How To Look Up Foreclosures

By Colin J

November 8, 2022

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Risks Of Buying A Foreclosed Home

Exactly How to Find and Buy Foreclosed Homes

Don’t let an appealing price tag lead you into home-buying mistakes. There are serious risks involved.

Expensive repairs: “Most experienced agents will not take first-time homebuyers to foreclosed properties since, often, they are in rough shape and could become money pits,” says Bhatt. Count all the costs before you close a deal.
A drawn-out buying process: Because you’re dealing directly with a bank, there can be more red tape involved.
Steep competition: If home prices continue soaring in 2021, foreclosures may become a popular way for buyers to find a deal, leading to increased buyer competition and higher prices.
Redemption periods: Most states offer a period of redemption after a foreclosure sale. During this period, the original homeowner could still catch up on payments and earn their home back — even after you’ve moved into the house. Redemption periods can range from 30 days to a year, so be sure to check your state’s laws before you buy a foreclosure.
Squatters: If a property has been abandoned for a while, squatters may be living there. And if they’ve been there for an extended time, you might run into problems. All states have laws that grant squatters rights of adverse possession after a certain period of time meaning the property legally becomes theirs. In some states, this window is as short as five years, but it’s usually longer. Make sure you assess your property thoroughly to avoid any potential squatter disputes.

How To Find Foreclosures For Sale

Home flippers and ambitious homebuyers are often on the hunt for foreclosures, but it turns out that these types of homes can be a bit trickier to find than you might think. Finding foreclosures for sale requires a bit of research, a bit of action, and a bit of luck, all of which must come together at the same time .

Below, well go over different ways to find foreclosures for sale, plus a few tips for making sure you get the best deal possible on your fixer upper.

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Here Are Five Ways To Find Foreclosures Or Pre

1. Search Public Records:In various stages of the foreclosure process, notices are recorded with the County Clerk at your County Recorders Office. This information is public record and is available to anyone. Just visit your countys office and you can search for a Notice of Default , Lis Pendens or for a Notice of Sale. The best part of searching public records yourself is that it is Free.

In addition, youre likely to find newly posted properties that havent yet reached many of the online foreclosure data providers.

2. Look Online:Performing online searches are quite a bit easier then going to the Clerk or Recorders Office, but you certainly wont be the first to find out about a pending bank foreclosure.

Typically youll need to use an online listing service , where you can either participate in a free trial or pay a weekly fee to view their listings. We recommend checking out the free trial offers so you can see which provider you feel best suits you. There are both national and regional foreclosure listing services, which provide Notice of Default, Notice of Trustee Sale and Lis Pendens data on properties in the foreclosure process. Many of these companies will provide information including name, address, loan amount owed, and additional loans outstanding, while a select few will even provide contact phone numbers.

Visit our directory of Banks with Free REO Listings on their websites.

Additional Sources for Finding Foreclosures

Discuss Foreclosures at our:

General Foreclosure Reo And Distressed Property Listings

A few services compile foreclosures, REOs, and other forms of distressed property into searchable databases. Some provide the listings for free others use a subscription model that lets you search their service for a period of time.

In most cases, basic information about a property is available even if you don’t subscribe. Typically, though, subscribers have access to a good deal of additional detailed information about the status of properties, such as conditions, histories, and concerns.

Some services to check out include:

RealtyTrac REOFree trial, then monthly subscription
Foreclosure ListingsSeven-day trial, then monthly or annual subscription
Foreclosure.comFree trial, then weekly subscription
EquatorFree, with the ability to save searches and properties, access maps, and more

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Purchasing A Foreclosed Home

If buying from a bank, youll need to sharpen your bargaining skills and start with a lowball offer on the property you want.

Banks that have accumulated sizable inventories of foreclosed properties will be more inclined to negotiate on price. The longer the bank has held the property, the greater the odds that it will seriously consider low offers.

You could make an initial bid at a price thats at least 20% below the current market price, or even more if the property is located in an area with a high incidence of foreclosures.

If you can pay for the property and any necessary renovations in cash, youre in an enviable position. Thats why some buyers decide to team up with outside investors who can help them out on the front end and share any profits when the home goes on the selling block once again.

In fact, cash deals represent a sizable portion of REO sales.

Talk To Brokerage Firms

If youre not quite ready to work with a real estate agent but you still want to make sure youre searching in all of the right places, then reach out to a brokerage firm in the area that you know works with foreclosures. Most of them will be happy to keep you on the radar insofar as new foreclosure listings for sale, price drops, and other types of movement in your local foreclosure market.

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Communicate With Your Lender

If you know that you are going to have trouble making your mortgage payments, contact your lender immediately and let them know you are having financial difficulties. This allows your lender time to work with you to create a plan. Remember, do not stop paying your bills, and do not wait until you cannot make payments before you act. Learn how to talk to your lender about trouble making payments.

Visit The County Courts Website

How to Search For Foreclosure Properties Online

In New York, you would not be able to go to the website of the county court to verify the status of a foreclosed home. You need to attend a status conference, which is referred to as a Residential Foreclosure Status Conference Part. These conferences are usually held every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and presided over by Justice Martin Schulman. Here, you might find out at what stage of the foreclosure the house is in.

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You Don’t Have To Be A Real Estate Agent To Find A Foreclosure To Buy

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

Real estate agents are not the only ones that can suss out a great deal on foreclosed or distressed homes. Using this list of free, searchable online databases, you can find homes that are in foreclosure, in preforeclosure, REO , seized, and distressed, too. Most of these services are offered for free or with a small subscription that usually includes a free trial period. Here’s where to point your browser to find the right property for you.

Protecting Yourself When You Buy

1Watch out for fake auctioneers. Anyone can call themselves an auctioneer and advertise that they are selling properties. However, they might not be legitimate, and they might not even have permission to auction the property.

Thoroughly research the auctioneer. Look for online reviews or other complaints. You can also check the Better Business Bureau in the city where the auctioneer has their principal place of business. Look for complaints about fraud or deception.

2Try to get an inspection. You can minimize your risks by insisting on an inspection of a property before buying it.XResearch sourceHire an inspector and make sure to visit the property at the same time so that you can ask questions about the house. For example, you might want to know the condition of the roof or the basement.

A home inspection will cost about $300 to 500, but it could save you thousands.

3Research the property. When you buy a foreclosure, you inherit all of the unpaid tax obligations and liens on the property. For these reasons, you should go to the county land records office and look at the deed. See if there are any liens listed on the property or any tax exemptions the title insurance does not cover. The bank may allow a contingency if the home is sold through an MLS listing.

You might also want to pay for a comprehensive title search on the property. Contact a title insurance company.

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Work With A Local Agent

Real estate agents are a fountain of valuable information when it comes to finding foreclosures for sale. Find an agent who has a lot of experience buying and selling homes in the area that youre searching in. Even better, find someone who has previous experience buying and selling foreclosed homes.

Key here is to work with a real estate agent who you trust and communicate well with, as well as someone who fully understands exactly what youre looking for. Its important that your agent knows what your fixer upper deal breakers are, as well as what constitutes your ideal property.

How To Find Pre

Purchasing a home thats in the process of foreclosure is a smart way to find a good deal on an investment property. But you have to know where to look to find that diamond in the rough before it gets snatched up by another investor. While there are a variety of paid resources that can help you find pre-foreclosure listings, there are also plenty of ways you can find these properties for free. Here is a look at a few common ways to find pre-closure listings for free.

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Veterans Administration Loan Program

The federal Veterans Administration has a mortgage guarantee program that is open to current service members, veterans, and surviving spouses. According to Military.com, the loans can be used to buy repossessed properties, although a bit of advance preparation is needed.

Benefits include zero down-payment loans, reduced closing costs, and a waiver of the mortgage insurance requirement.

The County Assessors Website

If you do not know the homeowners name, you can always go to the website of the assessor in the county where the house is situated. Supposing that all counties in New York State have posted their property records onto local and state government websites, you will be able to look at property records by looking for the propertys address. The only information that your county assessor would have on file are the homeowners name and the propertys parcel number, which you can use while looking through the property records at the county recorders office.

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Real Estate Agents Brokers And Property Services

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The age of property agents being secretive about foreclosures, preforeclosures, distressed properties, and REOs is long gone. Nowadays, listing these types of properties is just another way to attract buyers. That’s why most real estate services now offer easy access to their databases of distressed properties, such as these:

Realtor.comThe officially licensed home for the National Association of Realtors provides free access to its property search engine. Predefined filters pull out foreclosures, properties that have seen price reductions, and affordable homes in communities you search. You’ll also find recent news and insights about distressed properties.
TruliaOffers a well-designed search system that includes a predefined filter for finding foreclosures in communities you search. To find foreclosures using Trulia, perform a basic search by town, then use the More search filter and select Foreclosures for the type of sales listing.
ZillowHere, you’ll find a foreclosure center with access to advanced search capabilities using a number of criteria, including by cost , neighborhood, and more. Buying guides, FAQs, and even a guide for those who may be facing foreclosure round out Zillow’s offerings.

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Looking In The Right Places

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1Find legitimate auctioneers. A legitimate auctioneer will sell properties on the courthouse steps. You can find their names by looking at the legal notices in your local newspaper. Once you have the names of some auctioneers, you can search their websites to see their listings.XResearch source

Some of the largest auctioneers are Williams and Williams, Hudson and Marshall, and REDC .

2Search bank websites. Banks will often showcase foreclosed homes on their websites. You can search for the bank name and REO, which means Real Estate Owned. Scroll through the listings.XResearch source

3Search Zillow.com. Zillow is a legitimate website that lists foreclosed properties. You can filter your search so that you zero in on foreclosed properties.XResearch source

4Use other websites carefully. Many websites will charge a fee for you to use their services. Since you can find foreclosures for free, there isnt much reason to pay to access listings. Some sites, such as RealtyTrac, offer a one-week free trial, after which you must pay for a subscription.

5Find government foreclosures. Many different government agencies will seize homes. You can often find properties or auctions listed on their websites. Consider the following:

The U.S. Treasury seizes homes when people dont pay their taxes. These homes are listed at .

Fannie Mae sells REO properties, which you can find on their website at .

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Local Real Estate Agencies

If you have exhausted every other resource, you may engage the services of your local real estate agencies. The agents who work there can guide and assist you. They have immediate access to tools, such as MLS, that buyers do not. With these tools, the real estate agents can share property information. A listing agent is most likely to have several foreclosures on their list of available properties.

Find A Knowledgeable Foreclosure Agent

If you’re thinking about buying a foreclosed home, choose your real estate agent carefully.

“An agent who knows how the process of buying a foreclosed property works will be very helpful,” says Santosh Bhatt, a broker at Greater Louisville Homes in Kentucky. “Understanding the process allows the agent to manage buyer expectations. An agent with a lack of foreclosure experience can make the transaction a bit challenging.”

Look for agents in areas with high foreclosure rates or ask your lender if they partner with any REO agents. It can also be helpful to search for agents with Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource or Certified Distressed Property Expert certifications.

How To Find A Foreclosure

Ensuring your source is reliable can save you time and money.

Want to buy a foreclosure but dont know where to start? Seasoned investors know where to find foreclosure listings, and there are plenty of unscrupulous companies out there that have built ad-based, subscription websites to pull you in. Just beware: Many of these sites are filled with listings that are often inaccurate or outdated.

Below are eight ways to find foreclosure listings:

Real Estate Listing Sites

Real estate listing sites like realtor.com are excellent resources when youre looking for foreclosures for sale. Thats because they aggregate available homes for sale in your area, including standard homes for sale and specialty sales like foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, and homes that are up for auction.

To make your search easier, use filters to narrow down the results. For example, play around with different keyword phrases, such as foreclosure and auction. Look at other factors too which affect what kind of deal you might be able to get. These include how long the property has been on the market and the previous purchase price of the property.

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Pros & Cons Of Preforeclosure Leads

Homes in foreclosure often cost less than market value, which presents an incredible opportunity for savvy real estate investors or agents. This profit potential is the most obvious reason to search for preforeclosures, but there are also many hurdles that come with foreclosures. Before investing your time and resources, consider all the pros and cons of preforeclosure listings.

Work With The Making Home Affordable Program

The Making Home Affordable program provides help, including free counselors for advice and assistance with keeping you in your home or getting out safely. Visit the MHA website to learn what options you have and what you need to prepare.

Your state’s housing agency might have a foreclosure avoidance program as well.

If you have an FHA loan, call the FHA National Servicing Center at .

Beware of mortgage relief scams. One sign of a scam is when they ask for a fee in advance. Learn how to spot housing scams and report housing scams.

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