Investing in foreclosed real estate can be profitable. Do you have to wait until the foreclosure auction to buy a residential foreclosure property? No. You can buy a property in pre-foreclosure. The time period between the foreclosure auction and the foreclosure notice is called pre-foreclosure. Purchases in pre-foreclosure are in most ways comparable to a common real estate transaction: You negotiate with the house owner, sign a purchase agreement (contract), and proceed with the deal. The big difference is that instead of the house owner choosing to sell the home on his own, he is forced into selling the property to avoid the foreclosure.

You may find a distressed homeowner in the first stage of foreclosure by looking into public notices. It will list the bank's attorney, and you may contact the lawyer for more information about the property. You shouldn't be surprised if he is friendly but not especially cooperative: He offers legal services and working as a property receiver is only one of these services. He is paid to organize paperwork and execute the foreclosure sale, certainly not to act as a real estate information hotline.

If you are interested in the house, contact the homeowner immediately. Keep in mind that the homeowner is already under a substantial amount of mental pressure. Don't be surprised if he doesn't respond favorably to your request, at least not initially. You will need to be respectful, tactful, and aware of the strain the homeowner is under. They will try desperately to hold onto hope that things may somehow work out.

When the homeowner is relatively receptive to your approach, then you will need to see whether there is sizeable equity in the property. Let's say that the property has a projected market value of $150,000. You have been able to inspect the property, and other than needing a little exterior repair, it is in good enough shape. You estimate you will spend $5,000 getting the property ready to sell. So, you determine that your walk-away price is $125,000, which leaves you enough room to make the sizable profit you want and at the same time covering the cost of repairs and your holding cost (payments you must make, utilities, etc.). If $125,000 is still owed on the mortgage, you probably will not be able to purchase it for less than $125,000. Although sometimes a homeowner may accept less than the owed amount, the chances are slim.

If a legal judgment has already been made, the homeowner must come up with enough money to satisfy the judgment. When the homeowner doesn't have much equity in the house, you are unlikely to be able to pull off a price significantly lower than the property's value. And if you cannot buy under the market value, you will never make enough a profit.

If you manage to get a short sale with the bank on the homeowner's behalf, you can buy the foreclosed property for less than the balance currently owed and the homeowner does not have to compensate the lender for the difference.

Investing in foreclosures takes time and effort but can result in profits