Source for RE foreclosure / Tax Sales??
 

I know more than a few people here are connected to the RE business in one way or another. Does anyone know of an accurate source or website that could be my 'go to' for foreclosure / tax sale RE??

I've seen several online sources; one in particular is "Realtytrac"...........................but it sort of looks a little fishy. As In "You pays yer money then we gives you da list"

My local agent who is sort of mentoring me says there is no real one place to find that info. In fact the best way is to network with local banks /lenders to obtain 'first knowledge' of those types of properties.

Problem is that I think that is hugely time consuming and may yield llttle results.

What say you??

If you go to your local court house they have a list.Some post them on the web.You have to go to which ever county home page the properties are located in.

You need to check with your local court system. Snoop around.

What you really want to look for are foreclosure filings....go make them an offer they can't refuse.

PM me.

Jim

I wish I had the secret. Going direct to sellers offers great promise, but the averages are really low. Folks in distress are rarely willing to cut their losses.

I buy bank-owned properties. Unfortunately, at this time, banks still believe their properties are worth gold. There will be a time when bankers will be begging for offers, and I will be their knight carrying big sacks of green stuff. ;)

Can we get a MUHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!

;)

Agreed. It's flabbergasting to me how realtors and banks (and some sellers) still cling to the delusions of 2004 pricing. If I were in the market to sell, I'd be a "leader" of the cut-your-prices-and-take-what-you-can trend. The followers will be either (1) sitting on their properties for the next 15 years before fetching their asking prices, (2) end up having to panic-slash their pricing anyway, probably at a large loss or (3) end up holding onto it, probably ending up upside-down or worse.

Any bets on whether August will be the month where we see the first national Y-O-Y decline?

The NAR has lost pretty much all credibility with me already. I predict that even with a Y-O-Y decline they'll somehow try to interject the term "soft landing" into their report and possibly try to pass it off as a "fall/cyclical 'soft' period in which we typically see a slight downturn in sales". If you don't already think they're full of *****, that should be a dead giveaway. That's my prediction anyway. If it ain't August it'll be September.

Jim- - PM'd you

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
[B]......... August will be the month where we see the first national Y-O-Y decline?



Porsche-O-Phile - What is Y-O-Y?



HardDrive - So people / lenders first file an application in that county's court system to start the foreclosure process?

Also I think that the NAR is by definition biased towards the good of the industry. I see that organization no diferently than the NADA. (National Dealers Ass)

They exist at the end of a very short leash for them. Just like the NAR, NADA will forever have a glowing outlook upon their interest regardless of what actual circumstances are.

Your local sherrifs office will have the list of foreclosure sales. Typically the banks will buy them back because the loan balance is higher than the market value. You might find a few gems though. Go attend some Sherrifs sales and see how the investors work. You don't get to inspect these properties before you buy.

After the bank purchase the house back they will have realtors supply BPO's (broker price opinions) and then ignore the appraisals and list for some ridiculous price. Most realtors can search by lender or corporate owned so have your buddy email you those listings when they hit the market. Realize that you may be too late for the good deals as the listing brokers who deal with REO's (real estate owned) will have several pro rehabbers in their back pocket and don't have to post the listing on the MLS for 3 days. Work either new listings or really old listings that the banks may be ready to dump.

There is no magic list. Stay away from the list brokers, they sell old information that you can get yourself anyway.

I did contact my local county clerks office to find out where to start today.

There's a list in the Sun every week, I assume the Post is the same for your side of the river.

How about this

http://www.hud.gov/homes/index.cfm

I go to the Sheriff sales here and bought 1 house so far. The banks usually send attorney's to the auction to buy the house in the banks behalf unless a larger bid then the amount owed is made. Here they advertise in the paper 4 times a month before the auction or once a week so you can get an idea of what to go look at. You don't get to go in the properties but you can drive by and get an idea of what you think you would bid at auction.

One bad thing in some states including my state of Kentucky is that if the property sales at the sheriff auction for less then 2/3rd's of the current value set by an appraiser for the court then the current owner has up to 1 year to buy the property back with interested. If you win the auction its possible to make a deal with the person foreclosed on with some cash and a contract they won't pursue claiming the house back.

Another way is to find a good real estate person and let them find the deals for you. I recently did this and got a house about $40k below market in a $180k neighborhood. The deals seem to get better and more frequent the more you work with the same agent.

kycarguy makes a great point, the homeowner has one year to purchase the house back, at least in KS. The investment guys normally contact the homeowner and essentially buy their rights to the property, because rarely do the they come up with the cash to buy their property back. Bank automatically bids what is owed on the house, nothing says they can't have someone there to bid more for them though.;)

Thanks everyone.................keep it coming!

I have bought a few houses through a realtor friend of mine. Her rule- If it's been on the market for more than a day, it's not a good enough deal.

The true bargains are sold within a few hours. I have a credit line set up for flipping fixer-uppers. The one I did best on had seven offers within a couple of hours. six of them were contingent on financing, while I offered cash.

I have gone to foreclosure auctions, and I've scoured the legal notices in the paper, but I've usually bought something that my realtor found for me.

From the article: "Last week 570,000 houses were in a stage of foreclosure, according to research firm Realtytrac.com, which said its listings—which include categories bankers don't—have grown 39 percent in the last year. That means it's a buyer's market, with houses going for as little as 70 percent of their current market value, less in troubled areas like Michigan, Georgia and Texas.""


VERY Telling of things just around the corner.

Thanks for the link!