Strategies for Purchasing Foreclosed Homes

By: Jacquelyn Marks

Buying a foreclosed home, or even a new home is a significant investment that requires careful, strategic planning. This is not only because of the large amount of money involved in one single purchase, your choice and decision will affect your whole family’s life and lifestyle. After all, you will be staying in that newly purchased home for several years or even decades.

The great news is, with the decline of housing market, you can take advantage of some serious money-saving opportunities by choosing a foreclosed home. In fact, if you take time and conduct a thorough search, you can find foreclosed properties that are 30% to 50% below its market value.

The main concern that you probably share with other potential buyers is not everyone are adept in facilitating foreclosure deals and general real estate purchases for that matter. That is understandable since it’s not every day we purchase a house, right? Therefore, here are some practical tips to get started on the right path.

1. Prepare your resource. If you want to get the best deal, then take time to prepare all possible resources that you may need to achieve this goal. Start with securing foreclosure listings on your target area or location. You will also need to compile all possible documents you will need to transact and finalize a purchase for a foreclosed home for sale.
2. Find Reliable Source for Foreclosure Listings. Take advantage of the Internet to check out foreclosure listings and their respective providers instead on poring on those printed listings. To help you narrow down your options, take time to read online reviews to determine where to best derive your foreclosure data.
3. Contemplate on whether you require a real estate agent. If this is your first time to purchase a residential property, it is probably a good idea to seek the services of your local real estate agent to guide you through the ropes. While this might mean an additional expense, getting an agent will open up foreclosure opportunities that otherwise, you will not be able to get your hands on by yourself.
4. Create a checklist. List down the attributes and important considerations you and your family require when purchasing a home. This will guide you all throughout your selection process. And with the help of your real estate agent, it will be easier to narrow down the search and save time by providing specific criteria of what you are looking for.
5. Narrow your focus. When sifting through your foreclosure listings, you may be overwhelmed with the number of possible choices. What you can do to narrow down your search is to highlight the properties that caught your eyes and call the trustee to check if the foreclosure properties on your listings are still available.

You will see these are simple, yet very practical tips that you can use for your foreclosure property search. If you have been planning for months but still have not gotten around accomplishing the first step, take a peek on the great saving opportunities available today. You will soon realize that there are a few foreclosure properties that are just too good to pass up.

Author Resource:-> Foreclosure.com is the leading resource website for all distressed property listings.

Article From Real Estate Pro Articles

NorthWest Real Estate

Understanding Audits

Just the mere mention of an IRS “audit” strikes fear in the heart of most Americans; in fact, many would be short sale investors are so overwhelmed by the prospect they completely avoid the topic altogether. Unfortunately, what you don’t (want to) know can still hurt you when it comes to taxes; after all, ignorance of the law is no excuse and you must still sign-off on all tax forms prior to the final submission. Understanding a little about audits can go a long way toward preventing problems in the first place.

1. The very first thing to understand about audits is that they are not as common as most people imagine….in fact, audit rates have steadily declined over the past decades. In 1963 over 5.5 percent of all Americans were audited. In 2008 only .80 of Americans were audited – less than 1 percent of taxpayers annually. Audit rates for landlords do not appear to be any higher than that of the average population according to “How to Beat the IRS at Its Own Game” by Amir Aczel and approximate that of most small business owners. Real estate dealers and investors also appear to garner roughly equivalent audit rates.

2. Automated Under-reporter Program. Although not widely known, the IRS compiles and compares payment data submitted by banks, financial institutions and property managers, repair co’s etc.. against rental receipts and mortgage interest payments claimed by landlords. When the amounts don’t match, it automatically triggers further investigation.

3. Avoid round numbers. Yes, they are easier but it raises a red flag that the amount in question could be “made up” rather than real.

4. State and federal returns should match. Sounds simple but it’s a common mistake likely to trigger additional scrutiny at one end or the other.

5. Don’t file early. Why give IRS additional time to decide whether or not to audit your return? Remember, they have three years to make up their mind…more than sufficient time!

6. Stay within market averages! The IRS makes good use of average market rates for each area and you should too. Avoid renting or selling to friends and family where it could be construed as a gift, barter or other irregularity in need of additional “attention” (ie, an audit).

7. Keep those receipts. Without a doubt, good record keeping is the first defense against an audit. When in doubt, make a note and include it with your tax return.
Bottom line: Don’t cheat on taxes but also don’t become so fearful of an audit that you miss available tax write-offs and deductions. Stay within the legal limits and use aggressive tax strategies to reduce taxes and maximize profits.

NorthWest Real Estate