Foreclosures are never pretty. Just ask one of the millions of people who were put out of their homes during the housing crises of recent years.

If you want to see what it's like, or what goes on behind the scenes, the recently released movie "99 Homes" will give you an idea.

In my landlording career, I've only been on one eviction when I was left with no choice but to remove a tenant; he hadn't paid rent in several months and wouldn't respond to my appeals. When the sheriff's deputies who served the eviction notice pulled out their weapons before banging on the front door, it gave me a chill down my spine that I'd never anticipated. I quickly backed up -- way up, around the corner -- in case shots were fired.

"99 Homes" will give you that same kind of sinking feeling -- and then some.

It's the tale of an unemployed contractor and single dad named Dennis Nash (played by Andrew Garfield) who loses his home to foreclosure. Out on the street with his young child and widowed mother (Laura Dern), Nash tries to earn the house back by going to work for the shameless realty broker (Michael Shannon) who handled the eviction.

For Nash, the agreement turns out to be more dangerous and brutal than he ever imagined. The movie tumbles deep into the personal side of repossessions, and the bank's agent teaches Nash the legal, and illegal, ins and outs of the foreclosure game.

Another film, due out in December, depicts the housing implosion from the point of view of bankers, who are generally credited with causing the whole mess. Others, too, must share the blame, but "The Big Short" tells the story of how a few Wall Street "outsiders" bet against the housing market and raked in millions when it collapsed.

It's based on "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine," a nonfiction book by Michael Lewis that spent 28 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Lewis is also the author of two other highly regarded books-turned-movies, "Moneyball" and "The Blind Side."

Directed by Will Ferrell's frequent partner-in-comedy, Adam McKay, the movie's cast includes Academy Award winners or nominees Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell and Marisa Tomei. It depicts how banks got greedy by giving out mortgages to people who were not qualified, and how a few traders profited from the banks' "stupidity."

For example, Carell's character goes to a men's club in one scene, where he talks to an exotic dancer who finds out that she can't refinance the loans on her five houses and one condo.

"No one's paying attention," says Gosling's character, who, along with three other small-time financial whizzes, realizes the housing market is on the verge of collapse. They race to cash in on the pending catastrophe -- a tragedy the banking industry, the media and the government either failed to see coming, or didn't want to.

"The whole housing market is propped up on bad loans," says Bale's character. "It will fail."

On the other hand, everyone saw the foreclosure crisis, which unfolded front and center in the media. But most of us were on the sidelines. We had no idea of what it was like to lose our homes, or about the shenanigans that went on behind the scenes as some people profited from others' misery.

The R-rated "99 Homes" tells that story. Director Ramin Bahrani spent months in Florida researching the film. He saw first-hand the so-called "rocket dockets," in which the legal fate of struggling homeowners was sealed in 60 seconds or less. He even went on several evictions, which he called "frightening and horrific things."

The taut drama also describes the dual-tracking system some lenders followed, in which one arm of the bank told owners one thing and another arm told them something else. Many people were trapped in the system and eventually lost their homes.

Garfield, who met with several Florida families who had lost their homes in researching his role, told Yahoo Movies that his own family was nearly foreclosed on when he was a teenager. "A couple of baby steps to the side, and this could have been me," he said.

In the film, Shannon's character, the greedy foreclosure broker Rick Carver, heartlessly evicts Nash with the cops standing at his shoulder. He later tells him, "I didn't evict you. The bank did."

Carver also delivers this chilling homily: "Do you think America gives a rat's (behind) about you or me? America doesn't bail out the losers. America was built by bailing out winners ... by rigging a nation, of the winners, by the winners, for the winners."

People currently in the market for a house caught a break, at least for a few more weeks, when the Federal Reserve recently decided to keep short-term interest rates at their rock-bottom levels.

The Fed's decision doesn't directly dictate mortgage rates, but there is a correlation between the two. So, 30-year loan rates should remain right around 4 percent until the central bank feels that the economy, both at home and globally, is strong enough to handle higher loan costs without cratering.

But there's another time-sensitive factor favoring active buyers right now: According to new research from RealtyTrac's prolific economics department, October is the month to get the best deal on a house. If you can't pull the trigger this month, December, January and February are also good times to buy.

RealtyTrac, a real estate data firm, analyzed more than 32 million single-family and condominium home sales since 2000, and found that during that span, the 2.7 million buyers who closed on their loans in October netted an average sales price that was 2.6 percent below the average estimated full market value.

Not only that, but the best day of the year to buy, according to the analysis, is Oct. 8. Of the 356 days in the year with sufficient sales data, the best bargains occur on Oct. 8, says RealtyTrac, when the buyers' home purchases are 10.8 percent below estimated market value, on average.

If you miss that date, you should do pretty well -- at least statistically -- if you close a week later, on Oct. 15 (an average of 9.1 percent below market value) or Oct. 22 (9.6 percent). And if you can't move that fast, then Nov. 26, Thanksgiving Day this year, will net a price 10.1 percent below full value, and Dec. 31, New Year's Eve, will result in a sale that's 9.6 percent below market.

Since it's tough to match a contract to a specific closing date, especially when two of the best days are holidays this year, let's take a closer look at the best months to buy.

After October, February is the next best month. Buy in February, and the statistics say you should come away with a deal that's 2.4 percent below the estimated market value of your new place.

July, December and January are all also good months to buy, according to RealtyTrac.

Notice that July is the only summer month on the "best months to buy" list. While conventional wisdom has it that spring and summer are typically the best buying seasons, it turns out that winter takes the prize. Surprise, surprise!

The reason: less competition -- on both the buying and selling sides.

O.B. Jacobi, president of Seattle-based Windermere Real Estate, told RealtyTrac that his agents often advise sellers to take their homes off the market until spring for two reasons: the dreary weather in the winter and the significantly shorter days. Those issues make it a challenge to present homes in their best possible light.

But at the same time, Jacobi said, "we tell our buyers that (winter) can be a very opportune time for them, because sellers who keep their homes on the market through the holidays are often motivated to sell. There also are typically fewer buyers in the marketplace, so there is less competition for homes."

Anthony Rael of RE/MAX Alliance in Denver agreed. "Many buyers who may have spent the past six months competing and coming up short may be rewarded in the fall and winter months, as more inventory should provide them with more choices and, hopefully, less competition," said Rael.

For what it's worth, April is the worst month to buy, but the best month to sell. Over the last 15 years, buyers who closed in April paid an average of 1.2 percent above the estimated market value. But of course, that means sellers netted a 1.2 percent premium.

April, by the way, is the only month of the year when sellers have a net gain.

The best day of the week to close is Monday, followed by Friday. Thursday is the pits, apparently.

Of the 5.5 million sales closed on a Monday over the last 15 years, buyers realized an average discount of 2.3 percent. On Friday, the discount based on the sales over that period was 2 percent. On Wednesday, it's 1.4 percent, and on Tuesday, 1.9 percent. On Thursday, the discount was only 1 percent.

For buyers, the bottom line is this: Get on your horse. RealtyTrac's analysis shows that there are definitely better months and days to buy, and the top five days are coming up -- along with four of the top five months.

Sellers, on the other hand, may want to consider waiting until spring if they want top dollar.

Tax time is still months away. But if you sold your house during this summer's selling season -- or plan to sell in the next few months -- it's a good time to familiarize yourself with the tax consequences of your transaction.

In most cases, the gain on your sale is taxable. But you may not have to pay taxes on a large part of your profit, and you might pay no tax at all.

If you owned the home and used it as your principal residence for at least two of the five years prior to the date of the sale, Uncle Sam allows you to exclude part or all of your gain. The two-year period need not be continuous, either; all you need is 730 days out of the previous five years.

How much you can exclude depends on how you plan to file. If you are married and filing jointly, you can exclude up to $500,000 of your gain. But if you are filing as a single person, the limit is $250,000. If you sell your house for a loss, whatever money you receive is not taxable. But the loss cannot be deducted from your other income.

There are a whole bunch of exceptions to the capital gains rule regarding principal residences. For example, if a marriage, separation, divorce or spouse's death occurred during the home's ownership, or if you moved because of work, health or an unforeseeable event, these could affect your taxes. Read over IRS Publication 523, "Selling Your Home," for more detailed information.

To determine your capital gain, subtract your cost basis from the selling price.

Cost basis is more than the price you paid for your house. It also includes certain settlement fees, closing costs and commissions associated with the purchase, as well as the sale of the property.

Add to this the cost of significant capital improvements you made to the house. This does not include repairs, like fixing a plumbing leak; rather, it is something that adds value to the place, like a new deck, an addition or improved landscaping.

All of the improvements you've made over the years will increase your cost basis, which will, therefore, lower your potential tax liability.

At the same time, several things can go toward reducing your cost basis. A lower basis will boost your profit, and possibly your tax. Among other things, the depreciation you claimed for your home office will have to be reclaimed in this manner, as will tax credits for energy-related improvements.

This is somewhat tricky, so let's review:

Add what you spent for the house, say $250,000, and improvements of $92,500, for a total of $342,500. Now deduct for $50,000 for depreciation, and you get a total cost basis of $292,500.

Next, from your selling price, say $875,000, subtract $55,000 in commissions and fees for a gross profit of $820,000.

Finally, subtract your cost basis from your gross profit, for a total capital gain of $527,500.

In this example from Charles Schwab, after taking the $500,000 capital gains exclusion for you and your spouse, you owe capital gains on $27,500.

The IRS "Selling Your Home" document includes a great worksheet that will help you do the math on all this. But it should quickly become evident that you need to have kept good records if you expect to minimize the tax bite from selling a house -- not to mention prove to the government that you didn't fudge your numbers. So if you didn't do so for this house, do yourself a favor and do it for the next one.

One of the tax benefits taken by people who purchased their first homes between 2008 and 2010, the first-time buyers' tax credit, may have to be paid back. If you were a rookie buyer in 2008, the entire credit must be recaptured when you sell that house, unless you qualify for an exception. If you bought in 2009 or 2010, you don't have to pay back the credit unless you sold or gave up the place within 36 months of taking ownership. See IRS Form 5405 for details.

If your gain from selling your house is not taxable, you need not report the sale to the IRS on your tax return come next April. But if you can't exclude all or part of the gain, or if you choose not to claim the exclusion, you must report the sale on your tax return.

You should have reported your new address to the IRS when you moved. If you haven't done so already, fill out IRS Form 8822.

All of the publications and forms mentioned here are available, for free, at irs.gov.

And finally, realize that none of the above applies to rental and vacation properties, which are another ballgame entirely. Those are covered in IRS Publication 527.