The key to optimizing your foreclosed real estate investment is to understand the negotiation positions of lenders, sellers, and other investors. Lenders, for instance, generally don't want to take on property responsibilities. They would much rather settle foreclosure outside of auction and simply collect money on mortgages and liens. Knowing this, you can usually work out compromises with lenders, provided that you use the right kind of language and tactics in your negotiation.
Similarly, sellers want to put the nightmare of foreclosure behind them as soon as possible. That said, they want to salvage as much equity as possible and hopefully retain reasonable credit. If you can offer sellers solutions based on their needs, not just on your personal budgetary calculations, you will go a long way towards beating out other investors for the best price.
Third, when considering the psychology of other investors, remember that it is easy to get sucked into the herd mentality. Even if you consider yourself a smart, independent thinker, when you get around competition and bidding starts, your baser instincts will take hold. Given how much money is at stake, you want to do everything you can to avoid getting sucked into head games with your one-on-one competition.
To develop beneficial relationships with all three of these parties, you can use the information here at ForeclosuresDaily.com to negotiate from a savvy position. ForeclosuresDaily.com is a fully vetted resource which contains links to important free sites, training opportunities, sortable search tools, and much more. ForeclosuresDaily.com does the legwork so that you can focus on the critical particulars of your investment.