Over the past ten years, attorney Suzanne Brunelle of Portnoy and Greene, PC in Newton, has handled thousands of foreclosures. Her advice is simple: find out as much as you can as early as you can about the property you that interests you.

"If you are trying to buy a foreclosed property, it can work well to contact the owner directly before the auction date," says Brunelle. "It does leave you with some homework, but it is easily done."

According to Brunelle, many prospective buyers do not research a property as thoroughly as possible. " You really need to do a full title search, which can go back as many as 50 years. You need to know about second mortgages, IRS liens, easements and things like shared wells and shared septic systems." This is where ForeclosureMass.com can help. You can perform an online title search using the resources available on the web site to obtain the book and page and access online links to the Registries. While this may seem labor intensive to the first time investor, Brunelle says it is not as daunting as the auction process. "In talking to people who may want to invest in foreclosed property, my first advice is to attend an actual auction to see how it works. They are very intimidating!"

Plus, she adds the auction is something you might want to avoid for other reasons. "If the property is occupied and you buy it at auction, you are now the landlord. This means an eviction process for tenants that could get long and involved. This is not what you want to do if you are trying to resell the property in a reasonable amount of time," she adds.

Brunelle has seen many buyers that have already signed a memorandum of sale, and put a deposit down and then lose their money during the eviction process. "It can take much longer than 30 days," she adds.

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Best case scenario, "If you can get to the property early and deal directly with the owner, there is a lot you can avoid," says Brunelle. While there is some legwork involved, "it's worth it in the long-run."