well i have a list to those pre-foreclosures and foreclosures. i am based here in NYC but have been trying in a different county then my city limits and it is extremely competitive. i guess it is more in direct relation to how is your local market moving honestly. that may determine your approach hope it helps.
I am in the process of trying to create a plan to acquire land/properties that are distressed/under appreciated etc so that i can invest in them- and im trying to find all the ways to locate these types of properties.
@Leo Goykhman sorry I did not get back to you sooner. If you could tag me by putting these two symbols together @ + ?= it will pop up my name at the bottom and I will be notified.
Have you analyzed your market yet?
Who knows I may travel to Chicago, I am open to a lot these days.
Can only speak for the SFR market- Yes, it's still viable. Foreclosures are especially good if you're a buy & hold investor with cash, because flippers will almost never be able to pay more (if they're a smart investor) for a property than the buy/hold investor.
I see on your profile it says you're focusing on wholesaling at the moment. Keep in mind, when buying a foreclosure you're dealing with the bank. They want the property sold & will not entertain an offer with the verbiage "and/or assignee".
Everyone says you need to buy a list to get an effective marketing campaign started, but I would disagree. Get to the point where you're able to find distressed properties and get them under contract on your own THEN look to streamlining your business with vetted list from a company.