Phoenix Urban Living News. Real Estate In Phoenix Arizona

Warnings To Consider Before Buying An Arizona Foreclosure Property

Buying Arizona foreclosure properties can lead to unexpected expenses. These types of properties are sold ‘as-is’. This means you are taking the risk of buying something that is not even worth what you paid. There would be no way for you to know the real condition of the home before you buy since inspections or appraisals are not allowed before the auction.

Don’t go to an auction unprepared. Then the only information you are going to have on the property is from the auction listing. You can do some homework before the auction by comparing prices of other homes in that area. If possible talk to neighbors and find out how long it has been vacant.

Seeing a picture of the property on the auction listing is not going to give you the whole picture. For one thing you have no idea when that picture was taken. The house may have been trashed since the previous occupants were forced to evacuate. They probably wanted to leave the house in the worst shape they could just to spite the lender. When they were having financial hardships they could not get help from their lender causing the foreclosure, I would be pretty upset and would want revenge.

After all the time and effort they put into their house just to have it taken away. They could have tore out walls, windows, showers, stoves, air conditioning units. Who knows how badly they sabotaged the place until you win the bid and are forced to repair all the damage they did.

Then you do happen to win the bid so you are required by law to have the house inspected before moving in. The utilities are no doubt turned off therefore you have to pay to have them turned in order for the inspector to complete his inspection. In some cases if the previous customer left an unpaid balance you may have to pay that also before they turn the service back on.

Did you know that there is a deposit to bid at an auction? The cost is $1000 and it is non-refundable. Also all sales are cash purchases, so if you are the winner of the bid you must come up with the balance of the bid by 5 pm the next day. If for some reason you are not able to fulfill this commitment you forfeit your deposit and the home is listed in the auction again.

Banks do not like people who don’t have cash when they go to those auctions. If you are trying to finance the home, they have to deal with your lender’s paperwork and they don’t like that. They just want to sell the property as quickly as possible. They have to deal with hundreds of foreclosures on a daily basis so the quicker they can turn them around the better for them.

There is generally a 25% discount on foreclosed homes. Some people think that is a real bargain but think about all the other things you may be responsible for when purchasing an Arizona foreclosure property. Unless you have a lot of money going into this venture don’t think it’s going to an easy task obtaining the home of your dreams.