We are just starting out, and have been researching to no avail, we tried realtytrac and they have the auctions listed and the owners, are these homes that you can contact the owner and try to buy before the auction? Also, do all county’s list their lis pendens daily? We are up to going to the court house and doing the leg work ourselves but don’t exactly know where to go. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Homeowner in distressed could be a challenge to talk to. You have to put yourselves in their shoe. Just about every call they received are creditors. So even giving them a call won’t even work. You could also try to do a door to door and talk to the homeowner pesonally. The same thing, they will be very elusive to talk to. But it’s worth a try and if you have found someone willing to talk to you, you’re ahead of the game.
Working on properties in pre-foreclosures especially those in defaults have a lot of knots and technicalities you have to be aware of. Auction properties are sold “as-is” and you also to know who’s foreclosing on the property. Is it the first , second or third lien holder?
A visit to your local county courthouse and just getting familiar with how everything is process is a great learning experience.
What is the website that you are looking at to find these forclosures? Is it a free site? These owners are in distress, and are not in a very comfortable situation. Thinking about placing myself in their shoes make me sweat. Let’s think about this…
You are in a terrible financial situation and you are about to lose your house. The bills are piling up, creditors are calling and the bank is going to throw you and your family in the street. Giving a call is going to have the same affect as a telemarketer calling you during dinner. Having some unwanted person knocking on your door is going to catch you off guard and you are going to get upset and start yelling or tell the people to go away. What are the chances that you would entertain a phone call or a stranger at the door?
I work 6 different counties, and in Colorado, each is different (online). One gives a complete (free) update every day, one makes me subscribe for weekly notification. The others fall ‘in-between’.
One thing to keep in mind…the MORE you have to work to find the information, the LESS competition you will have for the properties.
Along the same line…letters are easy to send out. It’s harder to knock on the door. You will be FAR ahead of your competition if you suck it up, and DO IT! (face-to-face rejection is tough…but it DOES get easier, the more people you visit)
Good Luck!
Pre-foreclosures are definately the way to go if you want to buy cheap enough to flip. The foreclosure auctions have too many bidders right now to be cheap enough to flip. Get yourself some education on how to deal with the owner in pre-foreclosure and you will find the best deals.
Bob Diamond
Just an FYI: look up Kris Kirschner and Susan Clark of Autopilot Real Estate Systems…they teach excellent and successful ways of approaching would-be sellers, and creating win-win situations for everyone.
Tax Lien Queen
I am not trying to be negative however
I am new to investing and have been door to door and I have found that most of these homes are vacant and there is no ph# or other way to contact the homeowner , I have also had owners yell at me that I was like the 500th person to knock on their door . So what I have learned is owners in pre-foreclosure still have hope that they may be able to save their homes and they may not want to negotiate however I am optomistic that if I keep at it , I will find a motivated seller .