December 5th, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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I have written a lot on foreclosure homes here in Tucson. I wanted to write a little more on what to actually expect as far as the condition of the homes and what you as a buyer should consider doing to protect your interests. When buying a foreclosure home (bank owned) in Tucson buyers may or may not be surprised with what they see, here is what to expect:

- #1 The homes are 99% of the time going to be missing appliances. The reason why? The previous owners can take them (not exactly legally but most do.) and sell them and at least re-coup some money out of the home.

- #2 The homes are going to be dirty. Yes sad but true banks do have cleanout crews but those crews are mainly to get the previous owners junk out of the house, not to physically clean the home out. Be prepared for this. Some homes (a lot actually) aren’t that bad but there are also just as many that are way too bad….

- #3 Things in the home will be missing and/or broken. Holes in drywall, broken tile flooring, missing cabinets, heavily scratched counters, anything else people can damage or destroy. Again some owners don’t do this however a lot are upset at their situation and take it out on the home….Be prepared as a buyer to be immediately begin making repairs on these items. In fact budget for this before you even start looking at homes. On average budget $10,000 for these repairs and you should be able to make most of the repairs needed on “the average” foreclosure property/ home. (“The Average” is a made up notion because there is no such thing as “average” in foreclosure home buying, however 10k should get you pretty far down the road and be reasonable.)

- #4 Get a home warranty! Never, ever, ever buy a foreclosure home without getting a very high end solid home warranty for at least 1 year. Preferably get a home warranty that extends for 2 or 3 years. Don’t even think about it trust me, look at this expense at just part of the “must haves” when buying a foreclosed home. The previous owners I assure you did not take very good care of the home or make any needed repairs on the property for at least a year or two before being foreclosed upon. A home warranty will save you a lot: A/C’s can go, out major plumbing issues can arise, you name it, and there will be a much higher occurrence of it happening when looking at foreclosure homes in particular.

- #5 Get a very good home inspection; in fact I would (especially if a home is older) get a couple inspections going. (Not always is more then a single general home inspection needed but it’s always a good idea for sure!)This will allow you get an accurate picture of what you’re actually buying. It will cost you more to have in addition to a regular home inspection, a roof inspection, a mold inspection, an electrical inspection, plumbing inspection, any other inspection you may want to look at depending upon the individual home however exposing the homes issues before they become your issues is always preferable. Now having all these inspections will honestly scare you because they will uncover a ton of potential issues with the home. That’s ok though, figure out what items your ok with taking on and then you at least know what your getting into with that exact home.

- #6 Take you time when looking for a foreclosure home. Take time to evaluate each property and figure out all the potential risks vs. rewards that it offers. An expert foreclosure realtor will be worth their weight in gold when helping you evaluate the properties properly and honestly.

- #7 DO NOT GET HUNG UP ON FINDING THE “DEAL”! Please listen to this, way to many times a buyer looking for a family home and wanting to save some money looks to foreclosed homes to save a buck or buy a better home/ area then they otherwise could afford. That buyer initially is perfectly fine with doing sweat equity to save some money on the home. However before long it becomes all about the “deal” and the buyer starts not even evaluating the home for his/ her family’s individual needs but instead gets so laser focused on getting the most off ANY home and bargain hunting. This will equate to that buyer losing out on really good properties because they have become consumed with negotiating the bank down beyond ridiculous to make themselves feel like they won the “foreclosure home game”. I see this happen a lot with buyers do not become this buyer! You on one hand may get a good price but too many times you end up buying the wrong property no one else wanted, and furthermore a property that doesn’t even really work for your families actual needs. Deals are great however at the end of the day were not talking about a stock or some other commodity but a home that needs to work for your families living, amenity, and location needs.

These are the major items I see buyers either not realizing they should be doing, or not realizing how important it. Keep these tips in mind when buying a foreclosure home here in Tucson AZ. Buying foreclosed properties in Tucson can be a great way to save some money on a home and using these tips will ensure that you take the necessary steps to make a great buy. I’m sure I’ll be writing more of these tips as the Tucson market will be littered with foreclosed properties for most likely the next couple years.