"If you have the money, or have the resources to get the money," now is the best time to buy a home, Donald Trump said earlier this week on Good Morning America. The real estate mogul was on the morning program to promote his new book, "Think Like a Champion."
He's probably right -- with major home-price declines and home affordability at an all-time high, it is a good time to purchase a home, especially if you have a steady job and the financing to purchase a house.
But not everyone has the ability to buy a home these days, thanks to the economy and with banks tightening up on lending. Trump says he has the answer -- at least about getting a bank to loan you the money to buy a home. Buy a bank owned property, he says.
"They don't want these homes. They have thousands of them. They don't know what to do with them," he explains. Because banks want to unload so many homes, the answer is to buy from a bank -- that same bank is then more likely to give you the financing to buy that property, he says.
"Don't buy it from a person," he adds. "Go to a bank and buy a house. And remember Donald Trump told you." He says he details how to do so in his new book, "Think Like a Champion."
To find banked owned homes (also called real estate owned, or REO properties), buyers can contact their lender and ask to see their list of REO properties, or ask their real estate agent to check the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for bank-owned properties. (For a definition of real estate owned, check the Cyberhomes glossary.)
Click on the video below to watch Trump's appearance on GMA (his advice on real estate falls in the middle of the segment): —Lauren Baier Kim