Suzanne,
You do not have to pay to have access to foreclosed properties. Pam's suggestions is a correct one, you can receive automatic e-mail updates. I have set up foreclosure properties in various price ranges on my website. Feel free to go to http://www.prurealty.com/terriemironicki and click on the price range of your choice and the area of your choice.
Good luck!

Hi Suzanne, in addition to all the good information below from Dave and Dunes, it is possible for us as agents to set up specific searches that match your criteria as to price, size and locale as well as sales conditions such as REO (yes or no), Short Sale (yes or no) in a private web site for you. If you specify REO's, this would only provide you listings on the Multiple Listings Service that have gotten to the tail end of the process as Dave described, and are being marketed by a listing agent. Auction sites also contain lists of REO homes for sale but be aware that there are fees tacked on to the sales prices at auctions which inflate what you actually pay.

The kind of sites I set up for clients (for free) are automatically fed with new listings and status changes on listings already on the page. I have some clients for example that are not interested in Short Sale properties, so we can exclude those from their search criteria if they like.

With this private web site, way we are able to literally be on the same page during the home search process.

As a side note, Healdsburg has relatively few foreclosure properties when compared to some other communities in Sonoma County. I did a blog post about this about a year ago, probably time for me to update the figures by community for our market now.

Hi Suzanne,
I think the answer to your question involves ownership issues and the different stages of the foreclosure process. There are many possibilities, but here are some basic ones.
1. Owner selling for more than they owe.
2. Owner selling for less than they owe. (Short Sale)
3. Owner selling for less than they owe while under Notice of Default (Foreclosure Process - Short Sale)
4. Home has been foreclosed on and owners are present or not (probably the stage where you can't get information.
5. REO Sale where bank now owns home and is selling it. (REO Sale)

It's normal that for a few weeks or months after foreclosure, the bank is deciding what to do with the asset (home) they took back in foreclosure. Eventually it will be assigned to an asset manager who will choose a listing agent to perform an evaluation and list the property. That's when it will reappear as a listing. What you are experiencing with finding information is normal for the whole industry, professionals and all. Be patient and watch the MLS to see when the house reappears as a new listing.

Susan, You do not have to use a pay site, you will find the info you need in these places for free. The Gov/Banks provide their databases to be used by the public. Give them a look.

http://www.sco.ca.gov/ardtax_public_auction.html .... http://sonoma-county.org/tax/auction_2008.htm

http://www.bid4assets.com/help/index.cfm?fuseAction=TaxSale

For the links to the Free Bank/Gov. Property for sale Databases (REO/Foreclosure), use these.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/wiki/REO_Database_List.asp
http://www.biggerpockets.com/bank-reo.html

If you check around you might also find auctions that might interest you.
http://www.propertyauction.com/Residential-Real-Estate-Aucti…

http://www.williamsauction.com/Search/SearchResultsState.asp…
Many more you just need to look.
Best of luck, Dunes