Foreclosure Listings made to measure.

Doing the sums is stage two, gathering your data quickly and cost effectively is stage one and that’s where online foreclosure listings come into their own. The challenge to take full advantage of today’s flood of foreclosures yet allow for the necessity to sell back into a depressed market is not so great for the experienced investor who has a pre-tested method that he flexes according to the particular lead.

First up fundamentals mean knowing a lot about the immediate neighborhood, knowing the total of the liens recorded against the property, what stage of the foreclosure process has been reached and when. All this data and more is available in online foreclosure listings. Want to get an idea how much time you have to work up the costs of investing in a particular foreclosure, then deciding what to pay? You need access to a summary of the various state foreclosure laws that apply (they vary considerably); again you will find these available online. Many reputable sites offer search features that give neighborhood demographics that help you with estimating market value.

Remember that market value generally means a home in good shape for its age, no repairs needed. Now, you may not be intending to buy, fix up and sell this foreclosure property that’s in your sights, but it sure is a sensible way to work out your offer. That’s because once you have a top resale value you can compare that to the total of all loans in default or the minimum bid or reserve of a property going to auction, to see if there is any equity. Equity means a level of profit without speculation or excessive risk.

Use your same foreclosure listings provider with its home valuation tool, or access several free home valuation tools available on real estate sites to help you assess true market value. From this figure, deduct your buying costs, the discount you should expect to get buying a foreclosure (a minimum of 15% is suggested by some Gurus) and you repair costs and arrive at your offer price.

Just a reminder, this method assumes you are a home buyer looking to make the best of an opportunity to buy a distressed price home and make your money go further. It assumes you will settle for a while. Otherwise you would have to factor in your resale costs. Another word of caution, stay away from houses needing structural repairs, or houses in streets and districts with clusters of foreclosed bank owned property that have been sitting for a while. Leave those leads to the experienced investor. Identify those issues through smart use of foreclosure listings.

Philip Smith is the writer of http://www.Foreclosurelistingsnationwide.com. Your Source of Foreclosure Listings online.