Home Rent to Own | Power of Sale/Foreclosure | Credit Management Enhance Your Knowledge On Rent To Own Programs | Page 7

TO BUY A FORECLOSED
PROPERTY OR NOT?
•Step 1: Find the home you want
• This information can be found in newspapers, online or by accessing the services of
specific real estate agencies. You will then get in contact with a lawyer representing the
bank and will provide you with additional details about the property and about the
auction.
•Step 2: Ask for a viewing
• Similar to not buying a car before you drive it, it is utterly important to view the property.
Unfortunately, many of them are unavailable for viewing on request and the only thing
you can do is wait for an ‘open house’ event and inspect everything then. A good advice
would be to bring along experts that can properly review aspects such as plumbing,
moulding, carpeting and others, and evaluate how much any potential repairs would
cost. You might want to check out the neighbourhood as well and do some background
research, especially if you are planning to raise your children there.
•Step 3: Go to the auction and try to close the deal
• Surprisingly, even though it is not a rule of thumb, may people are unaware that in the
majority of cases of buying foreclosed properties through power of sale there is an
auction. This usually takes place at the lawyer’s office and brings together potential
interested owners. Because the rules of the auction can vary from one case to another,
they are disclosed before the bidding starts. For example, if after they announce the
starting price and the bids begin, if you’re holding the highest one and win, you will be
expected to pay a percentage of the price of up to 20% on the spot. Following
successfully doing that, you will then have approximately a month to close the deal.