Many properties are owned by banks and Government agencies. These organizations acquire these homes

for several different reasons, usually from nonpayment of the real estate note. Regardless of how they

received the property; they are usually pretty determined to get rid of them, and that is where

the foreclosure bargains come in.

 

REO (Real Estate Owned) homes are one form of foreclosures. REO’S are properties that lending institutions

didn’t sell at auction. Then usually, they will have a contractor perform the basic repairs necessary to sell it.

After that they put the house on the market, usually with a Realtor. The beauty of it is; they just want to get

the property off of their books, because banks are in the business of lending money not being landlords or

real estate investors. Since that is the case, you can usually purchase these homes for 20 to 30% below

market value.

Properties taken back by government agencies are also a good source of bargains. There are many reasons

Government agencies end up owning property. One reason is when the home owner fails to pay his or her

taxes; and like banks and financial institutions, they just want the money not the property. There are several

ways that you can find government owned homes. A couple of them are through HUD, the VA, and

government auctions. No matter how you decide to go about, you can get some really awesome discounts

this way. Sometimes, you can even find houses at 50% of the market value.

 

Obviously these forms of properties can be a great way to buy low and sell high, or you can just hold on to

these houses and rent them out. Whether you decide to list the property or rent it; or whichever way you

go about acquiring it, just remember to always use legal real estate forms and to do your due diligence. Just

because the milk is in a pretty container, doesn’t mean that it’s not spoiled.

Zach Kling is a Real Estate Investor and Entrepreneur online and off, as well as writes Real Estate and

Business related articles. 

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