The West Valley including Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Sun City Grand, Sun City West and Surprise we have many foreclosures to choose from to find your next home. We have listed 10 tips that may help you out in buying a foreclosed home.

  1. Prepare yourself for some sights and smells that may be tough for the sensitive side of you. Dirt, dead bugs, mess, missing appliances, missing cabinets, etc are not unusual. You have to picture it later, when you have had a chance to work your magic on it.

  2. Be prepared to go through the complete inspection and verification of facts process. REO properties (bank owned) are sold AS-IS. However, you don’t want to be surprised by a problem after you close. There is no or limited recourse at that point. Plus you will want to establish a base line house condition. After the contracts are final and before close of escrow, if something happens the bank maybe willing to restore the house to the condition it was in at the inspection.

  3. Check out the neighborhood carefully to determine how many foreclosures are in the area that have not sold, condition of the neighborhood, parks, etc. Think about how long to plan to stay in the home and will that give you the time you will need for market recovery so that you will be able to sell your home when needed.

  4. List prices on REOs are not always at market. Make sure you have a good comparative market analysis to use when deciding on the purchase price. Depending on the information the bank is working with (their own price opinion) it could be lower than market. This could mean a bidding war on a very nice property.

  5. Banks will negotiate. Low ball offers are frequently rejected and can be a waste of time and emotional energy. They can be rejected outright.

  6. Repairs may be financed. If your chosen home needs work or appliances, you will want to consider a FHA 203K program which will let you roll repairs, etc into the home loan. It’s is a great way to keep your cash flow from being higher than you may want.

  7. Use smart negotiation techniques. It will take 2 to 5 banking days to get a response. Consider what your next purchase proposal would be before you get their counter. Your under less stress and can make better decisions when the time comes.

  8. The bank may have specific requirements for you to buy the home. As an example, you may have to qualify with their lending arm. This does not mean you have to use them as a mortgage broker. See the best deal both in mortgage rates and in closing costs. With most all lenders having the same rates, you out of pocket expense from closing costs maybe your most important comparison.

  9. Use a Realtor. There are many pitfalls along the way. Pick someone who can help you through these. The bank pays the commission so they are free to the buyer. Use their expertise and a second set of eyes to guide you through a successful purchase.

  10. Don’t Be Greedy. You are going to buy a house that may have been previously purchased for $100,000 to $150,000 more than you are going to buy it for. Allowing a few thousand dollars of list price to break the deal doesn’t make sense. $5000 difference in price can be as little as $35 dollars a month. Is loosing the home worth that much? Instead think about your monthly payment, what you can comfortably afford, and what the house may look like in the future for resale. Over the years what you pay per month will be more important than the upfront price.