Oct 25, 2007 8:23 pm US/Central
Getting A Good Deal At A Foreclosed Home Auction
(WCCO)
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Dave Epstein, a professional home flipper, checked out a foreclosed house up for auction in St. Paul
CBS
After months of bad news, there's a
little glimmer of hope in the housing industry.
According to a government report, national sales of new single family
homes went up nearly 5 percent in September.
The median price of a new home also
rose from $232,000 in August to $238,000 in September. Home foreclosures are still at an all-time
high, but there are some ways to get deals on homes.
Five homes sold in about five
minutes Thursday at an auction of foreclosed homes.
Before the auction, in St. Paul, people checked
out a two-bedroom, two-bathroom house up for action. The tax valuation was last listed at
$225,000.
One expert estimated a person
buying the house to live there would get a good deal at $190,000. A person buying it as an investment would be
getting a good deal at $152,000.
Before the auction, professional
flipper Dave Epstein inspected the duplex.
"I could probably go to two to
four (auctions) a week, if I could look at the properties, if I was prepared to
bid," Epstein said.
If you learn to be a savvy buyer,
the abundance of foreclosed home can mean an opportunity to buy low.
There was a big crowd for the
auction Thursday. Epstein worried that
the price for the house he had his eye on would get too high, too quick.
In the end, Epstein made the
winning bid. For the house valued at
$225,000, he paid $150,000.
Epstein warns there are many more
lemons in the foreclosed home market than gems.
He advises studying up on the process before jumping in.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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