[thedean786]

I'm looking to buy a condo in downtown Chicago, but unfortunatley with the prices the way they are it seems that there is a very slim possibility of that happening. My real estate agent suggested keeping an open mind about forclosed properties. Does anyone know of any downsides to this? Let's a say a property was originally sold for 400K and I bought it for say 250K would I pay taxes on the 400K or the 250K? Or maybe I'm asking the wrong question? Just trying to find some legal opinion on this as well and sound financial advice.

Thanks!

[Kiemyster]

1- the movie 300 was fucking awesome! (hah. read ur sig!)

2- buying forclosed properties is a great way to make some money. the problem is the bank doesnt want the property, so they will do whatever it takes to get rid of the house. use this to your advantage. usually, i persuade the bank to pay all the fee's (closing cost, brokerage fee's, gov't papers, etc). make them do the work.

The problem is, right now the market is crashing. maybe 4 months ago, when it was the Buyers market, this plan would be excellent. now its the Sellers market, so you would have to fix up the house really nicely and sell it back. unless your planning on living in the house? my suggestion was from an investors point of veiw. thats what i do, buy forclose properties, fix em up, and sell them. i think you should buy it, fix it up, rent it out for as much as the mortgage, and sell it 2 years from now. make sure the tennant will pay for all of the bills and enough so it covers the mortgage.

now, if you are buying this house for yourself, then estimate how much it will cost to repair/fix up the house to your liking. if its less than 300k, GO FOR IT. discuss with your broker about the market today, and what it is going to look like tomorow. i dont know how it is in IL, im only educated in this feild for the Carribean, NY, FL, NJ, RI. if the market is going to be a buyers market in about 5 years, buy this house now, and wait out the 5 years. then, sell that house and make ~200K.

Hope you make a good choice. Tell your broker that you want a meeting with him, and ask him to spend 30 mins in a thorouh presentation of the market for you. and how much is he charging you? 6%?5%? if he is charging you 5%+, make sure u put his ass to work, hes not getting paid that much commision to do nothing.

Also, who are you using? I highly advise you to use RE/MAX because they usually discuss this with you. i dont advise using Foxtons. the second chocie is century 21, but their service is generally .... iffy? or is this house a FISBO? PM me if you have any questions, ill be glad to help.