Thread: foreclosure market

You want it free? Hire a Realtor.
You agree to pay? foreclosure.com | foreclosures.com | etc...

I also would recommend you find a top real estate agent in your area.

He or she is going to be able to search for homes for sale on the MLS in your area. Most of the bank owned properties here in Minnesota do get listed in fact on the MLS. But remember, the listing agent represents the bank and the bank's best interests.

Hire a top real estate agent to go to bat for you. It is crucial in this real estate market.

I hope this helps.

Try bidselect. They are great for HUD listings... tons of listings, tons of realtors with contact info. Good source I use over and over again.

Foreclosure Cleaning

Get the pre-foreclosure list from your local financial newspaper; most states require the bank to post notice prior to the sheriff's sale. Get a subscription and create a mailing database updating it daily.

You can get the list of foreclosed property from the county sheriff's office.

All of these online services that charge for the information are getting it somewhere right? Just go to the same place and get it yourself. It will be much more up to date.

Some banks list their inventory on their website.

I am a Realtor and investor. I buy foreclosures to rehab and rent. I've also helped numerous clients buy foreclosures. However foreclosures aren't always the best deal. Today you can often find better deals in new construction than foreclosures since builders have excees inventory they need to liquidate. Unless you have a lot of time to spend marketing for properties, get a good realtor who has experience with foreclosures.

If you have the time, market to distressed home owners who haven't yet gone in to foreclosure. Use door hangers, street signs or newspaper ads. Or find someone already doing it because they often sell their contracts before they close. Next time you see a "We Buy Houses" sign call it and ask them if you can buy their contracts. If there is a Real Estate Investors Assoc near you join it. You will find people who either have deals to sell or are willing to show you how they find deals.

Marketing for properties, rehabbing properties and managing properties can each be a full time job. Be willing to pay someone else to do the ones you don't enjoy or aren't good at.

As a Realtor it kills me when people tell me they only want to look at foreclosures because they think those will be the best deals. What they really want is a good deal, it shouldn't matter how it got there. I've got some relatively new, low maintenance duplexes for sale that are better income properties than most foreclosures.

That's a very good point. Foreclosures aren't always the best deal. What you really want is a good property at a good price. As the previous poster commented some great deals can be found currently in new construction. Don't limit yourself to foreclosures.

Originally Posted by jphoff

I have been scouring the internet looking for investment opportunities, in particular foreclosures and it really is difficult to find them. realtor.com doesn't have them as a search criteria so now i've been looking on forums such as realestatedebates.com as well as your site. if anyone is reading this and knows how to find listings maybe state by state of foreclosures please post a reply. thanks!

I would be more than happy to set you up on an automatic email for new foreclosures that hit the market in the Las Vegas area. Like someone already stated though, it shouldn't matter whether the home is a foreclosure or not, just depends on the deal. Most of my market here in Las Vegas are all foreclosures anyway, about 80%.

If you are interested in purchasing in my area, let me know. I can easily put you on that email list.

Hiring a Realtor is the best way to go.

Best source for foreclosure properties in your area bottom line is an agent that is familiar with REO transactions. In my local market it's safe to say nearly 100% of these properties are on the MLS, even the auction properties.

RealEstateDebates.com is another place to find foreclosures and talk about them from experts.