New To Pre-Forclosures And Need To Know The Proper Steps To Take.
I'm sure that you get this post quite often, and I'm sorry if it offends anyone. I'm pretty new to the whole pre-forclosure thing, and I just have soe questions. Say I find a property that has been pre-forclosed and the owner of the house was interested in making a deal with me. What do I do next? I assume most people have the paperwork all ready for the homeowner to sign the property over. Or do we have to find a real estate agent to make the transaction legal. Or do I go to a lawyer? A Mortgage broker? Who can I trust to not try and out bid my offer to the homeowner and take this property from me? Also what are the forms I need. And lastly, how do I check to make sure that there aren't any other payments on the house that I don't know about. I appologize again because I'm certain that this has been asked quite a few times in the past. You can link me to the info if you like. Thank you very much.
Sounds like your first step would be to get some knowledge in this area first.
Foreclosure Check List of Knowledge
Your most important tool is an agent experienced in foreclosures. Many lenders will only accept offers from an agent or broker.
You should go to all the open houses in your area every weekend. This process will teach you what sells, what doesn't, what the price ranges are in different areas and you will start to build a knowledge base of property in your area.
You should organize your information, contacts, sources and file them. The only way to keep track of everything is to have organized files that you use.
You should search for foreclosure listings in real estate magazines, newspapers and Internet sources as most government agencies list properties for sale or for bid on the Internet.
You should call lenders for real estate owned (REO) properties lists of foreclosures.
You should research public records for other leads. A lender deciding to foreclose normally files a notice of default on the property.
You should view the property and inspect it as closely as possible.
You should have your agent check nearby or comparable properties to see if the asking price for a foreclosed property is, in fact, a bargain.
You should find out if there is a listing broker and make an offer.
You should check to see if a foreclosed property has any liens on it, such as unpaid property taxes as you may be is liable for those costs if you purchase the property.
You may inspect or have the property inspected if the seller allows. Some sellers include this as part of the sales agreement, but the buyer still pays for it.
I would suggest http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/Shopping_Cart-index.html
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Thank you very much for all the helpful information.