Atlanta Foreclosure Homes
Let me start by saying that I certainly hope that no one reading this page has ever had to go through the foreclosure process. What exactly is foreclosure? Foreclosure is the legal means that a lender uses to repossess property. A lender will only pursue this avenue when all other efforts to satisfactorily work with a property owner have failed. When property is foreclosed on, it is referred to as REO (Real Estate Owned). The lender does not want to own the property; they want to own the financing and the income that the financing generates.
Georgia is a "Non Judicial Foreclosure" state. What this means is that a lender does not have to take a property owner to court in order to foreclose on the property. When a delinquency on the loan occurs and the lender has made all efforts to cure the delinquency with no success, the lender will start the foreclosure proceedings. The lender must advertise the subject property in the legal newspaper for the county that the property is located in for four (4) consecutive weeks. During this timeframe the borrower may still be able to work out some kind of satisfactory arrangement with the lender to avoid foreclosure. If a satisfactory arrangement can not be reached, after the four (4) weeks of advertising has passed, the property is sold on the county courthouse steps to the highest bidder. The first bid on the home will be made by the attorney representing the lender and will be in the amount of the unpaid balance of the loan plus the legal fees that the attorney is charging. The property is sold to the highest bidder for cash and settlement occurs on the spot.
Many real estate investors purchase foreclosure homes in this manner. They find that they can purchase property at substantial savings verses comparable homes in the same area. The homes that are not bought by investors become the property of the lender. Remember the comment above, the lender does not want to own the property, they want to own the financing. Even though an investor did not buy the property at the courthouse, many people are able to purchase REO properties. Many REO properties are still excellent values and could be good rental property.
By utilizing the links to the right you can search for foreclosure and bank owned homes in the northeast metro Atlanta area. Just select the area that interests you.
