I live in Ohio. I have contacted lawyers and the county recorder about seeing notices of default. The recorder doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about and the lawyer said it's not public information. What is happening. Someone help!!

Lawyer is correct. Listen to the advise

So how is Ohio different from other states in that respect then? I'm asking because I've read post after post that says they're public record. So, my only option is then to get pre-forclosures before they go to auction yes? Or are sites like rebogateway legit?

@Terrence Allen Kinchen

Notices of Default, on what exactly? Land contracts have a requirement that a notice of default is sent to the defaulting party, but it wouldn't necessarily be recorded. In a technical sense of the word, even a tenant who fails to pay rent is in default of their lease contract and the 3 day eviction notice would also, technically speaking, be considered a notice of default, though I've never heard of this being recorded. In some cases, prior to starting a foreclosure case some notices will be recorded, though you can find foreclosure info on the court's public dockets once a case has been filed.

If you can be a little more specific I might be able to give you better answers.

Default on Mortgage. I read somewhere that notices of mortgage default may be required by some mortgage contracts when the loan goes into default and that the county recorder will record these.