Owning a home may be an American dream, but it's one with an increasingly expensive price tag. Maybe that's why so many people are trying to learn how to do it at a discount.
Many people are looking into the foreclosure market to buy homes at lower prices. This is a good idea, but you have to be careful and you have to do your homework. There are many areas of the foreclosure market that look very tempting at first glance, but in reality, there are lots of pitfalls.
The cost of housing is a huge concern for those who decide to invest in real property, not just as a place to raise a family, but also as a long term investment vehicle for retirement.
Things to remember:
•Don't buy a property that is over inflated. Get an opinion from an independent appraiser, even if the property is an REO.
•If you know you may not be able to make the mortgage payments in the future for whatever reasons, don't buy the property. It may take a while for you to resell it.
•This is not the time for speculating in real estate unless you know what you are doing. In some areas, prices are continuing to fall. If you are thinking about buying, it should be for the long term.
•Although property values in some areas are still going down, they won't stay down forever. Now is just as good a time as any to buy a home, but as stated above, you should be looking to hold on to it for a few years.
•Once property values start going up again, so will interest rates. The Fed usually raise interest rates to control inflation.