In my opinion, Realty Trac is pretty worthless and a waste of money. I subscribed for a couple of months and the listings were very outdated. Does anyone know of a web site where foreclosure listings are free? If a home owner has received a notice of default (I think that's what it is called), do they still have time to sell before the bank takes it over? Would they be more willing to wheel and deal than the bank?

Go straight to area banks to obtain each bank's list. HOWEVER, be aware that dealing direct with a bank is no guarantee of saving you money or a commission. In fact, if the bank becomes the owner and seller of the property, they, like any other seller will attempt to extract every dollar they can in the interest of the stockholders. Many sellers, whether private or intitutional, are often misinformed about the actual market values. In attempting to get a better buy you may very well pay more, because the seller or bank has not been properly counseled as to value by a knowleadgable real estate practioner. Most banks will obtain an appraisal but, I have seen many out of area appraisers give values that are way off the mark.

Linda,
Realtytrac puts up a bunch of false information a lot. I have had a lot of clients run into problems with it. I also dont know why you would want them before they go onto the MLS. Its difficult to find out. I know that if you have a good connection at the bank you can sometimes find out a property thats gone into it, but this is very very rare. If your interested in finding a foreclosure/ short sale, I can help you out.

Matt Laricy
Americorp Real Estate
Brokers Associate, e-PRO
mlamericorp@aol.com
708-250-2696

Hi Linda,

You can monitor Realty Trac.com It doesn't always have the most up to date info but it's a starting point. Why do you want to find it before it's in the MLS?

Colleen Dahlstrom, REALTOR Broker/Owner
Brookside Residential Brokerage
62 Orland Square Drive # 002
Orland Park, IL 60462
MyBrookside@comcast.net
815.370.9683

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