Sam,

A great way to obtain information about foreclosure homes is to speak with a Realtor that works with Short Sales. These are Pre-Foreclosure oppotunities whereby you may be able to get a lower price that that of the ultimate foreclosure price since the short sale would save the lender administrative costs. In the event he short sale is not successful you will know first hand that the property will go into foreclosure and you can follow back onto the market.

Mike Carlos
Realtor
Keller Williams Realty
Tallahassee, FL

Go to the Leon county Clerk of Courts website and locate the official records portal. Once loaded you can run a query by document type, Lis Pendens. This will return not only those properties which are in default of mortgage but also those properties in default of lien, parties quieting title to property, as well as a host of other civil actions. The great thing about running this query is that you will have the opportunity to know before the crowd and sometimes a call to the property owner will reep a better reward than waiting for the auction. There is also a link to the auction calendar from the Clerk of Courts homepage.

The best way to find foreclosures is to check the Lis Pendens filings. This usually occurs 90+ days before the foreclosure is final, so you can basically get a jump on the process. The most current list is posted at the web site below.

Hi Sam,
Depending on your needs, strengths and comfort-level of risk, there are several ways to find foreclosures.

1. You can visit the County Clerk's office and search for 'Notice of Default', 'Lis Pendens' or 'Notice of Sale' Or you can go to banks and introduce yourself to head of the REO (Real Estate Owned) Dept. The best part of this search is that it is free!

2. You can look online with a listing service, which is alot easier, but you definetly won't be the only one who knows about it.

3. Look in the newspaper as part of the requirement for filing a foreclosure is that the Notice be published.

4. If you will be financing your purchase, and would like to actually walk-thru the home before bidding, a realtor can help you find a foreclosure, but be prepared, you will probably need to pick up your hammer and nails!

Sam,

I agree with Antonio. Go with a well establisheded company. Keller Williams has been ranked as #1 in production for the month of February 08 in Tallahassee. Don't pay Realtytrac. They get their information the same way as Realtors do and it is free to work with a Realtor if you're buying. I am a Realtor with Keller Williams in Tallahassee and I'll be glad to help you out. Give me a call at 850-491-2721 or e-mail me at MaryAdkison@kw.com with your contact information and I'll call you.

Thanks, Mary

Sam:

Find a local Realtor with a good established company (ColdwellBanker, Century21, etc.) and ask them to e-mail you a search of Foreclosures by ZipCode. They should be delighted of the opportunity to work with you. It's a free service.on' Don't pay realtytrac, their information is almost always outdated.

Tony.Vega@coldwellbanker.com

pay a subscription of $30/ month to realtytrac.com