It's no secret our economy is struggling.
Case in point- we do stories all the time about people who are suffering from high gas, food, and energy costs.
But we have a story about southwest Missourians cashing in on the prices crisis.
A Springfield realtor took about 35 of them on a bus tour of half a dozen foreclosed homes in the city and surrounding area.
The idea is there are still some bargains in a world that's more expensive by the minute.
"It has all the pluses."
Just five minutes inside a west Springfield home and Karen Robinson’s right at, well, home.
It’s the perfect place for Karen to spend the rest of her life, without spending her life's savings.
She explains, “I had a particular price I couldn't go over, and I had no idea I could find something in that price range I could actually live in.”
That is until Karen hopped aboard the foreclosure bus.
“One of the homes you're going to see today was originally listed over $100,000 higher than it is now.”
That’s realtor Mike Brown, and this is his brainchild.
After he saw it done successfully in Atlanta and Florida, Brown rented a bus, filled it, and is now taking potential home buyers on a tour of foreclosed homes in the Springfield area.
“They’re just trying to get rid of them,” Brown says in reference to the banks, who own these properties.
They'll often sell them for less than they're worth.
Over 2,000 homes in Missouri have been foreclosed on since May, so Saturday’s tour was just a taste of what's available.
The only draw-back, Brown warns, is, “Buyer beware."
Houses are bought as-is, so inspect them carefully.
“I wouldn't have to do anything, not even use my little screwdriver.”
Karen’s done that.
Next on her to-do list?
Move in.
Of course Karen will have to qualify for a loan and fill out quite a bit of paperwork before she can officially call the home hers.
Brown says he has a wait-list 50 people long who wanted to board the bus so he will definitely be doing more foreclosure tours in the future.