The best way to find out when good investment property becomes available or when new foreclosures become available is to choose a full time local Realtor who knows your needs and keep you on their investor list of people who are ready to buy these types of properties. They would call you immediatly with details and take you to view the property and write an offer quickly so you would get the winning offer. If you would like help please contact me at anytime! I am very dedicated and will let you know when investment and foreclosed property comes on the market immediatly! Thanks! 229-809-0494

Wish to modify my answer below. I spoke with a California Assoc. of Realtors staff attorney on our "hot-line" and he clarified a few items for me regarding representing an "investor" client who is buying a "owner-occupied" 1-4 unit property. If the "owner" has vacated the premises and will no longer occupy the property, it is advised to get an affidavit from the "owner/Seller" stating s/he no longer resides in the property. You then can avoid the "referring licensee" issues and use a regular deposit receipt offer form (California only!). Also, if you are in escrow as an "investor" buying an "owner occupied" property and the "owner/seller" then defaults on the loan and a NOD (notice of default) is filed you do NOT have to switch over to the "referring licensee" form. You are o.k. with the current situation.
We now have separate "short-Sale" listing addendum forms and purchase addenda for this very tricky and delitcate situation.

Hi Pam,

You can now use Trulia to find foreclosure listings and this includes preforeclosures. What's even better is that you can sign up to receive Trulia email alerts that will let you know when new foreclosure listings become available.

On our results page you'll now find a selection for 'Resale', 'New Homes' and 'Foreclosure'. Access the link below to review our blog post to find out more and check out the link further below to view foreclosure listings in your area.

http://www.truliablog.com/?p=245

Best Wishes,

Emily Gibson
Customer Service Representative

There are "legal" notification newspapers you can subscribe to which post all NOD's (Notice of Defaults) which begins the 90 days cycle prior to sale on the courtsteps. The county recorder is probably the "Direct" way to find out first as this is the government body where these are all posted. You can also contact "Data-Quick" which is a company which tracks foreclosures. I don't know if you're in Albany, California or Albany, NewYork so I can't advise in a more specific way. But if you are buying as an "investor" in the great state of California, and make an offer on a owner occupied residence, an agent representing you has to totally back off of the transaction. You will need to deal directly with the "listing" agent in this case. Many Realtor/Agents are NOT aware of this and can get you and them in a big mess! Also, if you're dealing with a "short-sale" situation prior to a NOD being filed from an investor standpoint with an owner occupied seller and are being represented by an agent and the property goes INTO an NOD, your agent must back out immediately. I agree with Ute that a Realtor/Agent can be of great help but only one who KNOWS what they are doing. Our legal counsel for our Realtor Association has warned the Broker/Manager community of this for the past year. Many Realtor/Agents go willy-nilly into these situations without a clue with full consent of a broker/manager who doesn't know the law. We are now seeing full page ads blaring" MAKE MILLIONS IN REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURES!!". Here they come again!!

That would depend on if you are looking for information on "pre-foreclosures" or REOs. RealtyTrac.com is a great source but everyone who subscribes get the information at the same time. You would really need to be searching court house records to be the first to know.

However, as Ute said, you could be getting into problems. The reason there are so many foreclosures these days is because the homes are not worth what is owed on them. You would have a much greater advantage buying a home from a "motivated seller". In this case, you want to be the last to know. Find a Realtor who will keep you posted on price reductions and expired listings.

Search here for other posts regarding foreclosures. Sort by "recent activity."

Good luck,
Ruth

Hi Pam. There are basically two types of foreclosure listings. Those that have already been foreclosed on and are owned by the bank (REO - Real Estate Owned) and those for which a notice of default has been recorded. You can ask a local real estate professional to set up you on an automatic e-mail notification system that will send you new REO listings as they come on the market. Banks always list with local real estate agents, so you don't have to worry about missing out.
You can also ask a title company to provide you with weekly foreclosure lists. There are usually three lists (properties for which notice of default has been recorded, properties for which the foreclosure auction has been set and properties that were taken back by the lender).
One word of caution. When you get into buying foreclosure properties, I would highly recommend that you only do so with the assistance of an agent who has experience with foreclosure and distressed properties. I would not try to buy properties at foreclosure auctions as you don't have the same inspection opportunities that you have in the open market. Foreclosure properties also can have problems with liens (e.g., the IRS has a right to reinstate liens for I believe 3 months after the auction and some people buy at an auction that's done for the second mortgage and they don't know that they are buying a house with the first mortgage still in place.
Good luck.