Foreclosures: Finding Funds For Investing

There are many different ways to secure funds for foreclosure investing. Many of the top investors have their own money allotments for foreclosures, or a tight relationship with a bank who views them as a small business. While this is great for the seasoned investors, where does that leave the new investors in the market? Let’s take a look at some popular funding options for buying foreclosed homes.

Buyer

Many times, when investing in foreclosures, you do not even need to have a bank loan, you just need to be able to identify a suitable buyer for the property that is willing to pay the right price. This makes it easy to find and buy foreclosure investment properties if you can find a buyer beforehand. Remember to have a contract and pre-approval for the buyer’s bank loan so, if they change their mind after the bid has ended, the full amount of the property does not come back to rest on your shoulders.

Having a buyer lined up will take a lot of stress off of you and will make the process run a little smoother than normal. Banks will not look for as much information from you in order to get funding approved and the banks will see another full-time buyer, which puts them at ease.

Banks

If you don’t have a buyer lined up, or you plan on buying the foreclosure for your own benefit, possibly for a rental property, then you will need to secure funding yourself from a bank if necessary. It is important to find the right bank and is usually a good idea to work with a foreclosure real estate broker for the first time or two in order to feel your way through the banking market.

Once you have flipped a few foreclosures or are actively paying on one rental property when you decide to purchase another, it will be a good idea to know a few people on the inside of the foreclosure financing department at the bank. It is also a good idea to buy down as much of the interest rate as possible or start out by choosing a bank with an extremely low interest rate to begin with. Having the low rate will help your payments and keep you in check with your budget.

Grants

Believe it or not, there are government grants out there that help investors buy foreclosed homes. The reason these grants are out there is because the government feels that a foreclosed home that has been flipped often provides affordable, quality rental housing for low-income families.

There is a specific program called the Rental Rehab program which is a forgiveness loan, which means the program finances up to 50% of the total foreclosure rehab costs. While this does not secure the full amount for the foreclosure, it is just another way to keep your budget in check when looking for available financing.

There are plenty of ways to secure funding for foreclosed homes. The key is being diligent in your search and seeking out the best deal. While having a buyer pre-approved is a great thing, it also helps to have a banking mortgage finance guru on your side as well. If all else fails, government grants are a great way to keep investing if you don’t mind the paperwork on the front end.