How to get a “List” of foreclosed real estate.

I’ve continued to have many individuals who are curious about getting a list of foreclosures in specific areas of the country.

Some of you have “heard through the grapevine” that the County Court, or other types of government publishes a list of foreclosed real estate in the area they cover.

This is TRUE to a point, they do publish lists, but it’s the list of DELINQUENT homeowners in which the bank has issued a foreclosure notice (In my state, sued the homeowner to start the foreclosure).

This list is only mildly helpful to someone who wishes to purchase a foreclosure. Only a percentage of these properties will go to the lender’s REO portfolio. Some will work a deal out with the bank, some will declare bankruptcy and slow the process down , while others will do other things.

So, lets get on to the “Lists”

Unfortunately, there really is no list of foreclosures in any specific area, many websites will charge a individual a fee to get a “List” of properties. These lists are almost always out of date, and many times have incorrect information. Most of the time, this is due to the way the website gets their information, NOT because they want to rip you off.

For instance, a individual called me one day concerning a property I had for sale in Stoutsville, Ohio. The property was owned by JP Morgan Chase bank , and was listed at $124,900. The home was in fair condition, and only needed the carpet replaced and re-painted. The website was showing that the ASKING price for the property was $85,000, and they were absolutely convinced that the bank would take $85,000 for it because this particular BIG website was stating that the foreclosure value was $85,000. Unfortunately this was false, the bank had purchased it at $85,000 which was 2/3rds of the appraised value set by the county. The home was worth around $120,000 or so. Not having real, viable information about the property wasted the buyers time, and my time as well. The property eventually sold for $118,500 and the buyers were thrilled with the home, because the repaired  value (After carpet and paint) was in the $130s.

The BEST way to get a PARTIAL list of what’s available to the market is by visiting various bank websites that show their REO portfolio that is for sale. Below you’ll find a partial list of those websites.

 http://www.ocwen.com/reo/home.cfm      (OCWEN FINANCIAL)

http://iasreo.com/homesforsale.aspx          (Intergrated Asset, Which handles JP Morgan Chase REO and others)

https://www.reotrans.com/index.cfm?event=public.homepage&homepage=buyers   (Multiple Banks)

http://www.reosource.com/findahome_FAREO.html (First American which has SOME Deutsche Bank Properties)

http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/home-loans/properties (HSBC Bank REO Listings)

http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp (Countrywide REO Department Listings)

Now that I’ve given you a list of some of the banks and Asset management companies that have foreclosure listings, I’ll tell you the sad truth.

The websites given only list approximately 10% of what’s REALLY on the market in terms of foreclosures. I know in my specific town, they only show that there is only ONE home for sale in my town is for sale. I know for a fact that there is a minimum of 15 homes for sale , with about 30 that are in a state of pre-foreclosure (That is delequent, and in some stage of the bank attempting to foreclose on the homeowner.

Now, How do you get a list of what’s REALLY on the market, without going to 20 bank websites which only cover a small portion of what’s on the market?

Easy , Send me a email and I’ll set you up with a REO specialist for your area, It’s easy, and FREE, and will actually save you money, because they know how the whole REO battlefield works. My Email address is Brandon.Schlichter@RealLiving.com .   All I need is your Name , Phone Number, Email Address and whether you’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage or not.

 REOs are definitely a different kind of world when it comes to real estate, and you HAVE to know what you’re getting in to.