Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Things To Contemplate Before Bidding On An Arizona Foreclosure Home

By Jackie Loew

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.

You can do some research and find comparable house in the area. Research as much as you can to keep the surprises to a minimum after the sale. Of course there are some things you will not be able to find out but what little you can could make the difference on your decision to buy through the auction process.

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.

They could have destroyed all the sheet rock on the walls or removed everything not nailed down. Things like the stove, counter tops, carpets, air conditioning units or bathroom fixtures. These are the things you can see they destroyed but what about the things you can't see like plumbing or electrical wiring. These are not easy things to replace and definitely not cheap ones either.

Another thing to consider is that if you are the new buyer you will have to have the house inspected before you will be able to move in. The house has probably been sitting vacant for awhile and so all utilities were turned off. You will now be responsible to have them turned back on. If the previous residents failed to pay their last utility bills then you will have to pay those balances also to get the services restored.

Homes for sale at auctions are cash transactions. A deposit of $1000 is required just to bid. If you are the winner of the bid you will have until 5 pm the following day to come up with the balance of the winning bid. And if you can't meet that deadline you will lose your deposit and the house goes back on auction.

Banks are not going to be very accommodating if you are paying with a loan. There is a lot of paperwork involved when you are trying to finance your purchase. The banks want the people who have the money readily available now. They just want to unload the foreclosed properties fast.

Foreclosed homes are discounted 25% and most people think that is a good deal. But what they are forgetting is all the extra expenses that could be incurred with this type of purchase. You have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best when considering buying an Arizona foreclosure property.

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