are there any benefits in buying a foreclosed home?

Hmmm.. More info needed.. but in general, if your intent is to buy a foreclosed home during the actual sheriff's sale, and you plan on paying cash, then absolutely.. you would be purchasing the home at a wholesale price, but you have to pay cash.. If you're talking about purchasing a home that has already been foreclosed, and currently owned by the lender, (REO property), then there could be a savings, but the property could also be in distress.. Short sale properties can also give you a bit lower price, but not enough to make it worth pursuing only short sales.. Unless you have the ability to pay cash, you're better off purchasing just a traditional sale property.. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. William J. Acres, Lender411's number ONE lender in Arizona. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

Not necessarily. William has good thoughts above, if the property has already been foreclosed on by the lender there is no real benefit other than the owner may have slightly more incentive to get rid of it. On the other hand, there is no emotional attachment there and they typically are a little less flexible in some of their terms. Hope that helps

Yes it can be beneficial. The main benefit is obtaining a better acquisition price. However, certain financing programs are available only for foreclosed homes (i.e. Homepath, Homesteps, etc). These programs are better in certain respects than other programs--namely you can purchase the home without an appraisal in some cases, the closing costs are cheaper, the downpayment requirement is minimized. You would have to refer to the specific programs characteristics, but this gives you an idea.Here is an article on my blog site about foreclosures that might help you.http://lowratefinder.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-to-find-foreclosures-or-pre.html

Many people believe that a foreclosure will simply result in a better (lower) price. While that may be true, my experience is you get what you pay for... Watch out for money pits.