As I drive the roads I often pay attention to the surrounding houses. The location, landscape, and layout of a house and its lot will tell you a lot about the house and the neighborhood in which it is located. However, no matter how perfectly constructed, or beautifully decorated a house is, it will not pay for itself, and that failure will ultimately lead to foreclosure.
The current market, with the economy seeming to get worse by the day, and unemployment at a higher rate, leaves many more houses on the market at foreclosure prices. If one has positioned themselves with working capital, and a good credit line now is the time to work the real estate market.
Having a friend in the real estate business is a help in hearing the current state of things in the local market, and currently the market is good, but not great. Most people tend to be downsizing from the current mega structures to homes that are more modest. This leaves a flooded higher end housing market and a need in the midsized home market.
This also provides with solid advice in looking for that perfect flip. Stay away from the over grown homes, and go for the midsize to smaller ones. Buying a smaller sized home will provide for a greater turnaround on your investment since there is a greater market.
Buying a foreclosed home will require some work to make it livable. If a builder has been unable to finish a house, it will obviously need to be finished. Inspect carefully the work that has been done to insure the current quality want have to be deconstructed that was done at a cheap price with the contractor trying to meet budget. The less work the buyer will have to do the better.
The same rule will apply when buying a home to live in. Consider the work to do before moving into a home. Have experienced real estate agents or contractors you trust to look at the house with you to determine its needs. Ask questions to yourself like; can I do this work, will it put my family in a bind, will this house be better or worse for my family, and will the work and cost of the work warrant buying this house at the foreclosed price?
Foreclosure does not happen over night, and a lived in house will not be any better off than on that has not. If finances are, issues for a couple consider that home maintenance was probably not high on the list of priorities. Termite damage and cockroach infestation are simple but devastating things to find after purchasing a new home.
There is still money in the real estate market to make. Just consider time constraints and how much money the project will need. Deem a project worthy of time and investment and look at the big picture not just the dollar signs. Seek expert’s advice, if needed and available, because they will see little things that could be a big problem later. Be cautious, be diligent, be brave, and above all be smart with an investment in real estate.