| All too often, someone thinks that they can get rich in | | | | mistakes, outdated information and incomplete |
| foreclosures without much effort at all. They figure the | | | | information. Most of the free foreclosure sites that I |
| first step is to find a foreclosure through some sort of | | | | have seen have 1 to 2% of the listings that the paid |
| foreclosure listing website, and that will be their key to | | | | foreclosure sites have. All too often, people who are |
| unlocking fortunes in the foreclosure market. They are | | | | serious about foreclosures try to save a buck by using |
| too cheap to pay for some sort of premium | | | | free services and end up forgetting about foreclosures |
| foreclosure listing service, so they decide to go for the | | | | and moving on. They can’t even get a start on a |
| free trial or just use sites that list foreclosures for free. | | | | single property because the information is so |
| They are planning to make thousands per house, but | | | | incomplete or outdated. If you are actually serious |
| are not willing to pay the few bucks it usually costs to | | | | about investing in foreclosures, make sure to get |
| find them. | | | | yourself a decent foreclosure listing service. |
| There are several costs of trying to save on | | | | Another way that hurts potential investors is trying to |
| foreclosure listings. Let’s go through them from | | | | read the legal notices section of the local newspaper. |
| least costly to most costly. The first is if they think they | | | | All foreclosure auctions have to be listed for a certain |
| are getting a great deal by signing up to some trial | | | | amount of time (varies by state) in a local paper. The |
| offer for a buck. A buck is worth it to find that | | | | unknowing investor picks up the paper and thinks it will |
| foreclosure that will make you thousands. But you | | | | basically just be a classified for foreclosed homes. |
| need to be very careful when signing up to free trail | | | | Wrong! All they see is legal jargon and figure you have |
| offers that require you to enter your credit card info. | | | | to be some sort of professional to do foreclosures. |
| Most people forget to read the fine print. You are | | | | It’s too hard for them so they just give up right |
| actually signing up for their monthly billing, but they are | | | | there. |
| just giving you a free week at the start. You must | | | | One last final way that investors get burned is when |
| cancel your account before that free week is up if | | | | they go to some sort of auction and start bidding |
| you don’t want to be charged the monthly | | | | trigger-happy on foreclosures they know nothing about. |
| membership fee automatically. Most people sign up, | | | | They might buy a house that needs more repairs than |
| look at a few foreclosures, realized that it is going to | | | | is worth. They might be buying a worthless junior |
| be a lot more work and risk than they thought initially | | | | mortgage instead of a senior mortgage. There might |
| and forget the whole thing. They also forget to cancel | | | | be property tax leans up the yin yang on the home |
| their account and end up getting billed a few hundred | | | | you just bought. The property might even get bid well |
| more than they expected. | | | | above fair market value by unknowing investors. |
| The next way that people get burnt is when they try | | | | Dealing with foreclosures is risky business. It is best to |
| to use some sort of foreclosure listing service that is | | | | study, read and learn, then take action once you are |
| 100% free. These listing services are often times full of | | | | comfortable. Know the game before you get into it. |