Hi, I'm a local broker in Sioux City and I have computerized lists that I send out for free !! Call me on my cell 712 253 3005 or send me an e-mail and I will put you on the mailing list, or preferably an e-mail address and I can just e-mail them to you. (cheaper and faster) These are foreclosures that are thru our multiple listing service. Warm Regards Judy Sabag

Thumbs up from me,Michelle! Great answer!

I have clients asking me this all the time in Iowa. For the most part, these foreclosure listing sites are kind of a rip off. Many of the listings they have on their sites are not accurate. I had a builder find his personal home on the site! He was really mad and wanted to pursue the foreclosure site for fraud, until I found a tiny little line on the site that said, "Not all these properties are foreclosures, some of the properties listed are from MLS data."

Many homes listed on foreclosure sites are not in foreclosure at all, but are listed with a real estate broker. Your local county sherriff maintains a list of sherriff's sales, most homes in Iowa go to sherriff's sale prior to being a foreclosure listing. You can check that for free on your county website.

Also, work with a Realtor. We are not all scary and we do not all harass you until you buy something. Call around, find someone who is nice to you and seems to be knowledgeable in foreclosure sales. Ask a Realtor to set you up for automatic emails of the listings as they come available in your market. Foreclosure properties are usually listed with a Realtor, the banks don't often sell them directly to buyers because they don' t want the liability that a Realtor assumes by representing and informing you of the risks of buying a foreclosure.

As I have often found, a foreclosure is not automatically a better deal. They are often priced at just enough of a discount to make them cost enough less that you can fix them up to market value. Then what have you really gained? You paid $20,000 less, but put $18,000 back in to the property and you had to buy it as is, without some of the inspections and repairs you can ask the seller for in a normal transaction. So you gained $2000 in equity - but you spent two months and numerous hours fixing it up.

Don't get me wrong, some people are making a lot of money on foreclosures - but there are some definite pitfalls. If you are handy and prepared for the work, or can do the repairs over time and as you get materials cheap or free - go for it!

Hi Kyle,

Foreclosure filings are public record. What you are reading is the electronic compilation of data obtained from public sources. These properties are not necessarily offered for sale. The fact there is a legal action involving the property does not mean the property owner has a desire to sell.

In some circumstances, yes, the property owner does want to sell. Some properties that are in MLS are also on a foreclosure list.

Unless a property is offering their property for sale, no, they won't be inviting people in to take a look.

Not all properties that have a foreclosure filing end up sold or foreclosed. Property owner find other solutions to the legal challenge in many cases.

You don't have to pay to get this information. There are many Realtors who maintain this data and provide it to their clients for free. If you don't want to work w/ a Realtor, you can obtain it from the public records for free. also.

Regards,

Deborah Madey - Broker
Peninsula Realty Group

Kyle, You may want to take a look at this site....http://www.biggerpockets.com/bank-reo.html

The Banks and the Gov. maintain Databases of their properties for sale. (REO/Foreclosures) These data bases contain address, property description, asking price, sometimes photos and who the the property is listed with. These Databases are provided to the public to use for Free.. Databases like these...
http://www.citimortgage.com/Mortgage/Oreo/SearchListing.do
http://www.pasreo.com/pasreo/public/content.do;jsessionid=6E…
On the left side of the site you will find access to foreclosure info and more sites for viewing foreclosures..like these..
http://www.homesales.gov/homesales/mainAction.do
http://www.gotooaktree.com/Search_20_1OOOs_20_of_20_Homes.html

Give it a look, Dunes
You can give these a look also..
http://www.thedirectoriescompany.com/reos.htm
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/wiki/REO_Database_List.asp

These are not listings,they are notices of foreclosure & default that these sites pull from the public records. These houses are not yet on the market & this info is available for free. Do not pay! When they do foreclose & come on the markret they will be listed at market value.