How to Find Free Listings For Foreclosures Online

In the past foreclosures were usually difficult to find because they were not always listed the same as traditional homes in the real estate market. However, with the large number of foreclosure listings in recent times, finding them has gotten easier. You can find many free listings for foreclosures online. Here's how.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Check to see if you can find foreclosures listed online with regular homes from sources such as the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This is a database of home listings used by realtors, but is also available to be viewed by the public. Access to the MLS can often be found on the websites of major Real Estate companies. Some of the companies will have the foreclosure listings mixed in with the regular listings of homes for sale. Others may have a separate category listed online specifically for foreclosures.

2. Look for web sites that specialize in providing compiled lists of home foreclosures that can be viewed online for free. The listings generally include the property address, trustee number, the date the house is to be auctioned off and usually a photo of the home. To view the foreclosure listings you often need to provide a name, email address and phone number.
   
   You can find these types of web sites by doing an online search for "free foreclosure listings" or using similar search terms.

3. Try finding foreclosures from government agencies such as The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD), Department of Agriculture (USDA/Rural Development) and Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA). Visit their web sites for listings or look to see if they list home foreclosures on other web sites. These properties are usually for sale by public auction. Anyone can purchase one of these homes but you must work with a real estate agent or broker to submit a bid or offer. The HUD website has links of properties for sale by HUD and other federal agencies.

4. Search lists of foreclosure properties such as the ones the U.S. Department of Treasury provides on their website. These are properties which have been seized through IRS-Criminal Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Secret Service. Auctions are open to the public and you do not need a broker to place a bid.

5. Look at the web sites of banks and other lending institutions, as they may have free listings of foreclosures online known as lender owned, bank owned homes or real estate owned (REO) properties. Some examples of banks that do this include Bank of America, Chase Mortgage and Countrywide Mortgage. Usually you will need to go through a real estate agent to make a bid or offer on these properties, but you can view the listings of the foreclosures online for free.

Resources

• USA-Foreclosure.com
• HomeSales.gov
• U.S. Department of the Treasury Property Auctions
• HUD and Federal Agency Properties
• Bank of America Owned Properties
• Chase Mortgage Owned Properties
• Countrywide Mortgage Owned Properties

[leduncan]

on 6/28/2009 Good article. I favorite'd it for future research!

btw, found you through RedGage!