Buyer beware!

It’s perhaps the most important nugget of advice as it relates to investing in and/or buying foreclosed homes.

What you see isn’t always what you get, especially when distressed properties hit the auction block. Whether it’s a structural problem that costs thousands to fix or an encumbrance on the title that is virtually not fixable, foreclosures are inherently risky investments.

The Strand family, which purchased a deed at a foreclosure auction earlier this year for $96,000 cash, found out the hard way.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

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Real estate auction sales have climbed 10 percent year-over-year since 2000, according to CNNMoney.com report, and the numbers continue to rise (14 percent in the first quarter of 2010) as the housing inventory keeps piling up.

It’s a billion dollar business … $17 billion in 2007 alone, to be precise. And that figure, too, will likely rise soon if it hasn’t already.

That’s because auctioneers are holding two or more auctions per day throughout the nation to keep pace. REDC, which is among the biggest companies in the real estate auction space, is on pace to exceed 520 such sales in 2010 — a 50 percent increase compared to just last year.

What’s the reason for the staggering across-the-board increases?

Les Christie explains:

“The biggest auction advantage is speed, of course: From first marketing to closing can be less than 10 weeks … There is such a huge volume of REOs on the market — 92,000 homes were seized in April alone — that banks are anxious to turn the properties over quickly. Rather than waiting for the local housing market, they turn to auctioneers.”

To check out the homes for sale at upcoming foreclosure auctions near you click here (REDC) and here (RealtyBid).

Another city, more happy homeowners.

REDC — one of the nation’s most reputable and successful real estate auction companies — unloaded more than three dozen homes this weekend at a foreclosure auction in Golden, Colo., according to CBS4Denver.com.

All in a day’s work for the auctioneer, which is among the best at getting distressed homes off the market and occupied at a remarkable rate, selling more than 13,000 properties so far this year worth about $675 million.

Impressive to say the least … and we’re not even at the half-way point of 2010.

It’s an efficient process that gets families into homes, eliminates vacancies and takes a financial burden off banks.

So it’s not surprising that all parties — and communities — embrace REDC wherever and whenever it rolls into a new town, says company spokesperson Brad Fields:

“It’s taking a process that is traditionally a little slower and being able to very quickly get buyers into the property and revitalize those neighborhoods and create homes. It’s a little bit different of a process, but one that buyers shouldn’t be afraid of.”

REDC allows buyers and/or their representatives to place bids in-person or online. The process is safe, easy, and compliant with all legal regulations.

To check out the homes for sale at the upcoming foreclosure auctions, as well as to see when REDC will be coming to a city near you, click here.

Classes meet every Thursday morning at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Fla., at 9:30 a.m. ET. Call (866) 382-2439 today to reserve your spot!

One of our internal commitments is to our staff at Foreclosure.com. We actually take our employees to live foreclosure auctions at the Palm Beach County Court House in West Palm Beach, Fla., each week to teach them the foreclosure process.

This experience, which we offer to introduce new employees to the actual experience, as well as keep the topic fresh on the minds of our more experienced team members, helps them better understand the value we bring our subscribers. From customer service to human resources to programming, all personnel types from every department at Foreclosure.com are invited to participate in the weekly excursions.

NOW WE WANT TO INVITE YOU TO COME ALONG AND JOIN US!

Linda Yates, Director of Education at Foreclosure.com, is now conducting FREE auction education classes at the Palm Beach County Courthouse every Thursday morning. The class will teach you how to look up information on the properties for sale, then you will attend a live auction to see how the auction process works.

You’ll become a pro in no time!

So if you are ever in the South Florida area and want to learn the tips and tricks to finding a great home and/or make a fortune at foreclosure auctions then you need to give us a call at 1-866-382-2439 to make a reservation for the class.

You MUST have a reservation because class sizes are limited. Classes, which are again FREE to attend, are held from 9:30 am to 11:30 am every Thursday.

Hope to meet you on the court house steps real soon!