How to find the lender on a property going into foreclosure

Question

Hi,

I'm interested in a property that is going into foreclosure, but I'm not sure how to find who the lender is/contact information.  My understanding had been to look for lis penden notices in the register of deeds within the county, but I'm not finding this in Durham County, NC.  Is there another way to find who the lender is, or is there something I'm missing?

Thanks.

Randall Alan · Answer

@Josh Fulton

I wouldn't waste your time looking for the lender.   They already have their plan in motion... and it doesn't include you (no offense).  They are following the law and using the auction to determine the fair market value of the property.  You will not be able to buy it out before the auction through the lender.  If the property has no buyer at the auction (ie. reserve not met), then you might have a chance with the lender.

You best / likely only bet would be to reach out to the person being foreclosed upon (if they are still living) and try to arrange a deal for them to redeem the property (ie pay off all the balances owed to the lender including back interest, taxes, property upkeep, foreclosure fees, etc) with the owner getting a cut of the proceeds (after all that) for them agreeing to sell it to you at some price you negotiate with them.  If the person is dead, so are your chances there.  You would probably want a lawyer to be involved to protect yourself if you are fronting 10's of thousands of dollars to buy out the property.

Also, understand that the person being foreclosed upon is entitled to anything over the balance due at the auction.  So if the lender was owed $50,000, and there were $10,000 in fees for the foreclosure... then the property sold for $100,000... the owner of the property actually receives the $40,000 difference as equity that was in the property.  On the other hand, if there is no buyer at the auction, the lender gets to keep all the proceeds when they sell the property after the fact.

Hope it helps!

Randy

Kathie Russell · Answer

All of the advice above is correct.  The lender will not talk to you, your only option pre-foreclosure is the person being foreclosed upon.  Or, you can wait until it forecloses and then submit an upset bid.  You have 10 days after the sale date to do this. Further, lis pendens are not filed for foreclosures.  You would need to go to the clerk of court - special proceedings - and search the foreclosure files.  You will find the lender information there.

Chris Seveney · Answer

@Josh Fulton

Why you trying to find the lender?

The lender cannot sell you the home or talk to you about the loan (it’s illegal).

Your best bet is to find the owner and buy it from them or wait till foreclosure sale

Josh Fulton · Answer

Thank you all for your replies.So, the bank is foreclosing on this.  I still have 10 days to submit an upset bid?  I'm familiar with this through properties that are being foreclosed on by the county, but properties that are foreclosed on through the bank go through the same process?The county makes this information available on their website.  For bank foreclosures, I would have to cobble the information together from files held in the Clerk of Court - Special Proceedings?I have a few more questions, if you all would be so kind.So, the purpose of a buy something at pre-foreclosure is because the home owner has put in enough equity that the loan on the house is worth far less than what the home is worth, right?  But how do you find out how much the remaining mortgage on the property is?Also, I thought lis pendens were filed when a foreclosure was taking place.  Why are they filed?Thank you.

Marty Boardman · Answer

@Kathie Russell is the expert in NC, I'll let her answer your upset bid question.

Ideally, if there is enough equity in the property you would buy it directly from the homeowner prior to the auction (pre-foreclosure). That way you can negotiate better terms (think sub-to) and you don't have to compete against any bidders at the auction. You have to "guesstimate" what the borrower owes their lender. You do this by taking the principal balance of the loan and amortizing it down from the origination date, then adding the back payments, penalties and interest to that balance. You have to approximate the interest rate and payment amount. BUT, this is much easier to do if you're already negotiating with the homeowner. They will likely have a recent loan statement with this info.

As Kathie pointed out already, there is no Lis Pendens filed for foreclosures in North Carolina.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Why do you want to speak to the lender? Buy the property from the home owner directly.

How to find the lender on a property going into foreclosure

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