Where can I find a list of foreclosure properties for sale?
If only it were as simple as pulling out a list! Banks purposefully hide foreclosures from investors. From their perspective, investors are scavengers then bury them with lowball offers. Average homebuyers, on the other hand, are thrilled when they can negotiate a small discount. So, naturally, the bank markets to them.
You can still find their properties, but you’ll have to do your homework. As a person that goes through 100 leads per week, I’ve found it’s essential to use multiple sources of information. Bank web sites, foreclosure services, and the MLS — you’ll need them all in order to keep yourself supplied with a steady stream of leads.
Subscribe to a Foreclosure Listing Service
Some investors turn their noses up to foreclosure listing services, complaining about the quality of the information. And it’s true. Half of the listings on their sites are expired, sold, or inaccurate. The rest, on the other hand, are immensely valuable. For $20 per month, you have access to thousands of leads around the country.
You also need to use the service with clear expectations. Despite their best efforts, listing sites will only display about 20% of the foreclosures on the market. It’s not a magic bullet solution; you’ll need other sources of information as well. For example, I typically browse different areas on the listing service for hotspots — geographic areas that have an unusually large amount of foreclosures. Then I turn to the MLS for a detailed search.
Browse Foreclosures on Bank Web Sites
Another easily accessible source of foreclosure leads is bank web sites. Several of the larger banks list all of their properties on their sites for everyone to see. Most of the time, the information is up-to-date and accurate, so you don’t have to worry about calling on dud leads. The downside is the information is freely available to everyone. Unless you’re working in an uncompetitive market, you will most definitely have multiple bids on each property.
I usually watch the sites for awhile to see which properties stay. If I notice houses being sold in one area slower than another, it’s reasonable to assume that it’s a slow market with little competition. Over time, the bank will also become more motivated, making any offer seem reasonable. So, the bank web site can help you further target your search.
Search of the MLS for Clues
Once you find several promising areas, use the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to fine-tune your search. The MLS will give you much more information. For example, you can look up individual real estate investments that you found on the foreclosure listing or bank sites, and it will give you the heated living area, pictures, remarks from the realtor, and dozens of other tidbits of information.
You can also use it to search for keywords in the remarks section of the listing. Here is my personal list:
- As is
- As-is
- Exempt
- Bank
- Motivated
- Reduced
- Short sale
There’s a small catch. Most MLS systems require you to be a realtor and pay a fee for access. If you’re not a realtor, you can ask one to pull the listings for you. For the service, most of them will want to become your exclusive buyer’s agent. It’s up to you, but I rarely agree. I look for a new, rather hungry agent and pay them $50 a month to send me listings based on my criteria. Considering it’s less than an hour’s work, most are happy with the arrangement.
For a detailed guide on how to beat other buyers to the best foreclosure deals, download this report.