Old House Renovations

So, you want to buy a foreclosure and you’re checking out eBay for listings near you? Great! I am, too. In fact, I’ve been looking at auctions for a few months, now, and I have a few tips to share with you on how to find listings.

First, you need to find foreclosure listings. Most of them are under the residential category. From there, select foreclosed homes and then choose the states you are interested in searching. If that state doesn’t show up, there aren’t any foreclosed auctions in that area.

Next, you’ll want to check all the listings some of the sellers have. For some reason, they don’t all seem to show up in the foreclosed homes section.

Finally, try a search for the word foreclosed in the real estate section. By now, you should have seen all the foreclosed auctions currently available on eBay.

Photo by Gerard79/Stock Exchange

Okay, you can’t really buy a foreclosure for pocket change very often. However, you can easily buy one for under $10,000. I haven’t purchased one yet, but I’ve really been looking into it. The big drawback is location. I’m trying to find a foreclosure within 2 hours of my current home so that I can easily drive back and forth while making repairs. So far, the only place I found that was close enough was located in an area where it would be vandalized and stripped back to a shell while I was backing out of the driveway!

That doesn’t mean you can’t find foreclosures in a nice area, though. I saw a home in Peru, Indiana on eBay that is going to go for well under $10,000 unless someone with money to burn falls head over heels for it. (A few people in the area tell me it is a nice, quiet little town with an air force base nearby.) I also saw a few nice places in upstate Pennsylvania for under $8,000.

Photo by Jason Morrison

So, you’ve always wanted a charming Victorian home, but you’re positive that you can’t afford one, even if you look for a fixer upper. Okay, if you’re in New York City, you’re probably right. However, upstate New York is a completely different story.

Check out this charmer in Hornell, New York for $49,900. Or if you want something that is in move in condition for under $150,000, how about this lovely country Victorian for $124,900 in Angelica, New York? These are just a few of the homes for well under $150,000 I’ve seen listed in upstate New York.

Of course, you can’t have everything. Expect your new dream home to come with a long commute to any jobs that aren’t home based and plan for plenty of snow during the winter months!