A foreclosure is a legal proceeding taken by a bank or mortgage lender against a homeowner who has defaulted on their mortgage loan.  There are several steps in the foreclosure process; pre-foreclosure, auction, and bank owned.  It is possible to buy homes during each of these foreclosure steps if you know where to find them and who to contact. 

Pre-foreclosure (NOD, LIS)

A pre-foreclosure is just what it sounds, the time period between when the bank decides to foreclose on a property and when the actual foreclosure takes place.  When the bank decides to foreclose on a home, it is required to notify the homeowner of their intent.  The notification that is sent is called a Notice of Default (NOD) or a LIS Pendens.  The NOD or LIS also has to be filed with the County Recorder’s Office.  The bank is not allowed to release this information to investors, however, but investors are more than welcome to search the records at the Recorder’s Office and find out who is in pre-foreclosure.  Investors will then contact the homeowner and try to strike a deal with them to purchase their property before it is actually foreclosed on.  These deals are typically attractive to a homeowner because they want to avoid having a foreclosure on their credit.

Auction (NTS, NFS)

Once the foreclosure proceedings have begun, a Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NFS) and/or a Notice of Trustee’s Sale (NTS) will be filed.  These filings will announce a foreclosed home that will be sold at auction.  A property auction is an event in which the public can place bids on a home that has been foreclosed on, or otherwise removed from the former homeowners.  The winning bidder is then obligated to purchase the home and becomes the new owner.  Finding foreclosure homes online is a great way to buy a house for significantly less than its value. 

Bank Owned (REO)

A bank owned, or Real Estate Owned (REO) property is one that has already gone through the foreclosure process and is now wholly owned by the lender.  Lenders will then decide to either sell the property at auction or sell it outright, often for just the amount that is owed on the home.  There have been instances where a buyer can pick up an REO house for just a few thousand dollars.  The bank just wants the money that they lost in the last deal and be done with it.  They have no interest in keeping property; that is not their business.

Buying homes in foreclosure, or after foreclosure, can save you tons of money.  The average savings on a foreclosure home that is purchased is about 30% lower than the market value of the home.  Putting that into perspective, you can expect to buy a $200,000 foreclosure home for only $140,000.  That’s average, many people save much more than that on foreclosures.  You can search all kinds of foreclosure homes in your area online.  Maybe you will be able to pick up a nice foreclosure property for investment or to move into.