In a market flooded with foreclosures, homebuyers can find steals easily. Or that's what many of them think until they begin searching. Soon, they learn that only savvy buyers get the best deals. Understanding how banks negotiate foreclosure deals is a must if you want to buy low in today's market. Here are five secrets every homebuyer must know when shopping for a foreclosed home. Don't make lowball offers on just-listed properties It's useless to make lowball offers on bank-owned houses that have been on the market for only a few days, says John Thompson, a Realtor at Samson Realty in Chantilly, Va. "When you haven't had opportunity to expose your property to the marketplace long enough, you would be reluctant to take a lowball offer," Thompson says. "Most of the banks are aggressive with their pricing, but they are not going to give the properties away." Asset management companies handle sales for banks. These companies price ...

A home-buying tracking service reports all-cash buyers moved into the market at a record pace last year, purchasing homes for themselves and other properties as investments. The Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey found a record 33.2% of transactions were all-cash, up from 29.6% from a year earlier. Among investor homebuyers, the proportion of cash buyers was 74%. The survey said cash buyers were driving down prices because they offered shorter and more reliable closings. HousingPulse also indicated many of the purchases were of distressed properties, where banks are more likely to negotiate settlements in an effort to get them off their books. Article brought to you by Old Republic, Real Estate Digest, April 2012, Vol 38 Do you see this as a trend in your business, let Title Junction know!