Title Representative · Norman, OK · Member since 2016 · 35 posts · 24 votes
9y
Hi Torrie,
You can buy lists from various sources. There are also lots of existing forum posts about wholesaling/where to find lists/what the processes are, etc. I recommend you search and read some of those, a lot of your questions have likely already been answered. In addition to that here are some links that you can explore to start getting a feel of what kind of free/public information resources are out there that you can use.
Here is a link to the Oklahoma County sheriff's sales which the link to the list of properties for sale.
There are lots of steps to foreclosure proceedings (...sheriff's sale, file motion to confirm, notice of hearing, then at the hearing their is an order confirming sale, and ultimately a sheriff's deed is issued). If you're trying to negotiate with a seller before the property is foreclosed on they can redeem at any point up until the Order Confirming Sale - at that point the title passes to whoever won the property at the sheriff's sale. Look at the Oklahoma Court Network to see where in the process the foreclosure is, what date the hearing is going to be held, etc. You can also see who it is that is foreclosing and get a loose estimate for how much for. What ever amount is on the petition, keep in mind there is always another $5-20K in legal fees for the foreclosure proceedings that have to also be paid for the seller to redeem the property. The property owner can contact the attorney filing the foreclosure to get a total amount needed to redeem.
You can also use the court network to look up Probate cases and see what point in the process they are at. It also gives you the names of the potential parties involved including administrator, heirs, etc. that you can reach out to.
Here is the link to the Oklahoma County Clerk's office to search for filings that may affect the property. Be sure to search by legal description not just the name, i.e. the lot, block, and addition. You can get the legal description from the Assessor's page.
Keep in mind, liens can be incorrectly indexed so you can't rely on this 100% to determine what may affect the property. It does however help identify a potential major issue affecting the property that might ruin a deal and just waste your time. Be careful of things like IRS liens, mechanic's liens, lis pendens, foreclosures on 2nd mortgages (in some cases they are being sold "subject to" the first mortgage), etc. There is no point in negotiating a seller to sell for $100,000 if they have $200,000 of outstanding mortgages and liens that would have to be paid through closing. Spending time to pre-vet the property before you go to see if will save you a lot of time you would have invested in a deal bound to fail. Side note, this step does not replace getting title insurance. I highly recommend you make sure the buyer goes through a title company to make sure they get the property lien free from the seller.