When looking at the available investments the market has to offer, real estate is still among the most exiting asset types available. Plainly put, there is no investment quite like it. Regardless of the many negative comments in the marketplace, this is still an asset class that can give an above average percentage return over the medium term.

Real estate speculators can refer to a number of different places to find good property deals. One of the many is at government property auctions. Investors from all walks of life know that there are stil great deals to be had at property auctions.

So at this stage you may be thinking that it sounds a little easy and too good to be true. The truth of the matter is that it can be both dead easy and extremely difficult to save money with government property auctions. It is very simple because if you apply yourself, do analysis & research and attedn events frequently you will discover once in a lifetime property deals. You’re going to find it tough going if you limit your attendance to these events to just a few events. Over time we have all learned that you don’t get anything worthwhile simply overnight.  

So as a complete novice, what do I need to do to shop around for this type of property?

The kind of government property auctions can be grouped into two categories. The kind of auction where the real estate sold is the kind where the property was under government ownership before. Also what you’ll find is real estate which the government never had ownership off but rather confiscated from individuals and legal entities in their capacity as law enforcer.

The government are made up of a myriad of different departments. All these departments own commercial, industrial and even residential real estate. These pieces of real estate become obsolete for government use as the years go by and are therefore then sold at auctions.

The various agencies and departments all use different methods to announce upcoming auctions. Most of them will distribute auction times by using suitable newspaper platforms and through newsletter distribution lists on the internet. This way the public will be notified in an unbiased way through relevant media outlets.

Although a number of government departments conduct property auctions, there are a couple you can look at a little more closely.

These are the:

Department of Housing and Urban Development
The Veteran Affairs Department
State Department (In Charge of Foreign affairs)

These are completely different departments with entirely different goals. Their involvement in real estate auctions do however create exiting opportunities for property investors. The US State department provides a unique opportunity to investors in order to add foreign real estate investments to their mix of assets.

Auctions of government property are a great place to look for good real estate deals and with time you are just about guaranteed to be successful.