California Foreclosure Homes

Real estate has long been a lucrative business in California, with one of the country's most profitable and appealing foreclosure real estate markets.

In high-rolling California, real estate gambling is a way of life and great foreclosure deals are happening around every corner. Real estate foreclosures occur when a homeowner is no longer able to pay for the mortgage on their home.

After a certain amount of time has passed, the property is re-possessed by the lender and sold at an auction for an incredibly low price, often as little as half of the market value.

The seller's interest lies only in gaining back that money which has not yet been repaid.

In most cases, the homeowner has already paid for the property partially, thus reducing its auction price. Homes and properties can be re-possessed by a number of institutions for a number of reasons.

While mortgages are generally taken on by banks, private lending institutions as well as some branches of the government can also bear the responsibility for taking care of an unpaid mortgage.

These lending institutions all have one thing in common; they are in the lending business, not the real estate business.

For a bank to have a foreclosed home on its hands means several things; that the bank has been irresponsible with their lending practices and that they are losing face and money each day that the home goes un-sold.

The faster the property is sold, the better.

And the fewer people at the auction, the lower the price.   The other reason foreclosure homes are so affordable is the absence of a middleman.

There are no real estate agents or lawyers involved in foreclosure sales, only the institution and the buyer.

When purchasing real estate on the full-price market, agents on either side take a cut, and each wants to see you shell out as much money as possible.      You may have heard of such things, but most likely have never seen one yourself.

These near-secret auctions are attended only by the rich and well-connected.

The deals to be had at these auctions are so irresistible that those "in-the-know" would do just about anything to keep these treasures to themselves.

While, legally, these auctions must be made public, there are many loopholes.

Foreclosure auctions may be "advertised" in small town flyers published mere hours before the event takes place.

Notices placed on soon-to-be-foreclosed homes mysteriously disappear and auctions are held in intentionally obscure and hard-to-get-to places. Finding and purchasing a foreclosure home in California has been many people's road to riches.

The most successful Californians know where the real riches are, and have been since the beginning.

It is California itself that is the treasure, and getting a piece of this great land at a great price is something like an American dream come true.