Investor · Valparaiso, IN · Member since 2014 · 185 posts · 47 votes
I receive listing alerts for specific zip codes in my area from the foreclosure.com address. Has anyone every got a property through these and if so, what is the process? Is there a difference from ones that say bankruptcy opposed to preforclosure? Which ones would be easier to pursue (if any)?
I've bought foreclosures for years, here's how those alerts actually break down.
Preforeclosure just means the owner got served. The bank doesn't own it, the owner does. So there's no process through the site, you'd have to reach the owner yourself and buy it like any other deal before the sale date. Most of those owners are getting a pile of investor letters, so you're one of many. The ones that work have real equity and an owner who actually wants out.
Bankruptcy is a different animal. Once they file there's an automatic stay, the foreclosure stops, and you can't really buy it without the trustee and the court signing off. Those take months and a lot never come to market. Starting out I'd skip them.
Then there's the sheriff sale itself, which is cash, usually no inspection, and you need your own title search to know what liens survive. And REO, which is after the bank takes it back. Those get listed with an agent on the MLS, you can finance, inspect, and get clean title. Easiest by far, you just have more competition.
I'd focus on REO and the sheriff sale lists and treat the preforeclosure alerts as a research list. In Indiana the sheriff sale lists are posted free online (a lot of counties run them through SRI), and most of what those alert sites show comes from public court and county records anyway, so go straight to the source and it'll be more current.
@Mike York Alerts like that are pulled from court and bankruptcy filings and can lag, so I'd look up the actual case on the county docket to see where it stands before reaching out. With pre-foreclosure, the lender has filed but the owner still controls the sale, so you can work with them directly. A bankruptcy filing puts an automatic stay in place, and any sale usually has to go through the trustee or the court, which is slower and less predictable.
I've bought foreclosures for years, here's how those alerts actually break down.
Preforeclosure just means the owner got served. The bank doesn't own it, the owner does. So there's no process through the site, you'd have to reach the owner yourself and buy it like any other deal before the sale date. Most of those owners are getting a pile of investor letters, so you're one of many. The ones that work have real equity and an owner who actually wants out.
Bankruptcy is a different animal. Once they file there's an automatic stay, the foreclosure stops, and you can't really buy it without the trustee and the court signing off. Those take months and a lot never come to market. Starting out I'd skip them.
Then there's the sheriff sale itself, which is cash, usually no inspection, and you need your own title search to know what liens survive. And REO, which is after the bank takes it back. Those get listed with an agent on the MLS, you can finance, inspect, and get clean title. Easiest by far, you just have more competition.
I'd focus on REO and the sheriff sale lists and treat the preforeclosure alerts as a research list. In Indiana the sheriff sale lists are posted free online (a lot of counties run them through SRI), and most of what those alert sites show comes from public court and county records anyway, so go straight to the source and it'll be more current.
Foreclosure.com was not much help to me. I think they wanted me to sign up for their services. Depending on what state and county are your targets, I have been going directly to the law firms website. The law firm lists the address and auction date and time. Calling the law firms has been useless, but their websites are amazing. They even tell you what the check is payable to.