Redfin

MARCH 4, 2025

Key takeaways A foreclosed home means the buyer can no longer make payments and the bank has taken the house. There are several types of foreclosure sales – auctions, bank-owned properties, government-owned properties, preforeclosures, and short sales. The bank or lender typically wont sell a home directly to you, the buyer.

Pre-approval

Redfin

AUGUST 5, 2025

If your piggy bank is full and it’s time for a move, you could have an opportunity to buy a house with cash. Obtain proof of funds from the bank Cash buyers must provide a proof of funds letter from a bank when making a cash offer. This includes waiving the home inspection contingency and moving along toward finalizing the sale.

Earnest money deposit

HomeLight

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

If that’s you, you may have heard that one path to a deal is buying a bank-owned foreclosure. There are pros and cons to consider when going this route, however, such as the fact that bank-owned properties often need more TLC than other homes on the market, and many are sold as-is. What’s a bank-owned foreclosure?

Banks

HomeLight

JULY 31, 2022

According to the National Association of Realtors® Research Group’s 2021 data , 64% of buyers used conventional loans, 16% used FHA loans and 14% used VA loans. A conventional loan is a private mortgage, which is usually backed by a commercial enterprise such as a bank, mortgage company, or credit union.

Closing

Realty Biz

JUNE 7, 2021

LTV states the amount of the loan as a percentage of the house value. That means the bank will loan 80% of the value of the house and the buyer needs to pay cash for the other 20%. In this case, the loan to value is 80%. Of course, there are many FHA loans out there with a down payment of 3.5%.

Inspection

HomeLight

OCTOBER 29, 2021

Conventional loans closed in an average of 47 days in July 2021, while FHA loans took 51 days, and VA loans required an average of 52 to close. In that case, you could get your earnest money back if you have an inspection contingency and make the decision within the period the contract specifies.

Closing

HomeLight

JANUARY 27, 2021

A lender with a local presence will likely know the ins and outs of your market better than a big bank, and they’ll have local relationships that will make closing your deal easier. Other features : Interest rates are low with USDA loans, but they do come with a 1% upfront fee, and a small monthly fee on top of that.

Closing costs