Do agents deal with foreclosures?

[Patrick J.]

Do agents deal with foreclosed homes? Do foreclosures on Zillow show up on the MLS? Do they usually sell for around the listed price? Where is the foreclosure on Zillow being syndicated from?

[Jonathan Greene]

The answer is yes or no, depending on the stages and the expertise of the agent. You can see "foreclosure" type homes at two stages on the MLS and active for all - early as a short sale and late as an REO. In the middle, foreclosures usually head to the courthouse steps where agents are not involved. However, an investor-friendly agent can assist in valuation, neighborhood scale, pricing, but you would have to compensate them on close from your side.

Zillow also shows preforeclosures, which are almost never active. They may become active in the future, but are not viewable or able to make offers on unless you have the seller in your off-market flow. Your foreclosure auctions will all be listed at an opening bid like eBay and will always sell for more. On the MLS, they usually won't take less than 10 percent of list price as an REO.