Where to find foreclosures

Question

I live in Appomattox, VA. (about 30 mins from Lynchburg) I am struggling to know how to get started in finding foreclosure deals. Do you have any suggestions on who to talk to or make connections with? Any good websites worth investing in to find deals? This market is like we've never seen it so maybe there just isn't going to be foreclosures much available anytime soon. Open to any insight... thank you! For now, I am just looking on MLS.

Jared Hottle · Answer

Google your county or counties you are interested in and sheriff sale. In Iowa it will show all the houses going to the sheriff sale online, if you go that route I suggest doing more research on what the sheriff sale is and the risk involved. you will need cash and you will want to invest in a title search for the properties you are most serious about so as to not buy a 2nd lien. I belive the book bidding to buy from bigger pockets would be a great resource for this.

Marty Boardman · Answer

Your question has been answered a few times, it's a public records search in Appomattox County. I don't see an obvious place on their website to get the notice of sale document so you may need to go to the court to access the information. I've been buying foreclosures in Arizona, Wisconsin and Illinois since 2003 so a few tips: 1. The more difficult the information is to get the better it is for you. Embrace the inefficiency! If it's difficult to find the foreclosure that means less competition. 2. Don't trust 3rd party services to gather this info. Get it yourself and check regularly with the attorney that is handling the auction to make sure the sale is still scheduled. No reason to waste time going to look at houses that aren't in foreclosure anymore because the homeowner paid off the loan or brought it current.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

Stop looking for forclosures if what you are looking for is a good deal!

Properties go into foclosure, if they are worth less than what is owed. The is an almost impossible scenario these days. Even in Wisconsin prices have increased 13.7% last year, so you have to trash a property pretty badly to make it worth less than it was when someone bought it a couple years ago!

Look for motivated sellers instead, for example distressed landlords, eviction cases etc

Dwayne Poster · Answer

A quick google of Virginia court foreclosures takes you right to the source.

Colby Sambrotto · Answer

Our new site called RubyPorch.com has preforeclosure and foreclosure listings in twelve metro markets: Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Houston, Dallas, Austin and NYC. We have more coming online in a few weeks. Also, they're free.

Lorraine Martin · Answer

Marty, Thank you for your reply. So you are buying directly from the bank since you are buying foreclosures. Correct? Do you find that foreclosures are your strategy more then MLS?

These must be bought in cash correct?

Jack Bobeck · Answer

Reach out to non-owner occupied properties, ask the landlords if they are interested in selling, some are probably sitting on windfalls that Uncle Sam will bite off, so Owner Financing may be available too.

Debbie Fales · Answer

@Lorraine Martin And don't forget about probate leads—the owners of inherited properties can be very motivated to sell. Also, sometimes private lenders have off-market properties for sale from deals that may have gone sideways.

Good luck!

Rebecca Knox · Answer

go to Netr.com to your city's open records link and depending on your city, you can sometimes see them as soon as they are filed or go to Listsource and pull a 30-60-90 list.

Joseph Hamer · Answer

@Lorraine Martin

What is your goal with foreclosure? Are you wanting to buy a property after it has been foreclosed on or reaching the home owner prior to that time? Properties which have already been foreclosed on are public record and can many times bought at a discount. However, with such a supply demand, many foreclosure homes are selling for market value. Of course this depends on it's condition etc. If you're able to reach the homeowner before the house is foreclosed on, you may be able to find a win-win situation in which their credit is not damaged and they walk away with a little while you get a much better deal on the property. This way requires more work and finesse, but could pay off financially.

Where to find foreclosures

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