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Finding a free foreclosure list for your area is not as mysterious as it may seem. Every county is required to publish the list of foreclosures, including the the name, property address, legal description, and original amount of the loan, and the date the loan was taken out. However, this information does not tell you if there is a second mortgage on the property, tax liens, or mechanic liens on the property. Revealing this information will be part of your due diligence in researching about whether a property is a good deal.

The place where the listings are, is called the legal organ for the county. Or, usually in the legal classifieds of your local paper. Although there is a small charge for a local paper, that is where you will get the best information. My local paper also has an on line edition, that I can get the information totally free. Also, if the homeowner makes arrangements, or pays his arrears on the mortgage, and the property is no longer going to be auctioned, it is usually removed from this listing. If you don't know where your local listings are published, I would recommend for you to go to the real estate section of your local court house, and not ask for the list, but where the list is published.

I live in a non judicial state, which means the foreclosure does not have a court hearing. Therefore, the process goes very quickly. All of the foreclosures are required to be published in the legal organ for four weeks before the auction. In judicial states, much more time goes by before the actual auction. Usually at least six months to allow for the court hearing. In a judicial state it is also, required that the notice be published in the legal organ of that county, (usually a local paper), for four weeks before auction. However in some states the auctions are held at various places, instead of on the court house steps. It will be announced when, and where in the notice. Also, they are not all auctioned at the same time. In a judicial state, you can get a head start by checking on the lis pendes filed weekly. There probably won't be a list to look at, but the actual filings. In the lis pendes there will be other types of filings, so you will have to sort through to get the foreclosures. This would be done at the counter with the clerk looking on. Depending on policies, and personalities there may be variances in the procedure to get these. But, they are public information.

Most on line foreclosure sites will let you down, by the information not being up to date. You may spend a lot of time doing due diligence, only to find out it is no longer available. The exception to that will be local sites connected with the actual legal information.

I always recommend to buy your real estate locally. This is the best way to thoroughly check out the numbers, repairs needed, and to manage. Remember, not every foreclosure is a bargain. Amount owed in total,including other mortgages, and liens, and repairs needed can often add up to more than the value of the house. To get more real estate information, go to my About Me page on Helium, and click on Real Estate Blog, in my favorite sites.

Learn more about this author, Kathleen Couch.
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