Foreclosures are a gold mine for real estate investors and persons wanting to purchase a home cheaply. There a number of sources where foreclosures are listed and you can use these foreclosure listings to make your move.
Some of the sources of foreclosure listings are:
• Public Records: Information about homes in various stages of foreclosure is available at the county clerk’s office. This is a public record and is allowed for any one to view. Besides it is a free service. Visit your county clerk’s office and look up the list of pre-foreclosures, Notice of Default and Notice of sale.
• The internet: The net is a great place to search for foreclosure listings. Internet based foreclosure companies gather information about foreclosure properties and give this information to those who pay for a subscription to their site. This is the easiest way to find foreclosed properties and so there is a lot of competition. Also sometimes some of these sites may cheat you by providing outdated information or information copied from other sites. It is best to use a trial period for an internet site and judge the authenticity and timeliness of information provided.
• Search local newspapers: While filing for foreclosure it is compulsory to publish notice of sale in the newspaper. If you search local papers, you can find properties which have been filed for foreclosure.
• Direct mail: It is good way of finding real foreclosure listings. This is so because you can negotiate with the home owner in the pre-foreclosure period and get a bargain. There will be less competition as fewer investors are aware of this property but this may involve more work than other ways of purchasing foreclosures.
• Real Estate agents: Real estate agents have good foreclosure listings with them. Many banks hire real estate agents to settle their foreclosed properties. Banks are not into selling real estate so they hire agents to handle the deal. Thus agents possess a good listing of REO and other properties.
• Seek out foreclosure listings- Search for listings of banks, other lenders and mortgage companies. Many lenders have online sites with foreclosure listings while others have departments which can be contacted by telephone.
These are some of the methods of finding foreclosure listings.

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