Friday, January 30, 2009

Pre-foreclosures - Locating the Ideal Neighborhood to Buy a Home

By Julia Clark

In this current real estate crisis, many people are loosing their homes either because they can't make the payments or are walking away because their house is worth less then the amount owed. It was reported by CNBC on July 24 that foreclosures now represent half of all the homes sold in the US. Although this is downright scary to a highly leveraged homeowner or speculator this is also an opportunity of a lifetime for anyone looking to buy real estate at these depressed prices.

Most real estate investors see this current crisis as an opportunity as it's the perfect time to buy cheap and hold until the market returns to normal. "There are always opportunities", explains Donald Trump. "When I first started out in Manhattan, everyone was saying what a terrible market it was". It's a good thing he didn't listen to anyone else's advice or he won't be where he is today.

Many real estate experts including Donald Trump agree that now is a great time to invest in real estate and understand that pre-forecloses offer one of the best, if not the best, real estate opportunities.

The great thing about buying a pre-foreclosed home is that you are dealing one-on-one with the owner and have a chance to ask questions and inspect the house. Since the bank has time to evaluate the property there is a higher probability of being granted a mortgage.

There are macro (local community, etc.) and micro aspects to take into consideration when looking for a pre-foreclosed home. Here are the some of the macro aspects:

- Look around the neighborhood to see how many homes are being foreclosed. It's best that the house you're considering for purchase is the only one facing foreclosure. Obviously the more homes in forced sale, the more likely the properties will depreciate.

- Ask around to find out what the average rate for rent is in the neighborhood and if it has changed lately. This will indicate if local housing demand is on the rise or not.

- What is the local economy like at the town, local city and/or county level? Is the unemployment rate increasing or decreasing?

- Check with local authorities to become informed about any infrastructure projects that may be planned within the next two or three years. Things such as new buildings and highways being built or corporations moving into town can be a positive indication of future growth.

- What are the demographics? If there is an extremely high level of seniors in town and only a small percentage living in nursing homes, guess what, it could cause a housing surplus within 10 years or so.

If you do your due diligence and find positive answers to these questions when considering a pre-foreclosure then you can feel secure that it is a good community in which to invest. Successful real estate investors buy discounted properties at the right location at the right time. - 16003

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