5 Ways to Find Deals on Foreclosed Homes

Yahoo suggests five ways to find deals on foreclosed homes as follows:

1) Search bank websites.
2) Look up government-owned listings.
3) Visit your county's offices.
4) Pay for a foreclosure-listing service.
5) Work with a real estate agent.

I've noted before that I'd be willing to buy a foreclosed home if I could find one that met our criteria and offered us a great savings -- but there's no great way to find them. Yeah, I've known about the options listed above for quite some time, but I'm not sure many are worth the effort. My take on each of these:

1. It's probably like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The chances of finding something here is pretty slim, I'd guess.

2. Fairly time consuming, and time is not something I have in abundance.

3. Fairly time consuming, and time is not something I have in abundance.

4. Probably the best alternative for me. Here's what Yahoo says about #4:

Some companies, such as RealtyTrac, offer comprehensive foreclosure listings for a fee. At RealtyTrac, $49.95 a month gets users access to around a million listings that cover about 75 percent of the nation's counties. They include homes already in foreclosure as well as those approaching it. Users can make offers online for many of the properties, which aren't binding but get the process started, says spokesman Daren Blomquist. Users usually work with either the agent or owner listed in order to complete the purchase. The database also provides estimates of the property value based on comparable sales in the area, which Blomquist says helps buyers determine whether they are getting a good deal.

My only questions: anyone out there used a service like this? Is it worth it?

5. I've tried this and thought I had an agent that was "connected" and knew of upcoming foreclosures. It's turning out that she wasn't as connect as was advertised -- at least not in the area/price range I'm looking for.

Comments

[Lolita]

A paid service might be useful for some. I personally wouldn't do it. I've used foreclosure.com for free searches, granted, it doesn't allow you to get ALL of the info that might be available, but it will show you listings and then have your realtor research what you find. I say let the realtor earn his commission!!

One other thing you might try is looking at actual mortgage company websites. For example, Ocwen Financial Corp., which is a mortgage collection firm, gives a link to available properties right on their homepage. (ocwen.com)

[The Gringo]

I have actually been thinking about signing up with foreclosure.com. This seems to be the only company that has a lot of listings in Puerto Rico (where I currently live).

So if anyone knows where the free foreclosure listings on the bank sites here, etc... I am all ears.

[Howie]

My girlfriend and I are looking to buy a house right now and we've considered foreclosed homes. But I just keep on hearing horror stories. I know there's a possibility to get a great deal but is it worth the risk for a first-time home buyer?

[JJ]

In reference to no. 5 - if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. I put "connected realtor" right up there with "stock tip". Both are agenda driven.

[Paul]

I found this on another website forum.

It seems to work well and its free. No need to sign up or something.

http://www.emailforeclosures.com/

I was surprised to see some houses on my street that were under foreclosures.

[Khyron]

Talk about taking the bloom off the Yahoo! Finance rose.

As a recovering real estate investor in MD, I'd say the chances of any of those being successful enough to justify the time investment are very small, unless of course you're a FT real estate investor.

Avoid auctions. At all costs. You have to find foreclosures after the auction, when the stuff doesn't clear the market.

Anything a Realtor(TM) has could be a deal, depending on the eagerness of the bank to get it off their books. You'd also have better access to value the property and estimate repairs. But that could be said of pre-foreclosures as well (the part about a deal based on the eagerness of the bank). And pre-foreclosures usually don't involve an agent, which reduces the overhead.

Those e-mail sites like RealtyTrac and foreclosure.com tend to be a waste as well. You have to be in the local market to find the best opportunities. But the experience I had showed most of these to be old, and a lot of the time, stuff I found out through other means, usually my local real estate investors association (REIA).

The Fed listings could potentially be useful, but the local govt. stuff is dodgy. It really depends on timing. Again, I think any professional investor is going to have better sources for deals than almost any of the methods this article talked about. That's just my personal opinion.