If you are really after foreclosures, or want to pay enough attention to the Buffalo area foreclosure market to be in the know when it comes to pricing, you should consider a subscription to RealtyTrac. You will find plenty of foreclosure listing sites online. Most are pulling from similar sources. What is nice about RealtyTrac is that they list pre-foreclosure listings. These are listings that aren’t yet bank owned and might be in line for a distressed sale. Don’t consider yourself a vulture in these situations. The person who is forced into a distressed sale just might be please that you reached out. Imagine if your 2 options were to give your house back to the bank (voluntary foreclosure) or to accept an at the money offer from someone looking to enter the real estate market on the cheap.

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One of the most common questions I am asked when discussing our local real estate market has to do with where you find foreclosure listings. There are a number of places to locate. Certain brokers specialize in foreclosures or REO properties (REO = Real Estate Owned). This refers to property owned by banks.

The first place that you can look for foreclosures is at http://www.nhmsi.com. This site handles the HUD listings in a few states. I would strongly recommend that you be a window shopper if you are not experienced. HUD listings tend to be the worst of the worst on the market and you do not have an opportunity to negotiate with the seller.

If you want to get into the renovation game, step in slowly. Buying the property properly will allow you to do a project properly. As many say, your money is made when you buy the property, not when you repair it. Have firm numbers going in and keep a realistic budget and/or time frame.