Foreclosures vs. Existing Resale Homes? I recently had a buyer asking me about foreclosures and HUD owned properties. He was looking for a fixer upper under 90k for his grandson. I pulled up all of the foreclosures, bank owned and HUD owned properties in their price range and after further review of the homes prices and conditions, I recommended they at least look at the pre-existing resale home market before they made their decision.

The Buyers and I searched the MLS and we picked out the best houses, with best prices, to preview. We looked at a few foreclosures, a couple estate homes, and the rest were owner occupied homes, in all we looked at about 10 houses. On the most part the majority of the homes needed a lot of work, which is par for the course in this particular price range. Some of the homes were complete dogs, some were in need of some updating, and some were just okay, until we came to the last home on our list. It was an estate sale that the previous owner used as a winter retreat and it was in excellent condition with minimal work to be done. We wrote an offer and it was accepted.

In our current market place you can find some great deals out there. Foreclosures can be great investments, but you need to know what is out there in your local market before you decide to buy a bank owned property. There maybe a better house for less money and in better condition right under your nose.