If you're looking to save money on purchasing a house, foreclosures are a great way to go. However, even if you find the property for free (which you can do on USHUD.com) there are still very costly mistakes that most people make when buying a foreclosure.

Foreclosure Buying Mistake #1: Taxes

It is unfortunate, but most people over pay on the transfer taxes of their foreclosure purchase. It is not a commonly known fact that most government foreclosures are exempt from paying transfer taxes, which in some states can be $5,000 or higher. Depending on your state the transfer taxes from Federal Government ownership to a private buyer (you) are waived.

The vast majority of lending companies do not know this because foreclosures typically represent such a small percentage of what they do on a daily basis. Even if they are aware of this fact there is a great chance that they may not apply what amounts to a small detail to them, which is a huge savings for you. While the actual savings depends on the state and county where the home is located be sure to remind your Real Estate agent, loan officer, and the title or escrow company of this rule.

Foreclosure Buying Mistake #2: Over Bidding

Over Bidding is a constant mistake made by those people who have not done their homework. Remember when you bid over the asking price for a home the existing appraisal can not be used, and a new appraisal is needed. Beyond an additional cost, this new appraisal can create problems all of its own. It is far better to bid the asking price or slightly less if you are not in a red hot market where properties are going under contract quickly.

Foreclosure Buying Mistake #3: Paying for an Appraisal

Paying for an appraisal is not necessary when buying a foreclosure from the entity which holds the foreclosure. For example, if you were to buy a HUD foreclosure, the appraisal that they have already paid for can be requested by the lender and used to finance the home. This is a $400 to $500 savings. By using the existing appraisal you can save time and not waste energy explaining to the new appraiser that the house is a foreclosure and that is why they can not reduce the value based on small cosmetic issues. In short ALWAYS use the FREE appraisal from either HUD or VA.

Foreclosure Buying Mistake #4: Not Getting the Most Out of a Home Inspection

If you are buying a foreclosure you always want to make sure you get a home inspection. This will let you know what sort of repairs will be required and if you are getting in over your head. This will also influence any repair escrow. The value of a home inspection can be increased if you meet the inspector at the house. Remember this inspector is working for you, since you pay them you should get what you want. The inspector needs to understand that the property is a foreclosure, and that they can help you by listing out the things that you would like to have fixed once you buy the home. This list can help you increase the escrow amount that HUD has offered for repairs.

Foreclosure Buying Mistake #5: Not Maximizing Your Investment

Not understanding how to make money buying a foreclosure is a missed opportunity! Because the house is a foreclosure the Federal Government will allow you to include most planned repairs into the mortgage amount. This leaves your money where it belongs….in your pocket.

So, when you meet with your Home Inspector, what you need to tell them is everything that you wish to have repaired. (It is best to make out a list before he arrives). When that list has been annotated by the Home Inspector, you can bring that list to HUD and show that they have under reported the problems with the home, and that these additional repairs must be included in the loan. This can increase the loan amount slightly but the home will be in the condition that YOU prefer.

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HUD Foreclosures
Free Foreclosure Listings
Foreclosure Listings Increasing

HUD Foreclosures

HUD foreclosures and VA Foreclosures are some of the best homes to buy when price is part of the equation. As with most Americans, price is always a concern. If not buying the same house for less, why not buy more house for the same dollar invested? When looking for a good deal it is hard to do better than the VA or HUD foreclosures market. The simple truth is that there are just more VA and HUD homes on the market, as they represent such a large number of mortgages that are generated each year. This translates into more foreclosures just by the magnitude of difference between all others comparing to the two largest. The two largest also being government owned and operated means that they have less time to wait to make money back on the home. The FHA is especially known for selling HUD homes for less than the average sales price in a given area. FHA foreclosures represent a fraction of HUD but they are still a significant number of homes and both should be considered. VA (Veterans Administration) and HUD (Housing and Urban Development) have different and unique opportunities for the buyer. Both are often forgiven for the local taxes normally associated with the purchase of a home (this is on a county by county basis). Be sure to ask the local title company or escrow company to look into it for you before closing as this is often missed due to their are not used to dealing with the 2 to 3 percent of the market that VA and HUD foreclosures represent.

Free Foreclosure Listings

USHUD.com is a website that simplifies the process of finding foreclosures and HUD properties. Everyone thinks they are a real estate web surfing pro until they search for foreclosure homes and stumble upon a numerous sites that want to charge a fee to see their listings. With USHUD.com that’s not the case. When searching for HUD properties or a home finding website for foreclosure it is important to know what you are looking for. It is important to use a niche company that specializes in foreclosures like USHUD.com. We have put together 2 tools that have made the real estate search process of our website much easier to navigate. The Homesearch online tool is filled with foreclosure lists and free listings of hud homes for sale. Most of our users start with a broad search with the homesearch online tool to see the most HUD properties and foreclosure lists in your area and narrow their search down with the Homefinder online tool. The homefinder online tool is a custom filter system that we breakdown the area based upon filters such as convention and foreclosure listings. This give you the option to filter out conventional listings and focus on just the foreclosures in the market. We thank you for making us Americas top home finding website for foreclosure and Hud properties. Free listings of hud homes for sale are hard to come by but should always be free and that’s the way things are going to stay on our website.

Foreclosure Listings Increasing

As the market settled after the mortgage meltdown foreclosure listings also settled and fewer homes were on the market with a placard reading “Bank Foreclosure” in big red lettering. This was a good thing for the entire real estate market. Having an abundance of foreclosures brings the entire market down and it makes it harder for home owners, who would like to move, to get the appropriate price for their home as a similar home down the same street was sold for substantially less and the appraiser is using the foreclosure as a comparable sale. This is just one of the problems when there are too many foreclosure listings in any area. Another issue is the television set that sits in everyone’s living room harping about the price of homes based on the number of foreclosures and this constant barrage of negative information makes most people sit on the sidelines waiting for the market to either implode completely or to correct itself. Meanwhile while they wait, others are buying foreclosure listings and making great investments. Whatever the reason, a market can only handle so many foreclosure listings at any given time. The more foreclosures, the lower the market gets and this is a lesson the banks that were foreclosing and selling off realized too late. The market and their investments would have been better off if there had not been a rush to divest themselves of the toxic assets made more toxic by their own actions.