Buying property that's in preforeclosure or is bank owned (so it has been through the foreclosure process) presents some additional challenges to the purchaser's attorney. First of all, the seller's attorney is probably going to be a high volume law firm so that any proposed changes by the buyer might be initially rejected but if done with some diplomacy may be accepted. The seller, if a bank, will also likely have a boilerplate, rider which i've felt was unduly harsh and very unfair to buyers, however, if explained to the client, and the client feels he or she can live with the risk (because of the substantial savings sometimes seen) then we move on and proceed with the deal. Secondly, if it's bank owned, a buyer's attorney must carefully review what's called the chancery abstract in new jersey. It's a transcript and summary of the foreclosure legal documents, it shows amongst other things, who was served and when and it demonstrates whether there were any irregularites with the foreclosure. If there are any issues, then cancelling the deal may be the buyers best bet. Granted, there are rarely issues, but they do come up every so often.

Joseph Chang
*Please note that this is general information only, and not to be construed as legal advice, if you would like a consultation please feel free to call and make an appointment"
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Before I answer the question: Mike "Home seller in Lodi "w/ a 2 family foreclosure, I can help you and have buyers who are interested .However you have no contact info listed. Email me and I'll get back to you ASAP. The best advice I can give is to contact an experienced agent in the area. Even though there are many sites out there, navigating them and making good choices can be overwhelming and expensive mistakes can be made. Even the most experienced agent who has NO FORECLOSURE experience has a hard time understanding and having a handle all the intricacies. Having a team of professionals to handle all the details makes all the difference in the world. Email me and I’d be happy to help . Good Luck.

Jo, one way is to contact your local realtor. A good realtor should be able to get information on properties that are currently listed thru the mls that are about to go into forclosure. As you may already know, many homes are currently on the market because of buyers buying homes in the peak of the market(similar to what happened to the stock market back in 2000-2001) with ARM's(interest only) and are now forced to sell because their mortgages are now readjusting and they cannot refinance so they are in situations where they have to forclose or attempt a short sale. MOST AGENTS DO NOT HAVE A CLUE HOW TO HANDLE SHORT SALES! This is when sellers do not have equity in their property and they owe more to the bank than what the property is actually worth.

My suggestion to you is to work with a really good realtor you can trust (possibly me) and begin looking @ properties that fit your criteria. Depending on what areas you are looking for a property, begin your bids on homes 10-15% below the listing price and work up from that point. Every home sale is different and the reason that the seller is selling can vary. MANY ARE ABOUT TO END UP IN FORCLOSURE AND THEY MUST SALE. Worse case scenario, the seller will say no to your offer. If you can't come to an agreement on the price, move on! There are many other homes in this sea!

The second choice you have is to go to the local tax assessors office and they can tell you what homes are delinquent on their mortgages. To find this information is alot of hard work! I think its alot easier to just deal with an agent and let us do the work. Besides, the sellers are paying the commissions, not you.

Visit my website for more information.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Be Blessed.

Hi Jo,
There are plenty of opportunities in this market. For example on the local NJMLS there are many properties that are bank owned. Another place you might look for an opportunity is a short sale. That is where the homeowner is upside down (owes more money than the home is worth). You can come in and purchase the home at a discount, while the mortgage company writes off the difference. On our website we have links to weekly foreclosure reports. I currently have a property listed for sale in Hackensack that is a short sale. I would be happy to provide you with more information.

Regards,
Sal

I would highly recommend contacting a Realtor to help you isolate a bank REO/Foreclosure or even a seller who really needs to sell. You must figure out what you're looking to gain out of this purchase. Are you buying to FLIP? Are you buying to live for the next 3-7 years? You need to come up with gameplan, then get your team together...

Team should include these major players
Realtor
Lender
Attorney/Title Company
Home Inspector
Contractor - Because your REO/Foreclosure isn't going to be in 'Mint' shape

Keep in mind, Foreclosures, Bank REO's and other homes AREN'T Always great deals. They're are also homes on the market today which present awesome deals too.

Jo,
We work with Freddie Mac, selling their foreclosures in our local market. They have a website, http://www.Homesteps.com which lists their available properties for sale. You can also check your local MLS system (in our market that website is http://www.Homesdatabase.com) and pay close attention to the description of the property. A lot of the banks do not want "bank owned" property displayed. Instead, look for key words such as "third party approval","owner of record", and "see listing agents for owner".
Once you locate a property to purchase consult your local Realtor to see the property and make an offer. Banks very rarely work directly with a buyer to sell their homes. There are several special addendums that accompany their contracts and it really does take a Real Estate professional to purchase the home. Also keep in mind that foreclosures are as-is properties so sometimes there may not be obvious defects showing but a lot of the time there are hidden issues that may be costly to the buyer. One more thing to keep in mind, most of the banks will give the buyer discounts if you use one of their recommended lenders such as National City, Countrywide or Wells Fargo to purchs the home.

The first answer mentioned RealtyTrac, but that website is VERY OUTDATED in its information. Just google "RealtyTrac" and "outdated" and you will see plenty of complaints (as well as people being harrassed by them over the phone and unable to cancel their credit card subscription).

Check out this example of how outdated BOTH RealtyTrac and their other site Bankhomesdirect are...

This property (2236 Washington Ave, Wilmette, IL) was listed on their sites on 10/26/2006. BUT... a blogger posted photos on 5/30/06 of this house already being demolished (http://yochicago.com/suburbs/wilmette/category/teardowns/page/3/ ).. it had already been sold and was no longer owned by the bank - was set up for teardown by a developer who already snatched it up... THAT MEANS THESE SCAM WEBSITES POSTED THE INFORMATION WELL-OVER 5 MONTHS LATE! PROBABLY EVEN LATER THAN THAT! What a rip off!!

Who wants to pay a dime to see properties they could have gotten over half a year ago. Don't give the RealtyTrac company a cent of your money.

I was just surfing the web actually looking for a place to sell a pre foreclosure two family home that I have in Lodi. The bank has agreed to discount the sale by over 60,000 if I can find a buyer. Please email me or call for more details. The house is approx 90 X 57 3 story ranch with bonus apt in basement with summer kitchen. I am willing to negotiate!!! please call Mike at (917) 495 0155 or see link below for more info. Thanks.

I would check with a local real estate agent.. most banks don't deal with pre-foreclosure properties and will not even speak to you until they own the property and it is listed with an agent. As for pre-foreclosure properties the fact is that many owners keep hoping for a miracle right down to the wire and rarely will sell before that happens unless they have admitted they are in trouble and have listed their home.

My best advise is make friends with bank workers, they are the first to know. second make friends with the postman, they are second to know, third make friends with realtors and loan officers they're third to know. Realty Track dot com works for several of my clients.

Pre foreclosure and Bank Owned properties are different.

For sure pre-foreclosures are the ones to buy, if you can befriend the owners. Most of the time they are in denial. Yet once in awhile you will find a pre foreclosure that wants out and can understand. Follow these three human traits. Death, Divorce and Depression those trait will send people into foreclosure.

Bank Owned properties are a different story. The bank has already foreclosed and paid attorneys, auctioneers and closing cost in the pursuit of foreclosure. As time goes by we are having more and more REO properties for sale on Maui. The bank is set in their ways, they will only sell when the numbers work out for them and the loan company is working with them or they own the loan. We shall see more and more, the banks are rigid, there are deals, but you must meet their requirements. Fico Scores, Money, Down Payment and many more.

Your best bet is pre foreclosure. Bank owned properties will begin to soften has their inventory climbs. Banks are not into the business of real estate. They will sell their inventory for less or be involved in a short sale.

Jeffery B Griffin
Realtor® (B)

You might want to check out http://www.realtytrac.com --they track foreclosures and other types of distress situations. It's a pay site, but if you're a serious investor it's definitely worth the money. You can get some basic information without a membership, so that's a good place to start.