How to Find Good Pre Foreclosure Properties Using Craigslist
How to Find Good Pre Foreclosure Properties Using Craigslist
As some of you might recall, my attempt at showing you How To Find Foreclosed Properties Using Craigslist video was a failure.
I’ve figured out what needs to be done and the video will be re-done using different technology. But in the meanwhile, several readers asked questions and needed some more guidance.
Here is a step by step procedure as to how I find foreclosed or preforeclosed properties for free using a free service called Craigslist.org
Goto www.craigslist.org
1. On the right side of the screen, choose the major city nearest you
2. Under “Housing” section choose Real Estate for Sale
3. Under “keyword” box, enter “foreclosure” or “preforeclosure” or pre foreclosure”
I am looking for a beach front foreclosure property so I will be placing the following strings in the search box in order:
* Beach front foreclosure
* Beachfront foreclosure
* Beach foreclosure
* Beach-front foreclosure
* Beach front foreclosed property
* Beach front pre foreclosure
* And if all else fails, simply “beach front”
My wife has been asking to move near the ocean and I will be spending the next 2 months searching for a below market property. In fact, I will add “below market beach” to my list above.
This will take about 10 minutes. From the results, I will scroll through the listings and pick out 10 to 20 properties that look promising. I pay close attention to the wording and description and in particular, any hint of urgency to sell the house.
I will jot down the results in an excel spreadsheet with the following fields:
1- Address
2- Phone number
3- Square footage
4- Price
5- FSBO* or Broker
6- Notes
7- Zestimate*** FSBO denotes For Sale By Owner
** Zestimate denotes the approximate value derived by a free online home evaluation service www.zillow.com . I wrote a blog on zillow.com HERE
From the information gathered, I will sort based on relevance, value, my interest or any other factor which will make it easier to evaluate this search.
I’ll contact the sellers or brokers and ask them questions about the foreclosure property.
1- Condition of the property
2- At what stage of the foreclosure process are they in
3- Any assumable financing
4- Any owner financing (i.e. will the owner carry back a note)
5- How long before the house reverts back to the bank
6- How many bedrooms and bathrooms
7- Total amount of liens and late charges on the loan
8- How long on the market
Every question will be in a conversational mode and I won’t be bombarding the homeowner with questions.
It is important to be considerate of the homeowner. If he is in foreclosure proceedings, chances are he is experiencing a lot of stress in his life and you must be conscious of their feelings. (This is simply good manners)
Ok back to the search…
My search for the following list turned up nothing in the Los Angeles area.
* Beach front foreclosure
* Beachfront foreclosure
* Beach foreclosure
* Beach-front foreclosure
* Beach front foreclosed property
* Beach front pre foreclosure
I will repeat the search for the same list in the San Diego and other locations till I find something that appeals to me.
In the meanwhile, I came across the following property with a price reduction and it looks very interesting. It is not a foreclosure and it doesn’t seem to be below market, but I have a friend who’s been looking for a beachfront house in Malibu and this might be perfect for him!
Which reminds me to blog about 4 ways to make money with a foreclosed property even if you don’t buy it!!!
I think I’ll blog it next week. You guys and gals will love it.
Ok lets wrap this up because it is getting a little long.
You found several properties. Put them in a spreadsheet. Got their Zestimates. Called the owners/brokers and now you have some facts and information to proceed.
Craigslist is one of the best sources for free property and foreclosed home listings.
Anyone can list there and it doesn’t cost anything. So be prepared to weed through a lot of garbage listings before you find the few good ones.
Good luck and feel free to send in your questions.
Ed
filed under: foreclsoure property research
As some of you might recall, my attempt at showing you How To Find Foreclosed Properties Using Craigslist video was a failure.
I’ve figured out what needs to be done and the video will be re-done using different technology. But in the meanwhile, several readers asked questions and needed some more guidance.
Here is a step by step procedure as to how I find foreclosed or preforeclosed properties for free using a free service called Craigslist.org
Goto www.craigslist.org
1. On the right side of the screen, choose the major city nearest you
2. Under “Housing” section choose Real Estate for Sale
3. Under “keyword” box, enter “foreclosure” or “preforeclosure” or pre foreclosure”
I am looking for a beach front foreclosure property so I will be placing the following strings in the search box in order:
* Beach front foreclosure
* Beachfront foreclosure
* Beach foreclosure
* Beach-front foreclosure
* Beach front foreclosed property
* Beach front pre foreclosure
* And if all else fails, simply “beach front”
My wife has been asking to move near the ocean and I will be spending the next 2 months searching for a below market property. In fact, I will add “below market beach” to my list above.
This will take about 10 minutes. From the results, I will scroll through the listings and pick out 10 to 20 properties that look promising. I pay close attention to the wording and description and in particular, any hint of urgency to sell the house.
I will jot down the results in an excel spreadsheet with the following fields:
1- Address
2- Phone number
3- Square footage
4- Price
5- FSBO* or Broker
6- Notes
7- Zestimate*** FSBO denotes For Sale By Owner
** Zestimate denotes the approximate value derived by a free online home evaluation service www.zillow.com . I wrote a blog on zillow.com HERE
From the information gathered, I will sort based on relevance, value, my interest or any other factor which will make it easier to evaluate this search.
I’ll contact the sellers or brokers and ask them questions about the foreclosure property.
1- Condition of the property
2- At what stage of the foreclosure process are they in
3- Any assumable financing
4- Any owner financing (i.e. will the owner carry back a note)
5- How long before the house reverts back to the bank
6- How many bedrooms and bathrooms
7- Total amount of liens and late charges on the loan
8- How long on the market
Every question will be in a conversational mode and I won’t be bombarding the homeowner with questions.
It is important to be considerate of the homeowner. If he is in foreclosure proceedings, chances are he is experiencing a lot of stress in his life and you must be conscious of their feelings. (This is simply good manners)
Ok back to the search…
My search for the following list turned up nothing in the Los Angeles area.
* Beach front foreclosure
* Beachfront foreclosure
* Beach foreclosure
* Beach-front foreclosure
* Beach front foreclosed property
* Beach front pre foreclosure
I will repeat the search for the same list in the San Diego and other locations till I find something that appeals to me.
In the meanwhile, I came across the following property with a price reduction and it looks very interesting. It is not a foreclosure and it doesn’t seem to be below market, but I have a friend who’s been looking for a beachfront house in Malibu and this might be perfect for him!
Which reminds me to blog about 4 ways to make money with a foreclosed property even if you don’t buy it!!!
I think I’ll blog it next week. You guys and gals will love it.
Ok lets wrap this up because it is getting a little long.
You found several properties. Put them in a spreadsheet. Got their Zestimates. Called the owners/brokers and now you have some facts and information to proceed.
Craigslist is one of the best sources for free property and foreclosed home listings.
Anyone can list there and it doesn’t cost anything. So be prepared to weed through a lot of garbage listings before you find the few good ones.
Good luck and feel free to send in your questions.
Ed
filed under: foreclsoure property research
posted by Mr. Foreclosure at 7:25 PM
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