How to find Foreclosures in Ontario

Question

Hi!

I am new to real estate investing!  I was hoping someone could help guide me in the right direction on how to acquire foreclosures in Ontario Canada?

Cheers,

Quinton

Roy N. · Answer

@Quin Green

If you are going to be chasing mortgage sales, then it behooves you to follow the Ontario Gazette (Royal Gazette) and the classifieds section of the local newspaper for properties headed to mortgage sale.

When an interesting property comes up, attend the auction - if for no other reason than learn the upset price and learn if it sells.   If the property does not sell at auction, then it will typically end-up on MLS a few weeks later.   If you know the upset price from the auction, it will be a helpful comparison to the listing price and will give you guidance on how low your offer can be and still get a response.

Roy Cleeves · Answer

In Ontario, Canada we really don't have many foreclosures.  The big lenders all do Power of Sale instead of foreclosure so that they never own the property.  Power of Sale homes are listed on the MLS system and can be found on realtor.ca yet you would not necessarily know that they are a power of sale.  The best way is to get a Realtor in the area that you want to buy and have them do a key word search such as Bank or Trust - these show up in the Seller names.  Many of the lenders will not even allow us to say power of sale anywhere on the listing yet when owned by a bank or trust company then it is usually a power of sale and they usually sell for less due to poor condition of the home.  I hope that helps!

Quin Green · Answer

I am looking for a place to house hack and looking for income properties!  Will get into rehabing, etc later on down the road potentially. Thanks!

Andrew Jones · Answer

@Quin Green

Here in Quebec we have 3 ways of finding pre foreclosures

1. Registre Foncier du Québec

This will tell you about anything that has happened to a property

Sale, Transmission, Lean, 60 day notice, Expropriation, sub dividing land....

Very had to find specific deals in here, you’d need to be lucky to find a 60 day notice, you have to search every address and fall upon it

2. JLR/ Mon Prospecteur

These are services where for a monthly fee they will have combed through #1^ and found the leads you want.

They cost 30-120$ a month.

Every time you access any documents to see the 60 day notice or any of the other things it will cost you 1$ each time you open it

Roy N. · Answer

You get to know your target neighbourhood: identify the properties of interest; then write some {yellow} letters - or have door knockers made - and get them to the owners.

Kevin Hushagen · Answer

@Roy Cleeves

With power of sale they are required to get fair market value. It's not like the foreclosure system in the US where you can get them at a substantial discount. You want pre power of sale, the owner will atleast receive some money instead of loosing it all. And you will receive a property with built in equity.

Gary McGowan · Answer

The best bet is to work with a local Agent that access Off-Market Deals, or exclusive listing networks. One of the Private Networks in the Greater Toronto Area currently has over 770 Exclusive listings on it (only Realtors® have access to it). They are listed on there to generate a buzz about the property.

It also depends on the area you are investing in. 99.9% of Sellers want their home on the market as it is a very strong Sellers market at the moment.

Roy Cleeves · Answer

@Ryan Blackwell The easiest way to get the off market properties is to advertise for them.  That means using flyers in the neighbourhoods that you are interested in and advising that you want to buy their house.  Once they contact you, then you can make an offer that works.

Ryan Blackwell · Answer

Yes I am also looking for a way to find a property in Ontario before it hits the market. I looked at the Ontario Gazette as suggested by Roy N but no luck. Has anyone else found a source for these?

Erica Fox · Answer

@AndrewJones

@Andrew Jones @Quin Green Hi! I know this thread is very old but I was wondering if either of you found a tool like Mon Prospecteur for the Ontario market?

How to find Foreclosures in Ontario

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