The first is that the houses that are foreclosed are coming with an “as-is” warranty on them. Of course there are some structural things covered in the warranty, but there are few other things that will be paid for in the case of a breakdown. This is making the buyers very timid as far as what they are willing to spend their money on.

It doesn’t help that there are a considerable number of occupied homes on the market that are being maintained and sold at a fair market value. Someone will often be willing to pay slightly more for a house that has been maintained, then they will be willing to pay for a house that has not but is coming to them dirt cheap.

These issues are causing a lot of banks to panic. While they control the property, it has no value to them sitting there collecting dust. All this unused property is having a profound effect on the real estate market and it’s causes new developer to slow on building homes.

There is hope that with the economy in the upturn there will be a renewed interest in striking a deal, but there is no guarantee of that. It’s wait and see at best.

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<a href="http://www.economiccrisisblog.com/foreclosure/us-foreclosures-in-2011"><img src="http://www.economiccrisisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/foreclosures-2011.jpg" alt="Foreclosures in 2011: 10 Cities At Risk" width="500" height="1972" border="0" /></a><br>Source:<a href="http://www.economiccrisisblog.com/foreclosure/us-foreclosures-in-2011">Foreclosures in 2011</a>

The residence in question must be your primary residence, you must have trouble meeting your mortgage payments, the amount owed must be less than $729,000 on a first mortgage on the property, you must be paying 31% of the gross income including tax deductions and benefits deductions or any combination of at least three of these items. Currently borrowers are able to seek out individual HAMP lenders on their own. Simply approaching the lenders and asking about the HAMP will help you to choose a lender. You will find that more lenders will be announcing the HAMP program to their customers and it is becoming easier to find lenders involved.

The concept of the HAMP is to both help borrowers get a handle on their finances, particularly in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage disasters across the country. In addition the HAMP helps the United States by keeping borrowers from falling into financial hardship, foreclosure and bankruptcy. The program should not be confused with a refinance. It is not considered a refinance. The program is well received by most lenders and borrowers as it helps keep property out of foreclosure and payments being made on time to lenders.

The first thing that you should do is organize your financial information. This is information that any lender will need to review and is a big part of the process. You will also need to take stock of your credit history. This will be scrutinized by potential lenders and it is best to review it before you apply for a loan. Retrieving your credit report will give you the chance to review the entries and make sure that you can account for all of the items listed.

When you begin thinking about purchasing a home you should make an effort to show good and steady payments on all credit for at least a six month period. This should be reportable credit and will be viewed by the lenders as your ability and responsibility when it comes to making timely payments on your debts. Take some time to go over your finances with a loan officer prior to applying for a loan to get some feedback on your chances of obtaining a loan. Additionally, they will be able to alert you to any changes upcoming in the loan process or interest rates available. Even in a difficult economy it is possible to find and purchase your dream home.

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<a href="http://www.economiccrisisblog.com/foreclosure/us-foreclosure-epidemic"><img src="http://www.economiccrisisblog.com/images/foreclosure-epidemic.jpg" title="U.S. Foreclosure Epidemic Visualized" /></a> <br> Source: <a href="http://www.economiccrisisblog.com/foreclosure/us-foreclosure-epidemic">U.S. Foreclosure Epidemic Visualized</a>

Working our way around the bottom of the recession cycle, if you are able to purchase property over the next couple of years, you are sure to profit great when the economy starts to trend up in the next 5-10 years.

Where To Find Foreclosure Property Lists

1. COUNTY RECORDERS OFFICE
   If you are looking locally, in your county, then the place to find FORECLOSURE PROPERTY LISTS is your county recorders office. This information is public record – so don’t ever pay for this information.
2. LOCAL NEWSPAPERS
   Search your local newspapers, because one of the requirements of a bank foreclosure is that they list it for sale in the local newspaper.
3. SEARCH ONLINE
   The easiest way to find foreclosure property lists is online. There are a lot of websites that list foreclosure properties, so all you have to do is a quick google search and you will be well on your way.