If you want to buy a new home to live in or an investment property, you can save a significant amount of money by buying a home that has been foreclosed. A foreclosure auction can allow you to save thousands off the cost of the home if it were on the regular market.

How do you find out about foreclosure auctions?

Foreclosure auctions might be listed in the local newspaper as well as online. If you want to find foreclosure auction listings, you might be able to find them by subscribing to a list that supports your geographical area and sends you auto email alerts each time an auction is coming to your area.

When shopping at a foreclosure auction everything happens very quickly. It’s best to be as informed a buyer as you can be because the sales are typically final and unlike regular home purchases, guarantees on the state of repair of the home would be minimal or non-existent.

Bank foreclosure properties are out there and well worth investing in.  The key to investing in these properties is finding those that will work well for your goals.  First, analyze what it is that you would like to get out of the property.  Would you like to find a home to live in with your family?  Are you looking to purchase a second home to vacation in?  Do you want to find yourself as a property owner of the home, which you rent out?  Finally, would you like to spend some time working on fixing up the home so you can sell it for a profit?  Each of these options can be accomplished with bank foreclosure properties.

How do you find bank foreclosure properties to invest in?  That good question has a several part answer.  The best way to find properties on the market to purchase that are foreclosures is to simply use a real estate agent. With their experience and their inside scoop, they may be able to help you track down some of the most affordable and attractive homes on the market that fit your needs and your goals.  However, they are not the only option.

You also want to use the web to help you find bank foreclosure properties.  Many of the banks will employ the help of real estate agents to get the homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service or MLS, which you can access through many of the real estate sales sites.  In addition to this, you can find appropriate properties through foreclosure specific listings, often specific to the area you are looking for.  In this situation, you can browse through the listings and contact the owners directly (but it is highly advisable to work with a real estate agent for this transaction.)

When you find a few homes to consider for your bank foreclosure properties, narrow down your search by looking for the features, the location and the budget you are in.  Many times, the listing price of the home is listed higher than what it should sell for, though you may still need to consider the range that it is in.  Many banks have set goals to achieve and they are not willing to sell below them.

Finding bank foreclosure properties is easy to do when you have the resources like these to do it.  Foreclosure properties are often great investments and they work well to fill your specific goals and needs.  Yet, be careful and do your homework so you wind up with the best property out there.

Government foreclosure properties are an option that many real estate investors have.  If you are hoping to get into a new home as a standard buyer, foreclosures offer this benefit too.  Yet, how does the flipping process work and can this be a good way for you, the average homeowner to get into the real estate business?  First, you should know why government foreclosure properties are being sold. These properties are ones that have been seized from the homeowner for one reason or another, with one of the main reason being that they have failed to pay taxes.

Does that mean that government foreclosure properties are going to be a problem for you?  Chances are good that this is not a problem.  Government foreclosure properties are often low priced because they need to be sold quickly, but that does not mean that they are low in quality, have problems or are not worth the investment you make into them.  Because they are often low priced, they work very well to use as flipping.  Here is a closer look at why.

Flipping government foreclosure properties is a simple process in theory.  The home is purchased, necessary updates or repairs are done, and then the home is resold at a higher price.  Because these homes often have a lower price tag associated with them, they are often more affordable to flip.  However, like any other home that you may purchase, you do have to take into consideration some of the obstacles in your way of flipping these properties.

• Is the home priced well to include a profit margin for you after you have factored in closing costs, repairs, taxes and other costs?
• Is the area where the government foreclosure properties are located in experiencing growth, demand and rising housing prices?
• Do you have enough experience to make an investment into the foreclosure property by just looking at the home or should you invest in a full inspection?
• Can you negotiate the sale of the home from the government agency for a lower price to increase your profit margin?
• Do you have a low cost real estate agent that can help you to sell the home quickly and at the price that you want to?

Government foreclosure properties need to be carefully considered by the real estate investor to insure that all requirements have been met prior to the home being purchased for the benefit of flipping it.  Many of these properties make ideal investments, but you need to be experienced enough to know the difference.

Making Home Affordable is a program the government has introduced to help stabilize the housing market and help Americans reduce their monthly mortgage payments to more affordable levels.

Eligible participants may have the opportunity to either refinance or modify their residential mortgage loans. The Home Affordable Refinance Program gives up to 4 to 5 million homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac an opportunity to refinance into more affordable monthly payments.

The Home Affordable Modification Program commits $75 billion to keep up to 3 to 4 million Americans in their homes by preventing avoidable foreclosures. The website I mentioned above provides homeowners with detailed information about these programs along with self-assessment tools and calculators to empower borrowers with the resources they need to determine whether they might be eligible for a modification or a refinance under the Administration’s program.

It may help you refinance your mortgage into a more affordable payment.
H4H is voluntary. Both lender(s) and borrower(s) must agree to participate.

You should contact your lender to determine eligibility, but you might be eligible if:

• The home is your primary residence, and you have no ownership interest in any other residential property, such as second homes.
• Your existing mortgage was originated on or before January 1, 2008 and you have made at least six payments.
• You are not able to pay your existing mortgage without help.
• As of March 2008, your total monthly mortgage payments due were more than 31 percent of your gross monthly income.
• You certify that you have not been convicted of fraud in the past 10 years, intentionally defaulted on debts; and did not knowingly or willingly provide material false information to obtain existing mortgage(s).

Here is a little more information on the HOPE program and some of the costs that might be involved.

• The new mortgage, if approved, will replace all of the current mortgages on your home. You will not owe any payments, fees or debts on mortgages you now hold.
• You must agree to share both the equity created at the beginning of this new mortgage and a portion of any future appreciation in the value of your home.
• In addition to an upfront mortgage insurance payment of 3%, you will pay a 1.5% annual mortgage insurance premium on your outstanding mortgage balance. This premium will be included in your monthly payments.
• You will need to pay closing costs on the loan. You will receive a Good Faith Estimate of these costs.

• Review the Frequently Asked Questions page at www.fha.gov HOPE
• Contact an FHA-approved lender to apply. You can find a list of lenders at FHA

This is information from the government and something I definitely should be made available to you.