Hi there real estate investors and entrepreneurs.
I wanted to provide you with a checklist of “buy signals” that experienced pre-foreclosure investors. look for and find when evaluating an investment property. These are sure signs that you’re on your way to buying your next investment property at a substantial discount.
You don’t need to have all seven buy signals in place, but usually when you find one, the others are sure to follow.
Buy Signal #1: Homeowner Is Behind On The Mortgage Payment
This is an obvious one, but I thought it needed to be included in the list. Many homeowners who fall into foreclosure cannot bring their account current and end up losing the property at sale.
When a homeowner cannot make the mortgage payments, the property and grounds usually take on signs of neglect.
Buy Signal #2: Grass Is Overgrown
After many years of running the streets as a pre-foreclosure investor, I learned to pick out (in an instant) the house in foreclosure as soon as I turned onto the street.
Overgrown grass is a sign of neglect.
Buy Signal #3: Windows Are Busted Out
Busted out windows are usually found in vacant or abandoned properties.
When the owner moves out, sometimes the neighborhood kids like to get together and pull out their personal rock collections and proceed to work on their throwing motions. This usually involves picking out the right target.
Buy Signal #4: Rotten And Exposed Wood
A house that has extensive rotten wood on the exterior has probably been neglected for many years. You would be amazed at what people will tolerate when it comes to sub-standard living conditions.
I once met with a seller who had a huge hole in the kitchen ceiling. The hole was gigantic - you could see straight up to the sky. I met with the seller for several hours talking to him about his options with the house.
Not one time did the homeowner say anything about the huge hole in the roof. This was a very strange experience.
Buy Signal #5: No Garden Hose
I have found this one item in the list to be more telling than any of the others.
For some strange reason, I could tell if a house is vacant or not, by looking for the green garden hose.
If the hose was still connected, the house was usually occupied. If the hose was missing, 9 times out of 10, the house ended up being vacant.
Buy Signal #6: No Furniture
Usually when you suspect that a house is vacant, you peer into the nearest window to confirm your gut instinct.
When you see that the furniture is missing, you’ll know the seller has moved on to another place.
Buy Signal #7: Neighbors Haven’t Seen Them
Usually there will be a neighbor or two that can tell you something about the seller.
If the seller could fix the problem with the house, you could bet the neighbors knew all about it. They are sometimes a very good source of information
Tags: buy investment property, income property, pre-foreclosure, pre-foreclosure investing, property investors