Those with disposable cash can buy foreclosed homes for sale at attractive prices while the real estate market has yet to recover from the crash of recent years. Less financially savvy people would not be able to borrow that easily these days given the more stringent loan terms—the result of the wanton lending that fueled the housing bubble since 2003.

The home prices in some areas in the country have yet to hit the bottom and the market may stay depressed for quite some time, especially for those areas that are hit with high unemployment rate.

As noted by The Wall Street Journal, some with disposable incomes have let go some of their illiquid assets like art and cars to invest on properties, especially foreclosed homes for sale, that are being offered at irresistible prices.

Some of those who are capable of paying cash can afford to haggle for a good price. A lot of sellers—be it the lender that foreclosed the properties or the original owner—would prefer cash buyers because there is less risk. They do not have to worry about the buyer losing jobs or defaulting on mortgage. Besides, sellers want to liquidate their nonperforming asset as quickly as possible. In economic downturns, cash is king.

Investing wisely

As the mantra of financial geniuses goes, buy low, sell high. Those that can afford to do so should grab the opportunity now to buy foreclosed homes for sale to get the best deals. They cannot go wrong in this kind of housing market that does not have anywhere to go but up.

The key here is holding on to the investment long enough for its value to increase and sell it for a tidy profit later. In a bad economy where everybody is losing his job, it is good to wait out a bit. The intelligent investor can afford to let his money sleep for a while since he did not need returns right away. In the first place the funds he used was disposable anyway.

Some of them, like Donald Trump in his early days as a real estate mogul, bought foreclosed homes for sale like apartment complexes and rented them out to have a steady flow of income. The revenue may be small but it was enough that his money was working for him. Later on when the timing was right, he was able to sell the properties by more than half of what he paid for.