5 Easy Ways To Find Foreclosed Homes

Share:    

You are bombarded by it in the news, Foreclosed Homes hit all time highs

. Around the water cooler you hear your co-workers talking about finding a great deal on a foreclosed home they are going to make a mint off of. Then you trudge back to your desk and jump on the net looking for foreclosed homes. Quickly you start to think that finding a real foreclosed home let along a sweet deal on one is a task better suited for Sherlock Holmes than for you.

If you are like most newer investors or home buyers looking to get an awesome deal a foreclosed home you are probably thinking the bank must be hiding them all behind those foreclosure listing services where all you see is the street name and the city of the listing but have shell out $30 a month to get, more details. Come along for the ride for a minute with me, it is not as hard as it seems.

Easy Way 1 - Go to the source. Just a few years ago banks didnt want you to know they had foreclosed homes. These homes were an embarrassment to them and they kept their inventory veiled in secrecy from the public. Today things are much different and the cat is out of the bag. Everyone knows that the banks are inundated with foreclosed homes and they are more than willing to share what they have in hopes you will buy one of their homes. Visit the larger banks and local banks in your area odds are you will find a foreclosed homes or foreclosure link on their site and take a look at what they are offering.

Easy Way 2 - Once you have visited a few of the banks websites you will notice a pattern. Their foreclosed homes offering is being listed by one or maybe two realtors in your local market. These realtors are called REO (Real Estate Owned) brokers. They specialize in listing and selling foreclosed homes for the banks. If you find a local broker listing a bunch of homes for one bank the odds are good they are listing homes for other banks too. Contact these brokers to get foreclosed home listings they have available. These realtors are not only a great source of inventory but they also have the inside track to the banks ear.
Share:    

Easy Way 3 - An REO realtor is, by their nature, going to be most interested in selling you the foreclosed homes they have in their own inventory. You can also tap another realtor source and that is the buyers agent. These realtors specialize in helping you find a home. Find one you trust and ask them to set up an email search of the MLS in your market for foreclosed homes. A good realtor knows the keywords to enter in their search to get focused listings of foreclosed homes sent to you via email each day.

Easy Way 4 - You probably already found this foreclosed home source just by Googling foreclosures or foreclosure listings but it is the foreclosure services. The two largest services in the US are RealtyTrac and Foreclosures.com. While there is a fee to get these listings they can be a very good source of foreclosed homes. Beyond just brining you the listings they also provide a wide array of tools that can be helpful in analyzing deals and choosing the homes that make the most sense to you financially. Keep in mind that while there is a fee it is what you do with the information that matters. A small monthly $30 fee is a good investment if you can regularly identify and purchase foreclosed homes that make you money.

Easy Way 5 - Our first 4 sources of foreclosed homes focused on homes that have already been taken back by the bank. In the US our laws provide for the right of due process for every homeowner. This means there is an often lengthy period that the home is in pre-foreclosure before the bank actually gets the home back. If you track the pre-foreclosures in your market you will have a leg up on your competition knowing which homes will soon be entering the banks foreclosed homes inventory. This source is a topic that deserves its own article and may be for more advanced real estate investors but keep it in mind when the time comes for you to move in this direction.

If you even just work one of these sources for foreclosed homes you will find that there is a seemingly endless supply of foreclosures in your local market. They key to using any of these sources is to look on a consistent and persistent basis. New foreclosed homes enter the market every day and time is of the essence for the really good deals. So grab on to a source or two and take action to cash in on the extremely hot foreclosure market.

by: Allison McArthur

POST COMMENT

3 Essential Things To Consider When Buying A Home Insurance Homes Los Angeles County December Market Wrap-up Home Owner Insurance 101: What is it, Why get One and How to Get Insurance Quotes Coverage Of Water Damage Orange County Home Insurance Policy Should People Who Are Renting A House Get Contents Insurance? From Pre-approval Letter To Townhouse Knowing The Real Estate Terms Getting The Best Rate On Home Insurance Real Estate Agents For "we Buy Houses In Baltimore": When Is The Correct Time To Sell Your House? Townhouse Is The Best Real Estate Option In Queensland Buying A New Home Made Easy: How To Choose Homeowners Insurance Techniques For Getting Cheap Homeowners Insurance Through Top Companies San Antonio Homeowners Insurance & Perspectives Which Should Guide Your Choice Benefits Of Taking Home-business Insurance Policy