1. Check a lot of listings. Take time to look at listings for Chicago foreclosed houses before you decide to buy. You can join websites like Foreclosuredeals.com to have access to thousands of foreclosed properties. You can simply take advantage of the 7-day free trial. A suggestion is to pick at least five homes that fit your needs and your wants. Keep in mind that you're still going to invest money on them, and you don't want them to go to waste.

2. Read the description. Each home that is found in the listing has its corresponding description. Read every one of them. How many bathrooms do they have? How many bedrooms? Where is it located? How much does it cost? These things will be very handy when you go to the next step.

3. Confirm the details. Usually, the listing is generated by banks, real estate agents, lenders, trustees, and even home owners. There's no one who can really verify all the pieces of information that are listed?except you. You can find in the description page the exact address of the home and the contact details of the person in charge of selling. You may then want to set up a meeting with them, so you can take a tour around the property. In case you don't know, there are a number of details that can be left out, such as the flaking walls, the poorly maintained lawns, or the lack of security in the neighborhood.

4. Go for the one that you can afford. These properties are foreclosed because the owners could no longer afford the home. You don't want this to happen to you. It's essential therefore that you go only for those that fit your budget. Make sure that you can ask for an estimate of the total costs, including the ones that you are going to pay when you close the deal.