Does anyone know anything about purchasing a house that has been abondoned for years?
831484
Find out who the owner is (local tax records at your town hall or county clerks office will help you determine the owner) and then contact them to see if they are willing to sell.  If they don't want to sell, there is nothing you can do.
328471
your best bet would be to go to the court house where the deed is recorded. look up the current deed on the property. from that deed you can look up who the current owners bought that property from. from that deed you can see who they bought the property from and so on. go back about 60 years.
615611
How long a property that is listed for sale has been on the market.
719554
Quick answer is to purchase one from a professional title examiner.\n\nIf you insist on doing it yourself,  go to wherever deeds are recorded in your locality:  the courthouse or the county building.  Then you search the name of the present owner to find what mortgages, liens he has.  You find the name of the person that granted him the house, and search that name, and so on and so forth until you get to the original owner.  Most states have a marketable title act that provides that any deed 20 years old that has not been challenged can no longer be challeged - so you dont have to search any further back than that.  Pre-computers - they used to write every transaction down in a huge book alpabetically.  So you would turn to "J" for Johnson for each year and look for any transactions.  That is why things are usually indexed by book and page.
108990
I would check with a modular home company.  I'm sure they get asked that question all the time since their customers would be buying land to place the house on it.
411328
Do you mean forclosure?\n\nTry the HUD website, or do a search on forclosures.  Banks also have lists on their forclosed homes but they aren't always on a handy list.
825748
Hi, there is a site called hometrack that tells you the price any house was bought for. So you can see how much the house was orginally bought for and how much the houses in the street was bought for and when. I have helped people buy and sell and this site is a very helpful tool because you can also find out more indepth information about any property you are interested in.
379774
I bought a foreclosed home last year.  We found it in the MLS, just like the other homes.  Our Realtor showed it to us.  There was a bunch of extra paperwork.  The home had been vacant for 2 years, and was not well maintained prior to that.  It took 6 weeks from the bank accepting our offer to get a closing on a cash deal.  When we got the power turned on the fridge, furnace, and hot water heater did not work.  We are still renovating, but it will be nice one day.  My best advice to you is to locate a Realtor.  Happy house hunting!
90492
Be there WITH the home inspector. If he's good, you'll learn a lot about what to watch for, what could be improved, and how to maintain/avoid problems. The inspector's list of 'scare' items may be huge;to pare those down to actual items that would represent health & safety issues or you may lose the house if you're expecting an existing home to get whipped into 'brand new' shape for you by nitpicking every detail. [Example: Inspector warned us of hairline sink cracks--'could leak any time!' I didn't think I could justify making a seller 'repair' something that wasn't leaking, I lived there 8 yrs, it never leaked.] YOU might want to hit the FNMA website for 1st time homebuyer booklets, which may be of help. You've struck a big broad question--every deal will be different. Big hint: DON'T take assertions and promises verbally...needs to be in writing on purchase contract or addendum.The loan officer may or may NOT know anything--I've been in business 20+ yrs & you can't tell one from the other on your end. Attorneys may charge a flat fee for reviewing paperwork--the peace of mind may be well worth the expense. You don't need to put 20% down--I'd advise against it if it drains your cash reserves, or you'll be house-poor, broke, and scrambling for higher interest rate financing to survive.
965300
It could be, but it depends on the market where you are and how much you pay for it initially.  I bought a house 8 years ago for $230,000 and sold it for $430,000 7 years later.  The market was really a seller's market (about 18 months ago) and I had done a few upgrades (new windows, added a deck, new carpeting, etc.).
1044558
Contact the banks in your area and they should put you in touch with the person who oversees forclosures.  It may take some calling around to find someone who knows who to direct you to, but it can be done.  Smaller banks are easier to find it.  Also check the county website for a list of soon to be auctioned homes.  They are always posted in advance either in the paper or county website.
901367
Varies from state to state, but the basic principle is that the buyer has to wait until the redemption period expires.  Assuming that is 3 years, the owner whoever that is, has the right to come in, pay the unpaid taxes and get the house back.  You have to pay the taxes, insure the place and keep the kids, bums and squatters out in the meantime.  Also, you have no idea if the house is not up to code and would need $$$ to get a certificate of occupancy from the city.  You would be prudent to get a house inspector in to tell you what kind of expenses await you if you get the house.  The unpaid taxes may be the least of your worries.\nAll that said, there are people who buy homes at tax auction for a living, so there can be a lot of value as well.
66683
It depends on what you mean by a little bit. I would save up  five hundred and go to the county clerks office and get a copy of the property tax list what houses that had tax leins on them or were forclosed. Then go when the auction is scheduled and bid on a house that you want (you can get one for as little as 100 dollars if no one bids higher) fix the house up and 'flip' it. you could sell it outright, rent it out. If you are willing to get in there and get a good deal, it really isn't too good to be true. Give it a try. First step is to go to the county tax clerk office and take a look at the houses and auction dates/times. Good luck.
996974
Try your county Auditor and Recorder.\n\nThe auditor normally has info regarding how much a property has been purchased and what features a property contains, i.e. beds, bths, etc..\nThe recorder will give you auctual documentation of what liens are on a home. Mortgages, 2nds, etc..\n\nIt takes some research, but this public information  is powerful
965426
Go to the county office, the county secretary or clerk should be able to help you. They usually have a lot of properties left over after the tax auctions. I'm about to start purchasing some of these homes myself from different counties. I hope this helps you
689769
I agree, you need an appraiser.  Info on those websites is mostly based on loan records, and often has highly inaccurate info.  For example, zillow.com shows the value of my house with the amount it was foreclosed on over a year ago because we paid cash for it. and bofa.com shows the same house being 30 years older than it actually is.  None of those sites will have accurate info.  An appraiser will walk the property inside & out, make note of all things that add or detract from the value, and do a comparison of similar properties in the area.
196082
The local Treasures office for the county your interested in looking for property.  A word of caution. There is an 8 year tax redemption of the property meaning that if the prior owners to the property want to redeem it they have a right to.  Also If you purchase the property at a tax sale it does not get rid of the existing liens on the property.  Lastly Property usually doesn't go to tax sale until about the 5th year of non-payment.  But it can happen sooner.