After listening to all of the hype about buying foreclosures, one might think that it’s relatively simple to locate foreclosure homes for sale. Well, it is, but only if you know where to look. There are several different strategies you can use for finding foreclosed homes for sale, whether you are looking for Appalachian bank foreclosures or a vacation home in Florida. The trick though is to be the first one there, since there is a lot of competition in the foreclosure, REO, and distressed home marketplace. The methods that investors use to locate foreclosure properties is varied, and they all have their upsides and downsides. I’ll walk you through a few of them, but remember that it’s best not to rely on any one single technique or source.
While many people do not subscribe to the newspaper anymore, if you’re in the foreclosure game, it’s imperative that you do so. The reason for this is that the law in most states requires, by law, that foreclosure information about homes that are going into foreclosure be published in the newspaper. The notices appear in the legal section of the newspaper, which is usually in the back. You might need to do more research, though, because these notices don’t always include everything you need to know about the property.
You can locate properties that are in danger of being foreclosed by publishing your own ad. State that you are a purchaser of foreclosed, distressed, and REO properties, and you may get a few bites. This is one of the best ways to find the properties that are not yet in foreclosure, but the owners have fallen behind on their payments. You can also find these homes by putting up signs alongside the road.
Another fantastic method for finding distressed properties is to send out bulk mail to entire neighborhoods. By doing so, you are hoping that someone who is in pre-foreclosure will see your letter and contact you about their property. This is an excellent method, since you are helping the person to avoid foreclosure while putting yourself in a great position for negotiating a low purchase price on the house. You also avoid the mobs of competition that will arise once a public notice of foreclosure is posted in the paper.
If you have a good relationship with local Realtors, they can also be a great source of leads for finding these types of distressed homes. Realtors often represent banks who end up with foreclosure properties, and their job is to unload them. Lending is what banks do best, and so they often contract this work out to a real estate agent. If you’re looking for Bank One foreclosures, try to develop a relationship with the agent who lists those properties in your area. Agents generally have good connections and can get a list of home foreclosure listings for you to look at. You can also find foreclosure listings at various online websites.
Probably the most important method of finding foreclosures to purchase, and the easiest and cheapest to do, is to continually expand your network. This doesn’t mean just talking to real estate agents. It means letting everyone know, regardless of what they do, that you are looking to purchase foreclosed properties. Make sure that people know this, and before you know it, you will be getting hot tips from everywhere. The best part about this method is that is completely free. So be sure to tell people what you are looking for.
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