All I hear day in and day out that we are in a bad real estate market. This is not a good time to buy or sell. I have been advised to just sit tight. Well the foreclosures are on the rise and there are plenty of good deals out there. I find this is the perfect time to buy.

On April 14 I decided to just search the web for some good real estate deals. I did not know that I would find something that would catch my interest. I always start out with the HUD website for foreclosures. Some of my best experiences has been with HUD. This rather young property just stood out from the others. It was listed with HUD for $54K. The Tax value was 90K. The home and other homes in the area had previously sold for over $100K. After doing my research I decided I wanted to place an offer. The inspection report looked great. I called my agent. My agent was not available. Keep in mind you will need an agent to place your bids for HUD properties. Any other properties you do not.

I waited until the next day taking a big chance that it would be gone. I went back on the HUD website and looked up a agent in the area who was hud registered and found one of the best in the area Judy Dowdall. I offered HUD $27K for the property. My agent paused and said that offer is really low. I knew that. I always start my offers low. See in the back of my mind I know what I would pay for a property and usually it’s more than my first offer.

HUD did not accept that offer but they counter at $34K. Yes I did accept. I was sold a property in great shape for $34K..

I physically went to view the property prior to signing the contract and was very pleased.

This 3 bedroom 2.5 bath, 1 car garage was very nice. This home was built in 2002 and had many upgrades. Vaulted ceilings and a garden tub in the master bath. I closed on this property the end of May 2008. The first week I listed the property on Craigslist for rent, I had over 400 response to the for rent ad. By the middle of June I had a tenant. This is definitely the time to buy while the interest rates are still low and the homes are selling 30% to 50% off if not more.