Invest in USA Property
Buying USA Property
Foreclosures and Short Sale Descriptions
The content on this page is reproduced with kind permission from Richard Lillycrop.Foreclosures eventuate due to non-payment of a mortgage and the Lender obtains a court order to sell off a property to pay any loans secured on it, as well as cover their legal costs. Properties that are being held buy the bank are called REO (Real Estate Owned). These properties are then auctioned off or sold through standard real estate channels.
Bank owned properties can be a really good source of below market value houses. There is a likelihood that they will need some renovation work, to get them back up to a rentable condition ($5000-$15000), but the discount investors can get (50% cheaper or better), more than pays for this. Within a few years depending on the market and your holding preference, you can either refinance or sell the property and realise a profit.
A short sale is when the proceeds from the sale of the property fall short of the loans secured on it. Sometimes a lender, who has an owner that can't pay the mortgage, will take a loss just to get the property off their books. This saves them having to sell it off themselves.
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Please Note - The information contained above should not be regarded as legal or tax advice and is our opinion only.