HUD, Foreclosures, Short Sales and Investment properties
HUD homes are homes that were foreclosed on by lenders and the loan was insured by the government. Housing Urban Development sells these homes based on a sealed bid. If you bid you may or may not get the bid. If you do not get the bid raise your bid and try again.
Foreclosures are usually defaulted loans from lenders and being processed by the bank or lender. These are usually sold at a sheriff's sale on the court house steps. The home is sold to the highest bidder. A word of caution for the both HUD and Foreclosed properties. These homes are all sold "As IS" this literally means what you see is not what you get! You get what you can not see too! So look these home over carefully.
Short Sales are usually homes where the owners are in financial trouble and behind in their mortgage payments. They still have possession of the property but probably not for much longer. The offer is not accepted when the seller says yes until the BANK or lender says yes to the purchase price. The contract is not a normal purchase agreement but special documents required by the lender. These types of purchases require skill and representation or you can get burned. The taxes could be behind and most likely are. The maintenance of the home is lacking and should be looked at with a home inspector.
Investment properties are another area I specialize in and these are all about cash flow. I use a advanced computer program devised specifically for evaluating income properties. One of the very good opportunities for converting from being a renter to a home owner is a duplex. You pay your normal rent and the tenant in the other side pays the rest of the mortgage and you build equity very quickly so you can sell the property in the future or get another mortgage and use the income property to help you buy a single family home. I just completed a sale for a young couple with a zero down program. This also takes some knowledge but can be done. It also can be very profitable.
I hope these buyer options have given you some information. This is only a simplistic view of the process. If you would like more information or help doing any of these types of purchases give me a call or drop me an email.
Sincerely,
Gary White
Associate Broker
Five Star Real Estate
616-821-9375