Where to Find Foreclosed Properties

No matter what the situation is, there will be always winners and losers. Whenever something bad happens, there are people who benefit from it and others who get their lives ruined by it. If you ask me where foreclosure stands in all of this, I will tell you that it have the same results as anything else. While many people will argue with me on the fact that bad economy doesn't benefit anyone, I can assure you that it does. They say that even in the worst conditions, there is still a chance for everyone to swim against the current and find ways to take it to their advantage. With foreclosures, I see real estate investors make a huge profit from them while others are scared even from talking about them. If you are one of those few investors who want to explore new opportunities even in the worst market conditions, then here are some places that you can check to find good foreclosure deals:

1- Drive around:

If you have a specific area that you intend to buy a property in, then you can just drive looking for foreclosure signs. In those signs, you usually find the phone number of the agent who's responsible for the property. You can also call them asking for other foreclosed properties in that area if that's what you want to.

2- Check foreclosure websites:

This is probably the best way to easily find foreclosures in every possible area that you can think about. Checking websites like foreclosure.com could give you listings of hundreds of foreclosures so you can scan through yourself. Using these websites can save you tons of time and effort comparing to going the old way. The good thing about these websites is that some of them offer the estimated value of the property so you don't have to call a market expert for that.

3- Check your County Recorder's Office:

Another great way to finding bank owned properties is checking your County Recorder's Office. The best thing in checking the County Clerk is that you get foreclosure listings for free.

The previous locations are probably the best places where you can find foreclosed properties. My advice to you is to stay away from foreclosure auctions, especially if you're a new investor. Going into these auctions is like going into a jungle full of lions and tigers. What you need to do instead is spotting a foreclosed property before it goes to an auction, because there you'll have the chance at negotiating with the bank and probably getting a good deal out of it.

Mark is a real estate investor who enjoys teaching people how to invest in real estate. For more information, check out: Define short sale AND hardship letter for short sale