If you are a home owner looking for an affordable house to buy, or if you are an investor looking for a diverse investment portfolio, Hawaii Real Estate Owned properties and foreclosed properties can be an interesting option to look at. This is because lending institutions are always more than willing to dispose of these troubled properties at a significantly lower price than the actual market value. This way, the banks get to recover their money while the buyers get a great opportunity to secure an affordable deal.
But, an important thing that all prospective homeowners should be aware of when opting for this option is that real estate transactions can be very complex and tricky. As such, you need to gain at least some basic knowledge about how business is done and the way the foreclosed property sector operates so as to clinch a great deal. Following are some useful tips on how you can go about buying foreclosed properties.
Where to find foreclosed properties – as is with almost searching for anything else today, the best place to start your search for foreclosed properties is online. Today there are a number of websites which are entirely dedicated to providing listings of foreclosed property, based on your geographical location and preferences.
As expected, there are websites that will request for a fee in order to give you full access to the listings, and there are others that offer the services for free. Don’t make any payments to such websites. Always go for the free ones as you will only be making your research.
The other place to check is with the county Sherriff sales office, local real estate agents, auctioning agents, or on classified ads in magazines and/ or newspapers. All these places will contain information on where you can find foreclosed properties in your area of interest.
Do a thorough preliminary research – just because it is foreclosed property doesn’t mean it is the best there is in the market. You will need to take your time to do some preliminary research regarding the property. Inquire about the surroundings, the neighborhood, proximity to social amenities etc, of course and the actual cost of the property in that area.
Seek mortgage pre-approval – even before you approach your real estate agent or the property seller, it would be wise to get a mortgage pre-approval first. This way, you will have a clear understanding of the kind of property that qualifies you for funding. This will make your work even easier as you can be able to narrow down your list to only the properties that you qualify for.
Ensure the property is inspected – never decide on a foreclosed property before it is properly inspected. Home inspection is best done by a certified home inspector, who will look for such things as damages, repairs, utility bills among other unpaid dues.
This is just a roundup of how to go about the process. Your Hawaii real estate agent can be in a great position to advice you on how the process is done, and how it can run smoothly.