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Alton, Ia | Seventeen years ago I bought a FHA foreclosed house. Was sold thru a sheriff's auction, steps of the courthouse. Smaller town, so they had it advertised in the local papers. Me and some lady bidding, would have saved several thousand if she'd have stayed home :)
A foreclosed home is as-is. Be careful. Check the condition over very well. On mine, anyway, there was no seller disclosure form. If the house was sold previously, you may be able to find one on record. If you are buying an older home, could be a concern, such as an old fuel tank buried out there, etc. Newer homes, probably not much risk.
Check the back taxes. Those are now yours, plus any municipal charges. One glitch I had was it had taken I think 4 years for this foreclosure to get done, ie 4 years of back taxes. Plus the guy wouldn't shovel his sidewalk, so the town did it and added those fees onto the taxes each year. Okay, those I knew about. What I missed was the auction was in the spring, so the previous winter's sidewalk clearing had not been added yet. Not a big deal, few hundred bucks was all, but just be aware to ask all the right questions. (And it's incredible what a town will bill for!)
If there are liens against the prev owner, these will be on the property. In Wis., anyway, these are there for 6 months post sale. So if I had gotten it fixed up and tried to resell in 6 months, would have been very messy. But make sure to check the lien records and the laws. | |
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Finding / Buying A Foreclosed Home
