Bank owned but not listed for sale

[Kendrick Fisher]

I live in a small town in north Texas. I noticed a house was vacant and had the winterized labels on the doors. There is also a key lock box on the front door which I would assume is for workers since it is not currently on the MLS. I was also looking on Trulia.com and it is listed on there by realtytrac however I know their information is widely regarded as inaccurate. I am interested in this home as a first home to live in. I know this forum is primarily for investors but there seems to be a vast amount of knowledge on the subject. I looked at the property tax records and the deed was transferred on Jan. 4th. I was just curious if there is any average time line from the bank taking possession to the time it is listed for sale. Thank you for your time.

[Steve Babiak]

Just because it is now "owned" by Citimortgage does not mean that you can't find out about it.

I would see if it's under either Fannie Mae http://www.homesteps.com/ or Freddie Mac http://www.homesteps.com/ or FHA (I think they are under http://www.hud.gov/ ).

I would also check for Citimortgage specifically at https://www.citimortgage.com/Mortgage/Oreo/SearchListing.do

If you wait until it's "ready to list", you might find that the listing agent already has a few buyers ready and willing to buy before you can pull the trigger.