Question

We are going to look at a foreclosure home today that will only accept a conventional loan. The house is a fixer upper, with 1. 5 acres of land, a workshop (that I desperately need for my business since I’m self employed and build furniture), it’s 5 minutes from my mom, who’s got really bad health problems, so we want to be closer to her. We can do a lot of the work ourselves, and my husband has people who can do the stuff we can’t (roofing, floors, etc). The asking price is $144k. Since it’s a foreclosure, is that a set price that can’t be negotiated down? This would be my first time buying and I’m not familiar with the credit/down payment requirements needed. I know I need to get pre-qualified, but we want to see the property first to see if we want to move forward.  Update: just got back from viewing the house. It’s in probate right now. It has to be a conventional loan because the house needs a hot water heater and a few other things to qualify for any other loan. Not sure what that means, but that’s what we were told. It needs a lot of work but it’s definitely doable, and I love the location & the workshop.  

Answer 1

Our first home was a foreclosure. They were asking $120, 000. We offered $35, 000 cash & they took it. That was 17 years ago & the house had been vacant for 5 years.  

Comments

Also, it was a mess on the inside. Previous owners had started a remodel & maybe run out of money. Walls were torn town, empty bathroom, it needed a lot of work.  

Answer 2

Our house was a foreclosure, but it went OVER asking price by $200k- there were a lot of people interested. ‍♀️. It has been a lot of work, but it’s our dream house and has been worth it.  

Answer 3

Also- our house would not allow a conventional loan bc it needed too much work- we had to finance it privately and then work to get a bank loan when it was done, liveable and could appraise traditionally. If you need a bank loan and it needs a lot of work, you’ll probably need to get a construction loan.  

Answer 4

Raleigh NC or Charlotte booming economy great place for families. Weather have been amazing this year

Answer 5

Praying  

Answer 6

Ask if a FHA 203k Loan is an option. I replaced my furnace and A/C, hot water tank and part of my garage roof using that loan. It then becomes your mortgage loan once repairs are completed. Interest rate is a bit higher but you can refinance into a regular loan after about a year.  

Comments

@platinize your friend should be able to give you at least a couple of loan options. Just depends on how much you can put down. I was approved for FHA, FHA 203k and USDA(my whole county in Ohio is pretty much farmland so it makes this loan an option). The 2 FDA loans you need 3% down. If it is a conventional loan I believe you need to put 15-20% down.  

Answer 7

We bought a foreclosure and had a conventional loan. We also did most of the work ourselves. The problem is you have to have the cash to be able to do any of the remodels. We ended up taking about 5 years to finish it all (still about 90% done ‍♀️) but now we could sell it for wayyyy more than we put it. We negotiated with the bank as well.  

Comments

We got approved for a loan before that with the bank. I honestly am not totally sure. We told our realtor what our initial price was (lower than asking) and then they countered, we countered again and they accepted. Are you using a realtor?  

Answer 8

I sold my house at the end of last year and the buyer went through FHA, which is a nonconventional loan. Those type of loans have very strict guidelines regarding what the inspection will allow. I mean even down to us having to repaint the door frames because that type of loan won’t allow there to even be chipping paint. Conventional loans are more forgiving (hence the water heater). Also, I bought a foreclosure during the same time (divorce situation) and I offered what was asked. I’m still doing some work but it is a good solid house and I wanted to be in the front running for it. I think you can negotiate, but from what I’ve seen, while going through the process, is that the bank will go with the highest offer and if a seller comes along with a cash offer even at a lower price, the bank typically accepts that because it’s guaranteed money.  

Answer 9

Our house was a foreclosure that had been unoccupied for atleast a year. I tried to lowball, but they kept rejecting my offer until $10K under their asking price.  We ended up doing a conventional loan, but we would have been able to do an FHA. just needed to put the funds for needed repairs (repair heater, fix staircase, exposed electrical, etc) in to escrow until they inspected completed work. Kind of annoying, but definitely worth it in the end! After 2 years (and a TON of work), we have about $140k in equity in this place