Well it bugs me to see all these people out there providing info from websites to lists and "programs" to help people find and purchase foreclosed properties including houses and land.

The Reason it bugs me is because most of what the are selling is FREE public information - and most are selling you the education on how to gather this free info!!!! There are a few sites out there from what i seen that actually gather this info for you- and you are paying to see it. But in return i have not seen one that is reasonably priced for what that info that they are selling to you and most are offering old and out of date listings while they missing listings for some of the best deals out there!!! I just find it so obsur that they are charging you to look at that!! if its  a simple google search i mention - do it "as i state".

So heres a quick run down on how to find foreclosures, Do keep in mind this is going to vary for everyone depending on what area they are looking in. I personally have a bid database of web sites i look through regularly - but those are to my area, so yours will differ.!!

First off keep in mind whenever a property is foreclosed on that it is public information , and usually offered for sale publicly.

Every foreclosure goes through the local courts - the bank has the opportunity to present their case that someone has not paid for their house. The process takes a while and usually lasts 6-12 months on average. First a lis pendent is issued to the owners, they will have the right to respond and possible correct the situation, at that point they are given the option of redeeming their property by making payments on their defaulted loan. and most lis pendens issued by the courts will never turn into full foreclosures. - how this helps investors- well many investors keep a look out in the local newspapers and by other means to keep track of these because its a sign that the home owner is in trouble and can not make their payments, At this point many homeowners are looking for a way out of facing a full foreclosure taking place and may be willing to sell their house to barely break even and take the personal loss. Although the law suit to finally deem the foreclosure has already started - the courts are willing to settle if by chance the home owner comes up with a solution such as selling the place. All records for lis pendens are listed in local newspapers prior to any court hearings. So look through newspapers public notices constantly, there are ways to look that info up online - just google search "my public notices". Try direct links to newpapers also , and read through the public notices on a weekly basis.

After a lis penden is served the home owner is given a amount of time to redeem themselves and their house, depending on the situation the time varies, if they fail to do so the house is said to go to auction- and the bank is given the right to try to sell it for the amount that is owed on it (including court costs). At this point most houses are listed on MLS as being in foreclosure , and most all are publicly offered for sale.Alot of the time - the asking price is still a little high- and that holds true especially for houses purchased in the last couple years where people paid to much to begin with. Again MLS is public info - and any house for sale by foreclosure will be availble by any real estate agent out there. Courts actually require the property to be availble to general public. theres no hidden secrets there. Some properties may actually mention the foreclosure status while others will not - so thats where keeping up with reading of foreclosure can help also.

And with that said its another form of public information that - when someone finances a house and takes out a mortgage on it - a lein is filled with the city office where the property is located!!! Now most cities will not disclose the info as to the amount that the owner paid for the house - or owes on the house- again this is publiuc info - and if you go down to the city hall - you can look it up. How that helps a investor- well if a house is being sold for say 100k, and you see the owner only owes 40k and is facing a foreclosure .....well tell me if you were in that owners shoes and offered say 50k - wouldnt you think about accepting the offer????

If after a given amount of time has come and passed and the bank still is not able to sell the house for a fair amount of money to cover their share in it - it will be become fully foreclosed and now the courts will give permission to the bank to take it over , and the owner will be removed (unless he bank allows them to stay as a tenant). At that point its considered to be bank owned ,  and they will continue to attempt to sell the house. Almost all banks try to sell a house on MLS also - so not much will change except the asking price- which they will most likely lower as a last resort to get rid of the house - they definately do not want possession of the property because they do not have the means to take care of it nor do they want to pay things such as taxes and water bills on a reocurring basis. This helps the investor because - the bank will usually take MUCH more less than the asking price!! But in return the bank is selling as is, where is and will not make repairs or provide disclosures. If you are purchasing a bank owned home - you can get a hell of a deal by just being happy that they are not providing disclosures...but your bank might not like it if you plan on finanacing. At this point a cash deal is the easiliest - and the banks will see it that way also- so if you are using a bank to finance - you better keep the requests to have inspections to a minimum , as the bank will not accept your offer because of inspections required, or bank paperwork required. The selling bank is really just wanting to cash out at this point, so if your a average buyer - these deals probley are not for you unless you set up special financing with your bank to ask no questions. Many properties that sit for a while will drop in asking price , also many banks will accumulate offers on the place over a period of time always looking for best offer , it can become frustrating waiting for a response. Also several banks have come to a point where they have so many foreclosures that they send them to auction to unload them for max price. And although auction may sound good- it really generally doesn't offer a better price like you would think since there are so many investors looking out for these auctions.

A way to find auctions in your area.....learn the auction houses- try google searching "auctions by zip code". You can find tons there by looking through months of auctions and then going and finding each auction houses exact web-site.

Also any house or property that had a hud or va loan will be listed as a hud foreclosure, and hud works the same as the bank for the most part. i stayed away from these for a long time because of the asking price and absolutely crazy procedures with paperwork etc....BUT it seems hud is now coming around to make things a little easier on buyers and giving better prices, so its worth a try- google search"hud dot gov". Also keep an eye out for usda properties and va properties also availble through that website.

Now tax auctions are a whole different category - and again public information, but that info is sometimes a pain in the but to find. and also a little more to look into because of the terms the offer. But if you want a really damm good deal and have the cash up front - tax auctions are the way to go. just try google searching "tax auction for the county your are looking in" obviously insert your own county there--- tax auctions are given by the finance department by each county, and the tax assessor for each city is the one to compile the list of properties to be put up for auction, so with some phones calls - you can easily find those properties going up for auction soon. Now most have online access to the properties being offered in addittion to the terms of the sales. These are sold as-is , where-is and can sometimes include back taxes or water bills to be paid, as they can sometimes included squaters in place that you will need to evict, and code violations and demolitions orders and fines to be paid or settled, often these properties will have easements or ecomberances that made the place hard to sell other than by auction...but even with all the problems to come across - theres probley the best deals to be had, you just have to pick through!!

You should get comfortable with contacting city and state offices to find info on prtoperties you might be interested in - because they can often tell yu the best info. Also look out for "GIS property info" provided by certain cties and states. and also "rps" info. zillow is another gfreat and widely known website to research on.

"realty bid" dot com is another site agents along with others have been using to unload forecloseures.

bid for assets dottttt com is another, although its my personal opinion to becarefull on there since theres alot of investors just tryin to unload overpriced and undervalued property. kinda just like ebay.

"US marshalls auctions" by city and state" also offer a few auctions here and there that might be a good find, again these are listed in "public notice".

Once in a gret while "us action info" gives up a goods auction, but not very often

coutrywide is a big lender - and in return a big fore-closer - just search reo on their website.

Citibank is another big bank citimortgage.com ..ok well my links got booted off here, but if ya use some common sense you can find their foreclosures.