Category Archives: Foreclosure Listings

Jan 12

Home Foreclosure – List of Properties

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Just about everyone,– even teenagers who are the most self-centered creatures on earth, – realizes that the real estate market is volatile right now. The housing boom of several years ago has undergone a metamorphosis and we are now in a buyer’s market, a slow market, a foreclosure boom, or simply uncertain real estate conditions.

As such, you may be hesitant to invest in real estate or purchase a home instead of renting. That can be understandable; it is frightening to look around and see friends, business associates, neighbors, and even strangers all facing the difficulty of home foreclosure.

However, there is one basic principle that is true no matter what you are investing in. You are supposed to buy low and sell high. The current real estate market conditions are favorable for that. Even houses that have not gone into foreclosure are definitely less expensive than they would have been say…five years ago.

Homes that have been foreclosed on may actually be a real steal if you want to invest or need a place to live. If you have a stable income and want to purchase your first home or just a different home, you may want to seek out a home foreclosure list – a listing of properties that have become Real Estate Owned (REO) properties.

REO real estate is a classification given to property that has gone through foreclosure and now belongs to the lender. Some people may think that banks and other financial institutions take great pleasure in taking back a home they lent money on, but that is really not the case. Lenders would much prefer to arrange a loan modification or make some other arrangements with consumers so that they can keep their home, but sometimes it just isn’t possible.

That is when a home goes through foreclosure and ownership transfers to the lending institution. Now, ask yourself this question: What does a bank need with a house? The answer is: It has no need for a house. In fact, lenders typically want to sell off REO property as quickly as possible and with as little headache as possible.

That is where you, as someone who wants or needs a home, come in. A home foreclosure list of properties can be a valuable asset to you in your search for an affordable home.

Home foreclosure lists are available online, through specialized companies that handle only foreclosed-upon real estate, from government bodies, and through realtors. Some realtors prefer to avoid the little bit of additional work involved in selling a house that has been foreclosed on, but many others are more than happy to do so, especially in this market where realtors are feeling the pinch just like the rest of us.

If you are considering purchasing a home, the current conditions practically demand that you consider buying a home that was “returned” to the lender via foreclosure, so you would be wise to find a home foreclosure list of properties in the area you desire.

Jan 03

How To Find Out About Real Estate Foreclosure Properties

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Today investing in real estate foreclosure is considered to be one of the most intelligent and well thought out strategies for gaining money and getting rich. The procedures that are used for mortgage foreclosure provide us with 2 opportunities in real estate foreclosure when a suitable agreement can be made.

The first choice you have is to purchase the property when it is at the pre-foreclosure stage. The other choice is to purchase when the property has been foreclosed and it is at the auction stage.

During both these stages you will be in communication with property owners who have to sell their property or they are likely to lose it without getting anything for it. So as these people are beginning to run out of luck and are eager to sell they will offer large discounts to those who are willing to purchase the property from them. Another benefit of using this method is there is less risk involved with a real estate foreclosure as you will have ample time to carry out any research, work on sales comparables of similar properties as well as judge the property itself. Plus with these kinds of properties the competition for purchasing them is less severe and you do not need mess up deals when you are purchasing a real estate foreclosure property. So as long as you can strike up a good deal then you are likely to make a significant saving on such a property.

When planning to purchase a real estate foreclosure it is important that you look at all available investment opportunities via this process in depth. If the property is heading towards foreclosure but is still in the pre-foreclosure stage then you will be directly in contact with the seller. Although this is a no lose occasion for both parties there are a couple of drawbacks to this method. The first being that you may find it difficult to find a foreclosure homeowner, and secondly you could face tough competition from others who are interested in making that all important investment purchase which may well increase the price of the property.

The other method which can be used to purchase a real estate foreclosure is at auction. The biggest advantage of a real estate foreclosure auction is the potential profit it can provide to you the investor, especially if there isn’t a great deal of competition for the property. However be wary at such auctions as it is possible to over bid on such properties.

So when looking for a real estate foreclosure property there are plenty of places you can look for them and there are plenty of online sites which provide you with details of real estate foreclosure listings. You can go online and evaluate these foreclosure list sites and find which ones offer you the best value for money when looking for real estate foreclosure properties.

Dec 17

Looking To Invest In Property? Try Foreclosure Lists To Discover A Fabulous Deal

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Both buying and selling real estate can not only be interesting and challenging but it can be a highly profitable business venture – as long as you play your cards right.  You do not even need to make it a full time job if you don’t want to.  However, selling brand new properties is less profitable than selling seized or foreclosed properties instead.  If you want to start looking at investing in property then why not start by looking at a foreclosure list to see what is available?The profits you can make from reselling foreclosed properties is much larger than you would get from selling a new home.  You can often purchase foreclosures for much less than their actual market value and then resell them for a higher price.

You can obtain foreclosure lists from real estate agents who get provided with listings of foreclosed properties from banks.  You can also check out government agencies and there are some web based source providers of such lists.  Often these lists contain detailed information on the various properties such as location, status of the property, the actual address of the property and its foreclosure value.  Such foreclosure listings where provided by banks and government agencies are free because they prefer to dispose of non performing assets as soon as possible so that they can have the cash and invest it elsewhere.  It also means that they will not have to worry about paying real estate taxes or other fees for selling the property.

Web based foreclosure list sources will require you to pay a membership fee before they provide you with access to their database and this is the way that they earn money from the service that they provide to you as the customer.  When you consider how much time you save and how much money you can make with just one foreclosure house deal, these fees really are minimal.

However if you really want to get a bargain when looking to invest in foreclosure properties then ask instead for the pre-foreclosure listing.  Properties on these lists can often be purchased at a much lower price than those that you will find on a foreclosure list. Expect to do more work to get that profit though!

So using a foreclosure list in order to look for a property to invest in for your future financial security is a good way to start on the investment portfolio ladder.

Nov 19

Are Free Foreclosure Listings A Great Way To Find Foreclosed Homes?

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It is quite a challenge to find a reputable free foreclosure listing and because real estate investors earn the bulk of their income through purchasing properties cheaply and selling them for profit the demand for foreclosed properties is very high.

For those looking to buy a bank owned or foreclosed home as an investment they can expect to save between 20-50%. But the problem many people have is actually gaining access to foreclosed property lists. Although there are many sites offering foreclosure listings you will need to pay a subscription fee to them. That can be an option if you want to shortcut the process. But there are some sites who advertise free listings and there are many advantages and disadvantages to be gained from these types of listing services.

When searching for a free foreclosure listing online you will come across several sites that offer free information, however this information is usually provided only on a trial basis. You will find that the majority of listing services available online involve you paying a subscription fee prior to you carrying out any searches of their listings.

But do not worry – there are many services around which will offer a free trial, but it is important to note that before you can take advantage of any free trials the listing service will ask you to provide them with your credit card details. Unfortunately with these services they will bill you at the end of the free trial and then continue you to bill you until you request your credit card to cancel their standing order.

Although free foreclosure listings are not easily accessible, once you do locate a good one then you will be provided with the opportunity of purchasing an inexpensive home. The best way of finding a free foreclosure listing is through a realtor website as when banks work with such people they are given properties to sell and are able to list such homes on their personal or company sites. Plus in some states you will find that they compile a free foreclosure listing of properties throughout the region.

The benefit of a free foreclosure listing to a potential investor is that they can find homes for as little as $10,000 on them. Plus choosing a property from such a list allows you to shop for a home without having to move away from your computer. All free foreclosure listings include pertinent details on the property in question, such as square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and any additional features, as well as the condition of the property and the sale price.

There are however a couple of negatives points to free foreclosure listings and that is that the information provided on these lists is readily available to anyone and normally such properties will have already been picked up by real estate investors just as you get to know about them. Moreover free foreclosure listings are not updated on a regular basis so it may be wise instead to spend a bit of money of getting an accurate and useful list sent to you.

Oct 23

How To Find Foreclosure Investing Deals

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Many people will not achieve their property investment goals as they do not think there are any good deals left out there to be found.  But this is just not true; as long as you know where to look you will soon realize just what great investment opportunities there are to be had from foreclosure sales.

In this article we will provide you with a few ways in which to find foreclosure deals.

1.  Legal Notices

Foreclosure properties are required to have their procedural details printed in your local newspaper as well as being posted on public bulletin boards at your local County Courthouse.  Because it can be profitable to invest in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure properties such notices are a great way for you to find your next great investment deal.

2. Banks, Brokers & Closing Attorneys

Take your time to build up a positive business relationship with other real estate professionals and you will soon discover that they would be more than happy to refer foreclosure deals to you.  Just let them know that you are a real estate investor who would be willing to assist property owners whose property is in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure proceedings.  You may well be amazed at just how many great deals you can find just by simply talking to other people.

3.  County Recorder’s Office

Many people do not understand that any legal proceeding that involves a property foreclosure or pre-foreclosure is a matter for public record.  Therefore anybody can walk into the County Recorder’s Office and look for property information, tax liens, mortgage records, notices of trustee’s sales or any other indications that a residential property may be great deal for an investor.  So why not take some time out and visit your County Courthouse and the deal you have just been looking for may be waiting for you there.

4.  Online Foreclosure Listings

If you’re short on time, then it might be worth subscribing to a service that does all the work for you.  These listing services accesss all the public record information, and list it in one place where you can pick and choose the houses that interest you.

To be honest you will be able to get a great real estate investment deal anywhere and it does not matter whether the market at the moment is hot or cold.  All you need to know is where to look and your will soon find the right foreclosure investment deal for you.

Oct 11

How To Find Free Lists of Foreclosures Houses

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When I started in this business, I used to get tons of free listing from the local Banks and Credit Unions.

I would simply call their REO department and ask for a free list of the Home Foreclosures and of course they were more than happy to provide this list on a weekly basis. Sometimes by mail, by fax or email.

However as my business picked up and the competition became more fierce, I had to find alternate methods of getting foreclosure listings. So here is a partial list of methods and resources:

1- Place an ad on Craigslist.org or similar free classified board telling people that you buy distressed property and homes about to go into foreclosure. This will probably get you a very few calls. But it’s free and will get your name out there.

2- Contact local Real Estate companies and ask for agents who specialize in foreclosure homes. They’ll have tons of listed properties in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) that are either in foreclosure or already foreclosed upon.

3- Contact HUD, VA and FNMA foreclosure departments. These numbers are available with a little research on your favorite search engine. Also be on the lookout in your local newspaper as many of these government agencies will place large ads announcing the upcoming auctions of their foreclosed homes. (Here is the direct link to HUD. Do the same with VA and other government agencies:http://www.hud.gov/homes/homesforsale.cfm) 

4- Go online and search for “free foreclosure lists”. Be aware though as many of these are not real and they’ll end up costing you about $20 dollars a month. Many will give you a 7 day free search period which is plenty to get you started and get yourself a route.

5- County Recorder’s Office. I can’t tell you the wealth of information available for free at your local county recorders office. From foreclosure listings to death notices! Get to know your local recorder personnel and they will help you find just about any information you’ll need. I used to spend one day a week at the HUGE Los Angeles Recorders office and have enough data to keep me busy for 2 weeks.

6- Your local newspaper or legal paper will also publish Notices of foreclosure on a daily basis. You can simply visit your library and for 5 to 10 cents a page, make copies of pertinent data.

7- IRS, FBI, DEA and your local police department will also have special department of agencies who will handle seized property information. Many of these agencies will provide you with a free listing of their seized property and auction dates.

Look, the bottom line is that there are more free foreclosure lists and sources to provide you with at least 30 homes to look at on a daily basis. The ONE thing you need to do is to take action. Get your pen, notepad, camera and list together and hit the road.

Many more articles at Foreclosures Property

About the author:

Ed Allen offers information and articles for those interested in learning about investing in Under-Market Real Estate, Seized Property and Foreclosures Houses

Sep 21

Foreclosure Listings

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So you are thinking of investing in property and you want to have a look and see what foreclosure properties are available. But looking for a foreclosure listing can either be simple or hard – it all depends if you know where to look. In this article we will look at the ways in which you can find a foreclosure listing which will hopefully help you to achieve your goal of becoming a property investor.

First let’s look at what type of listings exist.

Some of the list you may find will be called pre-foreclosure listings and this means that a property has been sanctioned for foreclosure proceedings but may not have actually been foreclosed as yet. This type of foreclosure allows a person time to carry out some investigations on the property in question so that they are able to make an informed decision on it prior to making a bid.

But another way to look at a pre-foreclosure listing is that notice has been provided and a foreclosure on the property is inevitable should the owner of the property take no action in order to settle the loan against it. Normally a pre-foreclosure period lasts for 30 days prior to a property becoming a foreclosure listing.

Most foreclosure listings can be found through a county announcement which is usually in the front section of the classifieds of the local paper for your area. Also realtors, banks, and other lending institutions will have foreclosures listings and you can do a search online as well.

But the key to finding a good foreclosure listing is to be patient as it may take some time to learn the ropes and know which listings are good to use and then how to make your foreclosure purchase. A lot of real estate agents have connections to lenders and they will be alerted by them of any properties that are put into pre-foreclosure. In some cases realtors will refer to a foreclosure listing as a fire sale.

However if you know of a reputable real estate agent that you can work with this might be the best way for you to check out all foreclosure listings. Some times these agents work like stock brokers and when they know of a property that is coming on to the market and is pre-foreclosure or a foreclosure listing they will alert you to it. Using this type of set up is a win win situation for both you and the real estate agent.

The final option is to subscribe to a foreclosure listing service online. This is a great way to save yourself some time, because all the hard work of finding foreclosure listings is done for you. All you need to do is check out the neighborhood you’re interested in. The good services charge a small fee, but when you consider how much you can make if you buy a property well below market value, that charge is minimal.

The end results no matter which option you decide to go with is that you will end up with a nice foreclosure listing to add to your property portfolio.