How to Find Foreclosures in California

Whether you are trying to get a deal on your first home for your family or you're an investor trying to get into house flipping, finding and buying foreclosures is very exciting. Finding home foreclosures in California, and the rest of the country for that matter, takes a little bit of insider knowledge because of the competition. Don't be intimidated though, the more you look, the more you'll know and the more comfortable you'll feel about it. Who knows, maybe you will find yourself in a new career, as many of my friends have.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 
    
   Foreclosure map of U.S.

   FISRT OFF there is no better place in the country to find foreclosure listings than in California. you can see n the map to the left that it has the highest concentration of foreclosures in the country. Many people come from everywhere to settle down and couldn't make the payments or an investor got way over their head.

2. CALL REAL ESTATE AGENTS. They naturally have insight into foreclosures and REOs beforehand. Ask them to look up properties and to keep an eye out. If they know that they have a buyer when the price is right, you'll be the first to know.

3. BANKS. Banks who do home loans are always going to have new foreclosure listings. Finding foreclosures at banks is very easy. The problem is that these get a lot of viewing time from the public so they aren't always the best value. If you are looking for a smoking deal, you can wait until after the bidding is over to find an REO, which is the next step.

4. 
    
   REOs

   ASK BANKS FOR REO LISTINGS. REOs are different from home foreclosures. They are bank owned foreclosures that have already gone to auction but didn't sell for one reason or another. At this point, the bank wants to get rid of the foreclosed property as soon as possible. For house flipping, this is a great way to find great deals on houses.

5. Try out a little gem called redfin.com, I live in Southern California and red fin allows you to see all the listings in an area for free. Pre-foreclosures can be found here. You get pictures, last sold price, how long it's been listed as well as all kinds of info. Take a look during the day once or twice to find new listings. My parents found a mobile home recently, right near the beach, for $25,000. That house was appraised for over a hundred thousand weeks later.

6. Drive around your neighborhood looking for signs. Sometimes to find foreclosures in California, all you have to do is walk by a house. If you're lucky, you'll find a place that hasn't been listed yet and you will have first crack at it.

7. Auction houses also do foreclosure auctions but the prices can shoot up because of the competition and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. However, you might live in an area that is off the radar to the competition and a good deal might be waiting for you.

8. LASTLY, check out the other big companies that get foreclosures that fall in their lap. Hud foreclosures, The department of housing and urban development, Fannie Mae foreclosures, SBA association foreclosures and also the federal department of the treasury has foreclosed homes for sale.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient, don't expect the perfect deal to fall in your lap right away.
• Ask around. Call agents and ask for other resources not listed here
• Have the house checked by an appraisal service to make sure you find any hidden problems.

Resources

• How to buy a HUD foreclosure
• How to remove a foreclosure from a credit report