Hi Rich,

Whether you are interested in Monmouth or Middlesex County, I can help you. The majority of the Monmouth County towns are going to be higher than the 140k range. I can think of a few places that would work, but we will have to discuss them when we have the opportunity to speak. Middlesex County has a few more options that will be closer to the 140k range.

I see you are in Brick, NJ, are you considering Ocean County? I can help you there as well.

I am a realtytrac.com member and I get referrals from the website consistently. The majority of the information is not up to date and I constantly deal with buyers looking to see homes that are not available. The foreclosure websites pull the information as soon as a homeowner goes into distress, so the home will not always become available. Some owners will renegotiate with the bank, some will become current, and others will list their homes. I would estimate about 80% of the homes they have are not available.

If you would like to discuss anything further, receive listings from me or view a home, please email or call me.

Thank you and good luck!

William F. Troy
Realtor Associate SRES, e-PRO, CDPE, Luxury Home Team
Veltri & Associates Realtors
1012 Cox Cro Rd.
Toms River, NJ 08755
Direct Dial (732)281-3067
Cell- (732)600-1570
Home- (732)961-0079
Fax- (732)557-6425
Home Fax- (732)961-0089
wtroy@veltrirealtors.com http://www.veltrirealtors.com
"When only the very best will do!"

Hi Rich,
Ask a few local realtors for homes in your price range than search yourself . Don't pay for stuff that you can get free and the realtors have up to date information. I can help with your pre-affproval so when you find the home you are ready to make an offer mike@murray4money.com

Rich,
As a Monmouth County Realtor, I can certainly help you with homes in my market area. That said, most homes are selling for a good deal more (median single family sold price in June was $358,704; median condo sold price was $265,302). While there are some short sales and foreclosures in the market, many of those are trading for higher.

If you'd like a list of what's currently available in your price range let me know and I'll email it to you.

In terms of the sites you mentioned, it's important to understand that many of these types of sites are pulling information that may indicate that a homeowner is behind in payments but not necessarily indicating that the property is available for sale. If they're not for sale then you are unlikely to be able to view the home.

Keep in mind that if they foreclose on the property, most banks will list it with a realtor to ensure that it gets the maximum exposure which translates into a faster sale for the bank. Likewise, homeowners who are pursuing a short sale (wherein they're asking a bank to accept less than full repayment of the outstanding mortgage debt) must have their property listed for the same reason as listed above. So in either case, the vast majority of these homes will be listed in MLS.

While you may be able to identify properties owned by homeowners in some type of financial distress, there's no guarantee that they're interested in selling at this time or that they won't be able to work the problem out without a sale (e.g. loan modification, etc.) While you may be able to find a willing seller, chances are they'll be less likely to negotiate (for-sale-by-owners are notorious for having an inflated view of the value of their homes). In the interest of achieving your goal more quickly (and for you to have representation during the transaction), working with an experienced agent would be a wise choice. And the cost of the service is likely to be paid by the seller.

Hope that helps.

Thomas McCormack
Sales Associate
Resources Real Estate
732-212-0440 x212
tom@thomasmccormack.com