How to Find City & County Real Estate Foreclosures
Real estate owned (REO) properties are usually found through bank websites, online home foreclosure sites, and by driving through different neighborhoods. These methods do not tell the entire story, as many homes can only be found through city or county tax records which happen to be a matter of public record. But first you need to know where to find them.
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Instructions
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Instructions
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Contact city hall. For local tax records, particularly those belonging to a specific municipality or city, contact city hall and ask to be connected to the tax assessor's office. In some jurisdictions records are kept at the local level, while in other jurisdictions that information is on record with the county seat of government.
Your call will reveal a town's procedures for handling tax records, including who owns the home, such as a bank.
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Contact county seat. Most towns in the United States are part of county governments which means that property tax records are kept at the county courthouse or administrative building. Just as you did with the town, call your county government and ask to be connected to the tax assessor's office.
A county clerk will advise you what records are available and where you can find them. Some counties now post that information online which means that anyone can view them. Get that web address from your county contact.
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Look for home foreclosures. Now that you have the tax information in front of you, identifying which properties are in home foreclosure and which ones have already passed through foreclosure may mean checking each record out individually, which can take a lot of your time.
Your tax clerk may be able to identify specific search phrases such as "short sale/subject to lender approval" or "real estate owned" to help you speed up your search. If not, you can check on specific addresses that your earlier research indicated could be home foreclosures.
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Check other sources. Websites such as realtytrac.com and foreclosures.com offer listings of city and county real estate owned properties. Basic searches are free, but those requiring more extensive home foreclosure information often require you to subscribe to a list and make at least one payment.
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Tips & Warnings
Find a real estate agent who specializes in distressed property expert. Knowledgeable agents follow home foreclosure trends and may have a current list of real estate owned property available for your review.
Scams abound; avoid purchasing foreclosure listings through secondary sites such as Craigslist. Know your sources, deal direct.
