When a homeowner is unable to pay his mortgage amount the property is taken over by the lender and sold at a public auction as a foreclosed property. In some states in US the local county sheriff is in charge of managing such an auction which is therefore popularly known as sheriff sales.

Benefits of sheriff sales foreclosures

Buying a foreclosed property through county sheriff sales has some great benefits:

• Great bargain – One of the best benefits of buying a property through sheriff sales foreclosure is the reduced bidding prices which sometimes go as low as nearly half of its actual value.
• Power to decide your own price – The unique feature of bidding through sheriff sales foreclosures is the fact that you can assess the property and decide your own price based on your budget and the property value.
• Direct purchasing – By bidding at an auction for a property of your choice you do not have to deal with any middlemen and spend money on agents.
• Low risks – The properties sold through county sheriff, sales foreclosures are cleared of all back taxes which make them a very safe and secure purchase.

Important tips

You can look up information on foreclosed properties being put up on auction by visiting various online real estate websites as well as the county office.

Most auctions are advertised well before time which can give you enough time to do a thorough
back ground check of the neighborhood and the local infrastructure.

Before taking part in a public auction always check the property in order to evaluate its real value and estimate a suitable bidding price.

Searching the internet specifically for states that carry out foreclosure auctions, for example Ohio under the jurisdiction of the local sheriff is a good way to find information on the latest sheriff auctions.

Always keep yourself updated on the auction process in order to know about any last minute venue and date changes of the sheriff sales foreclosure.

Before you start looking for a suitable foreclosure homes it is very important to have a thorough understanding of the meaning of homes in foreclosure and consider some important points in order to make a successful, profitable and most importantly, a satisfactory purchase.

What is the meaning of a foreclosure home?

Home foreclosures are those properties that have been taken over by the government, banks and other finance houses from the previous owners due to a default on their mortgage payments. As the concerned parties are solely interested in recovering their mortgage money, foreclosure homes are put on sale directly to prospective buyers without a broker or an agent at comparably much lower prices without any profit motive whatsoever.

Important considerations for buying foreclosure homes

• Prime properties with great investment value – With an amazing number of choice selections of homes in foreclosure available at prime locations, opting for a foreclosure home can be the best investment choice one can make in the present economic situation.
• Direct purchasing – Buying home foreclosures doesn’t require you to contact a broker or a middleman which increases the transparency as well as lowers the risk of buying a property by dealing directly with the bank or the concerned finance house.
• Diverse sources – You can find suitable homes in foreclosure through various sources such as online listing services, newspaper classifieds, local business journals and county offices. Public auctions are also a great platform to buy suitable foreclosed properties for interested homebuyers.
• Great bargain offer – The best feature about investing in home foreclosures is the fact that they are available at nearly half of the current market prices and are mostly located in good neighborhoods with very little renovation involved.
• Personal research – When looking for a suitable foreclosure home it is very important for buyers to carry out their own research of the home foreclosures as well as its neighborhood in order to ensure complete satisfaction before making the final purchase.

Regions in the Midwest experienced the highest pending existing home sales in foreclosures listings for the month with 14.5 percent compared with January sales. Meanwhile, regions in the Northeast reported a 10.6 percent growth in pending existing home sales and 4.4 percent rise in the South. A 13.5 percent drop in sales of existing houses in the West was reported.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said that the increase in sales of existing houses in foreclosure listings may be a positive indicator that the housing market will experience additional sales gains.

Meanwhile, the Housing Affordability Index (HAI) of NAR soared by 0.9 percent to 173.5 points in February of this year, representing a 36.3 rise from the previous year. NAR’s HAI determines housing affordability by incorporating the relationship between mortgage interest rates, family income and home prices.

According to NAR, the national median earning of $59,700 can allow a family to afford a property valued at $285,600. This is assuming that the family allocates not over 25 percent of their gross earning to mortgage interest and principal.

An existing single-family house has a national median price of $164,600.

Yun expected that the sales of existing houses in foreclosure listings would peak in the last half of this year and first-time homebuyers would absorb most of excess inventory in the housing market.

He pointed out that the drop in median home prices was influenced by distressed foreclosure listings sales in states severely affected by foreclosures, including Nevada, California and Florida.

On the other hand, sales of homes in foreclosure listings surged by 5 percent last month, compared with figures for the same month the previous year.

Yearly comparison of sales of homes in foreclosure listings showed that the Northeast region gained 16 percent, 6 percent in the South and 3 percent in Western states.

Meanwhile, sales of condominiums across the United States rose by 11.4 percent, way ahead of the 4.4 percent sales increase for detached single family houses.

In South Florida, where foreclosure rate is at an all-time high, sales for detached houses went up by 68 percent and 71 percent for condominiums.

Coldwell-Banker Vice President Charles Richardson believed that the sales increase would hasten the recovery of the housing market.