Maryland Foreclosures For Sale

Thinking about buying a Foreclosure? There certainly has been a lot of bank owned properties that have come on the market starting in 2008. If you are thinking you want to buy one of these homes because you have herd they are great deals, then keep reading.

So not all foreclosures are created equal, some are truly great deals, but some also are really big headaches. You need to know what you are getting into before you jump into all the hype. For starters, as a general rule, I highly recommend that you get a home inspection or if your are doing a rehab loan then getting a HUD approved inspector to do the write up. I say as a general rule, since you may be a contractor or an investor who is leveraging a low non contingent offer in order to get an even better deal,but other then that, pretty much its a prudent prevention to learn as much as the facts about the condition of a place before you go to the settlement. Note, in most cases you will have to be under contract before you perform your home inspection.

Some other thoughts about condition

Consider the fact that homes that foreclosure’s are usually so because some type of unfortunate distress situation from the previous owner. So you have to ask your self if the previous owner could not afford to stay current on their payments, what is the likelihood that they kept up with all of the normal home maintenance. Now, even if the home was immaculately taken care of, consider the fact that there generally are several months from when the owner vacates the home and when the bank is able to gain access and resell the property. You can imagine during this time, there may not be any utilities turned on which could be problematic when it comes to topics such as having a sup pump turned on in the basement or having the heat on in the winter to prevent pipes from freezing. Now the banks are getting better and better about taking preventive measures as soon as they acquire the house to make sure more deferred maintenance does not ruin the asset, but there are still plenty of would be great houses that have been neglected. So you can imagine, you really must be careful when considering a foreclosure, in terms of the condition of the property.

Just because a property may have some possible condition issues, it may not be the end of the world. The point is to be an educated buyer and to be observant when your out at the property. It also is a good idea to have an experienced agent and home inspector to advise you during the home previews as well as during the inspection. I have an interesting perspective about the role of the agent and foreclosures, you can learn more in my home buyer video series.

Lastly, I will mention when you buy a foreclosure, they bank will almost always make you sign bank addendum’s that limit many of your rights as a buyer. These addendum’s are not the end of the world, but you want to understand what you are getting into.