Short Sales are also good. This is before the home goes into foreclosure. The bank gives the homeowner a chance to sell at a price below the balance of their loan. Sometimes the price can be unbelievably low. Email or call with questions:lisa.mcknight@century21.com or 223-4687.

If you are interested in learning more about foreclosures, please check out our website, http://www.stlforeclosurehomes.com. Thank You :)

have your realtor set you up with an automated home search to send you the foreclosures as they hit the MLS system. When they get to that point, they are ready to be sold and the banks are serious about getting them sold.

You can find foreclosures on http://www.realtytrac.com. I would suggest looking for pre-foreclosures and wait for them to hit the market. You can always try to contact the homeowner and suggest a short sale or wait until the are on REO status. A lot of foreclosures are great deals when they hit the market. Being ready to buy is the key and being serious. I have had clients lose contracts because they wanted to low-ball the banks. Your agent should be able to tell you if it is a deal or not. Best of luck.

please note that I have seen foreclosures that were still overpriced for their condition and location. I have seen times when the home next door that was a "regular sale" was priced lower, and in better condition than the foreclosure. The banks are often trying to recoup their money and sometimes the last owner paid too much or refinanced for too much. You really need a realtor who can run the comps and tell you how the home is priced compared to regular sales in the neighborhood. (each bank is different, some banks do price very competitively to get the homes sold, but others price to get their money back out of the home)

Why are you specifically looking for a foreclosed home? If you are looking for a deal, that's fine; but you must know ahead of time that purchansing a foreclosed property is different in many ways than making a traditional purchase--so be prepared for the differences. Having said that, though, let me also say that it is the same in many regards. Foreclosures are almost always listed, just like other homes, so you need a real estate agent.

You need to have your financing in order, so get your pre-qualification letter now and start moving toward pre-approval on a loan. For a foreclosure deal, you MUST have that pre-qual letter before making an offer.

Not let's talk about that DEAL. Contrary to popular opinion, foreclosures come on the market at or near their appraised value. That may or may not seem like a deal initially. If most area properties are over-priced in MLS, then a foreclosure may look like a deal right from the get-go, because it probably will be priced realistically.

Often, however, foreclosed properties BECOME deals after they have been on market for a time and then reduced in price. Institutional owners reduce their properties on a regular basis, and any property that remains on market will eventually become a deal. When a property hits that "sweet spot" price, it often sells within days. Most institutional owners are now trying to predict that "sweet spot" price immediately and then list at that amount, rather than listing at a "test the water" price point which is at or above appraised value.

When looking for a DEAL, don't overlook the motivated private seller. While some sellers can wait out this buyers' market, others have reasons that they must sell. Those sellers eventually have to lower their properties to the DEAL stage, and those houses will almost always be in better condition than the typical REO. Those sellers may also be prepared to cope with "predications" that usually go with FHA and VA loans. The typical REO seller will not take a contract that may end up with predications. Predications are lender-required repairs that usually have to be made prior to closing.

In short, you need an agent to help you watch the market. DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT, pay a membership fee to some webpage in order to get a list of foreclosed properties. All of that information is available to you free. I am an REO agent, by the way. You are not in my service area, so I have no reason to mislead you in any way. Get yourself an agent, not a membership of any sort!

Get an agent that handles foreclosures in the area you are seeking. Drive around in that area and write down the names and numbers of the agent handling tha foreclosure. Whichever agent has the most foreclosures listed in that area is the one to contact.
We handle foreclosures for 3 large banks and service the areas South of Highway 40 including parts of Jefferson County. Feel free to contact us if we can help.
Frank Helderle

The HUD foreclosures are listed on a web site called http://www.firstpreston.com. You will need a broker with an active HUD number to submit a bid for you if you are interested in one of these homes. Also, the broker will need to have a HUD key to get inside to view the inside of the HUD foreclosures. I can help you with both of these things if you are interested in any of these homes. I agree with the first response from the other real estate professional as well. Most foreclosure properties are listed in the MLS (including the HUD foreclosures and others that are on the First Preston web site). Most agents (including myself) can give you a list of forceclosure properties in St. Louis County. Just let me know and I can send you a list. There are a lot of them out there right now so it is good to be specific as to what you are searching for. I hope this helps!

Most foreclosures are listed in the MLS by the banks that have them, since they want the maximum exposure in order to get them sold. You can work with a local Realtor, to have a computerized search set up that will automatically send you the homes as they come on the market. Note though that some banks don't come out and say "foreclosed home" in their advertisement" they put in words like "must have lien holder approval" or "corporate owned" - so you have to learn how to read between the lines to determine if they are bank owned or not, then check the county tax records to see who is shown as the owner.

check out rehabahouse.com for a ton of foreclosure listings as well as lots of other investment property listings.