Home foreclosures have received a lot of coverage in the media for the last 18 months. The number of people losing their homes has skyrocketed as the economy has flagged. People who bought their homes at the top of the market are so upside-down on their loans that many are simply walking away from them. The situation has communities and states scrambling to deal with the steadily increasing amount of vacant foreclosed homes. However, foreclosures can be a real bargain for home buyers if they exercise some caution. Many homes in foreclosure were owned by people with little or no equity in the home, and that is a huge disadvantage to buyers as the lender will try to recover as much of their investment as possible. Another “buyers beware” note is that most foreclosed homes sell “as is.” In some cases, the previous home owner bitterly vandalizes or sabotages the house and necessary repairs to make the home livable may eat up the attractive 30 percent price reduction. When considering the purchase of a foreclosed home, you should also think about the financial considerations that may have nothing to do with the home itself. Depending on whether your buy the foreclosure at an auction, a pre-foreclosure sale by the owner or through a real estate company, if a lender cannot inspect the home first, they probably will not be willing to issue a mortgage for it. Prospective buyers should also be diligent about having a title search performed on a foreclosure they are interested in buying. If the home went into foreclosure, it’s possible that the former homeowner used the house as collateral and there could be liens against the home that will be uncovered during a title search. When considering the purchase of a foreclosed home, let the buyer beware. If you are interested in buying a foreclosure or other Louisville Real Estate, please contact Louisville Properties at 502-744-9504.