Upcoming Foreclosures

Bank Owned properties: How do I get information about REO for free?

I have found some houses that are currently bank owned (I assume a REO). I have found these through a site that lists pre-foreclosures, foreclosed houses up for auctions, and bank owned properties... But it won't list the address, or anything about when the auctions are, and I have no idea who to contact if I am interested in this house without paying for the service. Are these records listed for free anywhere? Can I go to the cityhall of the city the house is in? Do I have to go to each bank to find it out?

Public Comments

1. Contact your local Realtor. He will provide you of most pre-foreclosure homes available for sale, and may have access to bank owned properties. If you are in South Florida, I can help.
2. You can't find out anything without the address....If you want to buy a REO, you must call the brokers/agents in your city and ask if they list any of these homes....With making a few calls, someone will be able to tell you who is listing them.....You can also find preforclosures (homes about to go to public auction) from you local county court.....They list these properities, once a month and they are a matter of public record.....Best of luck to you....
3. A realtor can pull title to these properties to see which lender owns them. Alternatively, you can visit or contact the loss mitigation department of your local banks for this info. Regards
4. That is because they are listed with a real estate agent and therefore in a MLS. Locate a real estate agent you feel good working with and have them pull up the REO opportunities in the area you have an interest in- for free. The pay sites charge a fee to the agents too. Their purpose is to drive you to them specifically. You do not have to use them to locate them, any real estate agent will research for you and advise on what is a reasonable price to pay based upon comparable sales. ***I have handled REO properties in the past. Banks have independent appraisals of the repossessed properties they offer for sale, and contrary to another unknowledgeable respondent, it is also the banks who determine the listing prices, NOT the real estate agent. Many are not steals, but reasonably priced taking into consideration the repairs needed. Occassionally you will find a real deal, a motivated seller but in todays market that is rare. City hall does not care as long as they get the tax revenue, failing which they conduct a tax sale and if the owner or lienholder fails to pay the tax within the redemption period, title is transfered to the new owner.
5. You can find REO on some of the lender's web sites such as Countrywide and MLNUSA. They will even tell you who has the listing in your area.
6. Bank owed homes have already been through the auction process, no one purchased them at the auction. That is why the bank now owns them. You may call most of your major banks to see if they will provide you with a list, but I think you will find this fruitless as most banks now list their bank owned properties with a real estate agency for them to sell. Therefore if you are looking for a bargin there are few even if the house is in need of minor repair, because the real estate agency want to earn the maximum commission even if it means the house will be returned to the bank if it goes un sold. Pre-foreclosures are listed at the county court where you reside, you have to go through each property to find several that you might be interested in. The properties listed at these sites you find are teasing when they show a property but not the address or contact information. Most with the contact information is to real estate agencies, because that is who the bank has contracted to sell their property. I find that the best way to locate people that are in pre-foreclosure is to select an area in your city that you want to invest in or reside. This area should contain at a minimum of 5,000 houses or more. Make a letter or flyere stating that you purchase foreclosed property paid for or not and that you pay all cash and can close within 14 days. Get this letter ran off at Staples or Office Depot or any other copy place. Make sure you sign the original unless you want to sign each one individually. Make sure you have a telephone number listed on the letter that can be reached 24/7 even if it is an answering service. The telephone must be answered or at least a message saying you have contacted the person that purchase foreclosures,please leave a message. Send these letters to the area you have selected to work. You should send them a letter at least once per month. I find it better if you walk the area and put the flyers on each door. Please do not place them in any mail box. This is illegal. If you have children they might be of help to you. Don't forget to reward them. Once you have walked the area for about three months with your flyers, you should consider making a newsletter to mail. Check with the United States post office near your for bulk mailing fees. You might also go to the commercial areas and see if some of the commercial shops will allow you to place this same letter in their shops. You may purchase holders for your letters at Staples or Office Depot. Go by these shops that allow you to place you literature in them at least twice a month to change your letter and insure that you holder is clean and the letters are not all bent causing your flyer to look bad. I would also suggest you purchase a few books on foreclosure at your local book store. There are several good books on foreclosure. You might also purchase one of the midnight real estate gurus course. They will supply you with several forms as well as some techniques to use. They also have scripts to use when you are called. Use them for what they are worth. No one is gonna give you thier house free with no money down. That is not what that means. I hope this has been of some help to you, good luck. "FIGHT ON"
7. Depending on where you are located, you can check your local county clerks website, local sheriff websites, VA foreclosures, HUD, and the list just goes on and on. You should also find your local county auditors and recorders office to do some background check on the properties. Or you can just go downtown to the county building, but the internet is so much easier. If you find the lawyer that is working the case, by law, they have to give you information about the property that is in foreclosure. Best of luck, Angela http://www.ratraceclub.com