Pre-foreclosure lists: What they are and why you need them

Tens of thousands of foreclosed homes are sitting on the market. It’s easy enough to find them, but how do you find the real gems — the homes that are on the brink of foreclosure? Turns out it’s easy to find them, too. Just use a pre-foreclosure list!

What is pre-foreclosure?

Pre-foreclosure is the initial stage of the foreclosure process. The lender posts official notice that the homeowner is in default on their loan payments. It’s a serious warning from the lender, but the homeowner can still avoid foreclosure by catching up on their payments.

The benefit of pre-foreclosure lists

Pre-foreclosure lists are exactly what they sound like. It’s simply a list of many area homes in pre-foreclosure. The benefit of pursuing properties in pre-foreclosure are that the homeowner and the lender are highly motivated sellers. Both parties are anxious to avoid foreclosure. You can get the best deals by snapping up a house before it’s actually been foreclosed on. In fact, the price can be dropped by as much as 50%!

Pre-foreclosure lists contain thousands of homes. If you keep your pre-foreclosure list up to date, you’ll have time to research the property before buying it. These lists are a valuable, reliable resource for real estate investors.

Where to find pre-foreclosure listings

The best pre-foreclosure lists are the product of elbow grease and solid research. There are at least four good sources of pre-foreclosure listings you can access at little to no cost. You can seriously miss out on a great opportunity if you rely on just one source. Combine the results from each of the four sources for a top-notch list.

1. Public records: Lenders post public notices when a house is going into pre-foreclosure. Hoof it over to your county record office to access these notices. These records are freely available to the public, but expect to pay a few cents to have copies made.

2. Pre-foreclosure websites: The old standby: surfing the net. A quick search will turn up numerous websites that specialize in pre-foreclosure listings. Some sites are free, and others charge a per listing or monthly/yearly membership fee. At the very least, you’ll be able to turn up the basic contact information (name, address, telephone number) of the homes listed.

3. Newspapers: Pick up your local newspaper to read “Notice of Sale” advertisements. Be sure to get your copy hot off the press, so you can be the first to jump on a promising opportunity.

4. Lenders: Because it’s to their benefit, many lenders will provide you with a pre-foreclosure list if you simply ask.

Different types of pre-foreclosure properties

Each type of property comes with different challenges and benefits. Find a listing that’s divided up into sections so you won’t waste your time looking into a government foreclosure if you’re only interested in bank foreclosures. You can focus solely on your specialty.

Obviously there’s the standard bank foreclosure, but there are also different government foreclosures, such as HUD and VA foreclosures. You can also check out impending court auctions. If you prefer to work directly with the homeowners, look into “for sale by owner” properties.

An accurate pre-foreclosure list can help you hone in on the opportunities that fit your resources and knowledge. Rather than hunting around through stacks of newspapers or bookmarking twenty Internet listings, combine them all into one well-organized list, and you’ll be way ahead of the game.

For other helpful foreclosure information, check out the http://www.ForeclosuresUnleashed.net ebook.

Are you thinking about putting up your computer repair business for sale?

Or are you on the other side of the table and looking to buy an existing computer repair business for sale?

Either way, don’t let this major transaction be an afterthought.  Planning ahead is key for buyers and sellers alike.

Future planning and especially having an exit strategy is something many computer repair business owners don’t necessarily think about as they build their companies.  However, you have to think about how you can make your business not only profitable, but also appealing to future buyers once you decide it’s time to move on, for whatever reason.

The following 3 tips can help you develop an exit strategy so you are ready once you decide to move on and put your computer repair business for sale.  And if you’re looking to buy an existing business, consider this a quick checklist of what determines tangible value.

Set Your Prices Right from Day 1. Many new and inexperienced owners make the mistake of charging too little, often WAY too little, for their computer repair services.  One of the biggest causes of this is a copycat billing rate structure.  New computer computer repair business owners often will find out what a competitor is charging down the street and will simply charge the same, without looking at the company’s business structure or whether that rate really works for their specific type of business.  Also, how do you know this competitor knows what he/she is doing when it comes to setting prices?  And do you know anything about this competitor’s technical competence?  You need to determine your own pricing structure based on sound financial projections and your value proposition.  And make sure that your pricing structure makes your business profitable and thus appealing to future buyers once you decide it’s time to put up your computer repair business for sale. Focus on Getting Clients … Not Customers. New and inexperienced computer repair business owners often spend a lot of time chasing down one-shot deal customers, keeping their fingers crossed that these people will call them in a few months or a few years.  Your business is not going to be successful or appealing to future buyers if you base your services on the needs of one-shot deal customers.  Spending all that time and money acquiring customers for tiny, unpredictable projects is not going to be financially lucrative.   A computer repair business that offers on-going service agreements will grow a stable client list and have recurring revenue and predictability, as well as the ability to hire more staff.  And all of these benefits will make the business very appealing to those that might want to buy it when you need to or want to get out. Create Curb Appeal for Your Computer Repair Business for Sale. If you’ve ever watched one of those real estate TV shows that detail how they fix up a home about to be sold to make it more appealing, you’ve probably heard the term “curb appeal.”  However it’s also easily applicable to a computer repair business for sale.  If you ever want to be able to sell your computer repair company – if you move, get bored, get burnt out, get injured or pass away – the list of your clients on annual service agreements will become one of your few tangible assets.  For the overall valuation of your computer repair business, you of course need to consult your trusted accounting advisor.  But, as an example of how valuable on-going service contracts are, if your company has been averaging $200,000 per year in pure consulting revenue for the past 3 years and ¾ of that ($150,000) is locked in on annual service agreements, you have a pretty nice asset for someone thinking about acquiring your business at a multiple of your overall gross revenue.  On other hand, how much do you think a competitor would pay to purchase a list of one-shot deal cheapskate customers that just call once in a while?  Without on-going service agreements, you are starting from scratch every single month.  You need to cultivate your list of service agreement clients to prepare a very desirable computer repair business for sale… one with curb appeal.

In this article we talked about 3 ways to make your business more appealing for sale and plan for an exit strategy.  Learn more about how to succeed on either side of the table with a computer repair business for sale that attracts great, steady, high-paying clients now at http://www.ComputerRepairBusiness-ForSale.com

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