How can I find foreclosures before they are listed???

Question

I know of court houses and such, but on the web is there any FREE (it is public info) services to locate these???

Answer 1

I don't believe there is anything on the net. However, mortgage companies are required to publish 3 notifications of foreclosure (at least in Colorado). You can find these in your local newspaper. Good luck.

Answer 2

There are public places you can find foreclosed deeds and houses online for free. Here's a quick web site a lot of investors utilize for free:

http://www.investingwithoutlosing.com

I have to warn you though about investing in these matters without having any field experience. There's a lot of research that must be conducted before you purchase a home. You need to make sure there are no assessments, liens, or other problems. Instead of watching Carlton Sheets commercials on TV, I suggest reading a book like Complete Guide to Real Estate Tax Liens and Foreclosure Deeds: Learn in 7 Days [ISBN 0978834682] on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Answer 3

The very best way to get this information is from a lender who will share it with you as a loss mitigation consultant. Most of them won't let you buy any property from their list. So if you are looking to pick up some property talk to a REALTOR who advertises foreclosures then ask if they are a loss mitigation consultant. IF they say yes then they have the information before it hits the foreclosure lists and you can work with them. It does take longer sometimes to close this expect up to 6-8 weeks. SO it takes patience! If it goes to foreclosure the bank may still sell it to you but now they have invested another 30-50K in the property to clear up the ownership. See the problem it will cost you a lot more to get the property. Watch for the ads.

Answer 4

I did not read the other responses, so I may be redundant. Sounds as if this house is a short sale rather than a foreclosure, completely different things. If I am correct, it can be quite a while before the bank owns it and it goes up to the court house steps. Yes, anyone can go to the auction. Most auctioneers require that you bring certified funds, what most buyers do is take a variety of denominations to the sale to ensure they can pay after the auction.

Answer 5

Yes, it is free public information, but they're trying to make a buck off people by gathering all that info in one place and giving it to you in the privacy of your own home where you can view it at your convenience. THAT'S what you're paying for.

There are no totally free websites I know of. Many foreclosure listing services offer you a free trial (with a credit card number provided), but I warn you not to sign up. It's extremely hard to cancel your subscription on most of them. Additionally, a lot of them don't update their listings frequently, so you waste time with a lot of old information.

Find out the foreclosure procedure in your state as it differs A LOT from state-to-state. In my state, before a home goes into foreclosure, it goes into pre-foreclosure which basically means the homeowner missed a couple of payments, but can still keep the home out of foreclosure if he comes up with all the money SOON. A home in pre-foreclosure is a sign that the homeowner is experiencing some financial distress. That, ideally, is the best time to approach him as a buyer. His credit hasn't been ruined yet and he's probably anxious to just get rid of the place and move on. He'd be in a good position to deal. Those pre-foreclosures, in my state, are public info too.

Like I said, find out how the foreclosure process works in your state first. Unfortunately, there is really no good, reliable way around going to the county building to get this info ... at least not at this time.

Answer 6

You can not find out about a foreclosure before it is listed because it is not a foreclosure until the lender actually foreclose on the property. Before they are listed are pre-foreclosures and people who are behind on their mortgage.

Only when the foreclosure is recorded at the county court then everyone knows about it and form their list for you to purchase.

The print media as well as the internet sites that publish foreclosures.

If you are speaking on how to find out if a person has not made a payment in 3-4 months then you will have to market for those people through the newspaper or other means to attract them to you.

I do the same by farming a certain area in my city and letting people in my area know that if they are behind in their mortgage payments they should contact me before they go into foreclosure. I send out a news letter so everyone in my area know and have known for a long time that I am in a position to be of some type of assistance even if it is only to give some advise.

You have to develop a marketing system for you to get the information before others (Pre-foreclosures). It is not easy and it takes more than a few months, but it can be done.

You will not get all of the individuals that are in or going into foreclosure, but you will get enough to please and satisfy you so you can help the ones going into foreclosure as well as make a profit for yourself.

There is no easy way to do this, but working a good marketing plan and sticking with it pays off handsomely in the long run. You have to let people know that you are in business and what type of business you are in.

I suppose you are looking for a list of people that are in
pre-foreclosure, after which you will make a telephone call to to see if you can be of service to them.

Have you heard of the "Do Not Call List"? Well if you make a call off a list and the person or persons you call are on the Do not call list each call can cost you $11,000 and if the FCC and the other regulator agency find that you have made other calls and they will because they will supeona your phone bill, which theywill call and see if you have called others.

Then you have to be registered with a governmental agency and get a registration number to make the calls.

It is better if those you are seeking to help call you. This is a dangerous proposition for telemarketer as well as those in the real estate business. I read in one publication that one mortgage company paid $425,000 for calls made to clients they were attempting to contact.

If you are not sure of what you can do, the best thing to do is go to a book store get a couple of books on what you want to do.

Lenders are not allowed legally to tell you which of their clients are not making their monthly mortgage payments.

Can you imagine the law suits that lenders would have if they published a list that said John Sams have not made a mortgage payment in two months or is about to go into foreclosure.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 7

find foreclosures listed