Harris Smith offers advice on home equity line of credit and obtaining credit. can help you tailor a Refinance that supports your unique financial goals. Refinancing assistance also available for military
*******************************************************

As we enter a new year a lot of people are still wondering what is going to happen in the real estate realm. How soon will we recover? A year or longer? Because of these issues and shear volume of distressed properties, a lot of people are claiming that this year 2010 is the year of the real estate auction. We tend to agree.

That said there are some things you want to know before flinging yourself out there and possibly getting yourself in trouble at an online auction.

So we’ve devised a list of 8 things you want to do to prepare yourself for an online real estate auction.

#1 Contact the Auctioneer

Ask the auction company to supply you with information, over the telephone or email concerning specific properties as well as the online auction process itself.

One of the things you want to do right away is to get in contact with the people that you’ll be dealing with for this online auction. Who is that going to be mostly? The auction company! Visit their site and I highly recommend going ahead and calling them them. Do some research about the auction company.

* Do they have a good reputation?

* Do they close the properties they ’sell’?

Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets are great for this type of stuff. Ask around – odds are you’ll find someone who has done business with them in the past. One thing to keep in mind though. With competitive bidding there ARE sore losers out there. So if you get feedback make sure it is from someone you think is reputable themselves!

#2 Do Your “Homework”

Find out as much as you can about the property. Check first online. This is an online auction the auction company will try and put as much information online as possible. Call if you still have questions or can’t find something.

This one is really a no brainer. You’re going to be spending thousands if not hundreds of thosands of dollars on this property or properties. Check up on it. Go down to the courthouse. A lot of information can now be found online, but you need to be motivated to research the property or you probably shouldn’t be bidding on it.

Services to Offer to Landlords

Your real estate cleanup services for landlords should, at minimum, include move-in and move-out cleaning, debris removal, and yard maintenance. You can also include lock changes, carpet cleaning and changing, painting and minor repairs if you are set up to handle those services.

Remember, your foreclosure cleanup business should already be structured to handle “real estate cleanup,” too; not just foreclosure cleanup. Why? Because when the foreclosure crisis quiets down (and it will be some years), you still want to be able to capitalize off contacts you’ve made during the foreclosure crisis.

Your real estate cleanup division can offer the same services as your foreclosure cleanup division. You will simply market them slightly differently. Remember, as long as real estate is in existence, you will have an evergreen business in handling lawn care, repairs, painting, trash-outs, cleaning, etc., no matter if you’re servicing an apartment building, a foreclosure client, a buyer’s new home, etc.

#4 Prequalify Yourself

This increases your comfort level by knowing your mortgage qualifications. This is especially important in today’s economic environment. Even before you decide on a property to buy, you should prequalify yourself through your banker. There is generally never a mortgage contingency in a real estate auction. It is best to know you can pay for the property before you bid.

In our current economic climate this one is important. Don’t make the mistake of winning something at auction only to find that the bank doesn’t want to work with you. At best this might only delay the closing if you have to ask for an extension. At worst the whole deal can fall apart and you have to give up your earnest money. Ouch!

Since the sellers of these foreclosed  want to obtain as much of the investment as possible, these homes will be offered at significantly reduced prices. Although these foreclosed  may be offered with significant discounts, sometimes up to 30% or more, one should inspect the property before any decision should be made.

The Landlord’s “Tenant” May Be Your Next Foreclosure Cleanup Client

Ironically, your business’ foreclosure cleanup arm may very well find its next client in the landlord’s apartment or rental home. How? Many tenants are renting again because they have just come out of default or foreclosure.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, many owners of apartment complexes actually seek out potential tenants who are in default and nearing foreclosure. For example, the article cited Camden Property Trust, a leasing company that owns 62,903 rental units in the Las Vegas area, as buying mailing lists and marketing to owners who are about to lose their home in foreclosure.

This is proving to be a successful marketing tactic for many landlords and management companies. So don’t be surprised if you are hired for cleanup jobs from the landlord’s new tenant. Some of these tenants ultimately avoid foreclosure by getting paid incentives from their mortgage companies to move out early and leave the home in decent shape; which means they’ll have cash on hand to hire a company like yours.

Working with Landlords Can Be Evergreen!

Once you establish a successful rapport with a group of landlords, you can expect work from them over and over again, if you do a good job and do what you say you’re going to do. These landlords will come to trust and depend on you and your company. (As a landlord and a foreclosure cleanup owner, reliability is certainly “key” in all of my associations.) Landlords and property management companies can be fertile ground, and numerical bottom-line bread and butter, for foreclosure and real estate cleanup businesses for years to come. You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active. ,