foreclosure and right up until they filed on the lenders collection department was telling the owner just send in a little money and we can delay filing for another 30 days.

Ohio Realtor®,
Apologize for yourself but not for me. I was just being totally honest and realistic in my question to Leroy.

So James when was the last time you had a buyer that was not an investor call you up and ask you to find them a pre-foreclosure property and use that exact wording that had not gotten it off some late night infomercial and had totally unrealistic ideas about how easy it will be.

Unless Leroy is a cash buyer or can finance AND close it in 10 days he will never beat an investor to the punch. Looking for a pre-foreclosure property for an owner occupied buyer is a time waster unless you are specialize in REO properties. When I listed residential REO's I would normally have it 2-3 contracts the morning I could actually list the property. My investors would get to see the property before it actually went on the market and would normally have an accepted offer by the end of day one.

thanks paul. great applicable advice! thanks james!

any tips on what to mention when speaking with a realtor for REO/foreclosed/preforeclosed properties? im actually looking for a single family home as theyre in my price range.

That was a great response for Leroy, Paul!

Most HUD and VA homes have a 10 day window on accepting the offer Leroy. This is where they treat all offers that come in durring the first 10 days after they are listed as coming in at the same time. I would sit down with a local realtor and let them know exactly what I was looking for and trying to do. If your goal is to find a nice at a fair price you should be able to find something now as most investors need to purchase a property for less than owner occupant to make a profit.

Yes Leroy's post does sound like someone who just watched a infomercial for how to make a million and get money back at closing for every property you buy. The problem is a lot of people are hearing about the forclosure rate being up and this being a buyers market so they think there are lots of properties available at below market value. Some of the questions that give away the infomercial syndrome.

1. do i just call a real estate agent and ask him to find me Preforclosed homes in the city that i want?

Very limited knowledge of how to buy real estate.

2. will he be able to show me the best pocket communities for real estate owning ? (prospective value increases)

Lets nor even talk about steering.

3. how much can you trust one, if he find a property you like, do you have to go with him or buy the info? how do i know theyll do their job the best they can and that theyre not just trying to make a profit?

No idea fo how Realtors work.

4.is it easier/better to just call a real estate agent instead of going to the county clerks office to get records ?? i am only interested in preforclosed and discounted type homes.. (can someone give me the correct terms of each type of discounted real estate ?)

No idea of how to find a property

It sounds like Leroy could use a good session with a buyers agent to establish a expectation list of the properties that he is looking for and also how the real estate industry works in general.

I think Leroy might have taken a seminar. Usually the seminar speakers neglect to add A) the bankers and their families and friends have first look at preforeclosures; B) the Realtors and their families and friends have the second look at preforeclosures; and, C) if everyone in the business has rejected the property, then the public gets to take a look. That being said, I have bought and sold a bunch of great deals. You just have to look at some serious fixxers and see the potential.

thanks all.

ive seen the infomercials before for about 10 seconds at a time.. cmon how do you not see that as suspicious? second ive taken no seminar..

im know things ive read here and there on different forums and pick up a little but the more experienced subjects i lose memory of in all the confusion. im 24 have solid funding and credit and havent worried about buying a property/HOME till now. i dont know jack but can ya blame a guy for wanting the most out of his money?

how about calling a few real estate agents and just kinda wing it? what things should i cover and bring up? is it wise to be straight when saying directly that i want a preforeclosure or REO? is there a certain type of agent i should be looking for as i already have a city in mind.. (do they have access to county clerk infos without having to go there themselves? then should i might as well do this?)

to all, thanks for teaching

btw ive done research into the city and am familiar with section 8 projects, and much of the development going on within the city, as well as topography. ive gotten as far as pinpointing the different area codes which are prospect imo. (i know homes at the end of the street are a negative however are corner homes also ?

Leroy,

The best thing I can tell you is to open your mind.

Already you are thinking foreclosures and preforeclosures are the only way to go.

Focus on the NUMBERS,the numbers tell a story and they don't lie.

What I am saying is if the numbers work it's a deal.Some people are selling estates,death in the family and relatives live elsewhere and want a quick sale for cash.Others are fsbo's who undeprice and don't know what there propert is worth.

Some are investors who own multiple properties and are selling out there portfolios for retirement and will give you a good deal below market.

The point is you need to pick an agent,tell them what you want and in what range and let them sniff out the deal.They do this for a living and can find the deal much faster than you can(if they know what they are doing)plus a buyers agent is a free service to you.

Hope it helped.

Leroy, I agree with SuperAgent. First you need to get out of your head the idea that you have to go to the county clerk's office. That is last century, all the information is usually online now. A good experienced agent knows how to pull out that information. HUD has an excellent website and I think you should start there. First they explain the process, and then you can go to the state, county, and city and look at all HUD foreclosed homes available. Be aware that they all need "sweat equity" but don't be afraid to put a little effort into cleaning a house up.

Hi, I'm not a Realtor but a Mortgage Planner from Florida, I would have to agree with the agents when they say that your best bet is to work with a Realtor. It's their job to look out for your best interests! My suggestion would be to find an agent who specializes in forclosures and the area that you're looking at. Also remember that when purchasing foreclosures you need to have the $$$ at the time of purchase or have a lender who can close in a week or less.

Goodluck with the house hunting and remember to keep an open mind and keep researching as much as possible. Purchasing a home is one of the largest transaction a person makes.

That's not exactly correct. Several of my REO listings have been financed, a couple 100%, & closed 30-45 days from contract date.

Even the all cash deals have taken about 21 days, as that's as quick as the banks can get stuff sent to the title companies.

Your REO listings must be the exception to the rule or maybe that is how long it takes in OH but most investors prefer to close within 10 days as they can begin working on the property.

It wasn't up to the investors as much as it was the banks. One bank in particular always gives at least 30 days to close, regardless of financing or cash purchases. And the title companies, once they recieve the final docs they need, typically do take about a week & a half to two weeks.