Texas pre-foreclosures, realtytrac best option?

Question

Hello!

I would like to attempt to direct mail to pre foreclosures in Texas(preferably in the Plano/Dallas area) in hopes of possibly taking over their mortgage payments to stop the foreclosure from happening.  I help them by stopping the foreclosure from wrecking their credit, they get to stay in the house, and I am now collecting equity in real estate.

I read that realtytrac is a good option to pay for recent and accurate lists of pre foreclosures in Texas, but I am wondering if anyone knows of more up to date lists, or thinks I'm going about this all wrong :P

Any wisdom you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated!

David Heath · Answer

@Walter Edmondson, If I were you I would market for the deals. People who are in the situation of being behind in their payments many times are looking for a way out of the situation. Buy some bandit signs with the expression of "Stop Foreclosure" and your phone number. Be ready to answer the calls.

Account Closed · Answer

@Walter Edmondson   As @Jason Sims mentioned about Dallas County, the Collin County Clerk has a great website.

But... as @Greg H. mentioned, there is often as little as 21 days notice from the first sign of the process until the auction.

Walter Edmondson · Answer

Thank you @David Heath!  I am going to try that :)

Walter Edmondson · Answer

Thank you all for your feedback, I guess I need to take this one back to the drawing board :/

It just feels like Dallas/Collin is such a hot seller's market right now that there is no negotiating deals other than offering full or above list price currently, so I was trying to be creative in thinking of other alternatives that would give me more negotiating power.

I understand that sellers in pre-foreclosure are probably not going to give me or the lender any money, but do you think it would be worth it to them to redo the deed in a land or living trust with joint ownership(with me) if I were to 1) bring the loan current and 2) take over the payments, so that their credit score wouldn't be wrecked?

Christopher Phillips · Answer

It's almost impossible to assume loans anymore. Most lenders have stopped that after the real estate bust.

Preforeclosures are also difficult to do in Texas. Shortsales don't really happen there.

A preforeclosure is when a lender has issued a notice of default. Texas is a trustee state. Once the notice is issued, the trustee immediately sets an auction date for sale, which has a 3 week public notice period. If the owner doesn't remedy the situation within the 3 weeks, the house is sold at auction.

3 weeks isn't enough time to do any real business. You don't know they are behind until the notice is issued. Even if you found out on day 1 of the notice, they are 120 days behind on payments. You would have to pay off their 4 months of payments and penalties to stop the auction process. But if they aren't paying their mortgage, they certainly aren't going to pay you monthly payments plus additional interest.

Greg H. · Answer

This task is very difficult in Texas as the first public notice of default and intent to foreclose can be as little as 21 days prior to the foreclosure

Jason Sims · Answer

Hey Walter,

The best way to get a list of the most current list of pre foreclosures would be taking the time to research the county clerks office. Dallas is digital so you can go to the website and pull the information.

Texas pre-foreclosures, realtytrac best option?

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