About Us About Our Company USA-Foreclosure.com is the nation s largest non-subscription based Web site publicizing property scheduled for foreclosure auction. The site serves as a reliable source for those looking to find, assess, and purchase properties well below market value. Providing detailed reports, learning tools, and a multitude of helpful resources for buying in the foreclosure market, USA-Foreclosure.com is the go-to site for fast, easy, and reliable information. Founded in 2005, the site hosts more than one million page views per month and has thousands of visitors looking to purchase in its featured states. Community Involvement At USA-Foreclosure.com, we inspire and promote better living. The force of improvement and quality drives our company forward and also drives our efforts to help build strong, self-sufficient communities. Through our tactical interests in solution-oriented programs, we are working to address the many challenging issues affecting the towns and cities where we list our properties. As community citizens, it is our duty to make charitable contributions that support our strong community-based vision. USA-Foreclosure.com, as well as individual employees, contributes to programs of nationwide and local interest. Every year, monetary contributions and personal commitments of time and energy are made to a variety of organizations. About Property Information USA-Foreclosure.com is a free listing of foreclosure properties, not a foreclosure attorney or trustee. We do not conduct auctions or represent any party in the foreclosure process. All of the information we have for each property is displayed on the Web site. For legal reasons, we cannot and will not respond to e-mail messages asking for more information about a property. For more information about a property you found on USA-Foreclosure.com, or how to proceed in purchasing a foreclosure property, we suggest following the links highlighted in the box titled Interested in this property? Find out more information located on the Property Details page for each property. Thank you for using USA-Foreclosure.com and good luck in your foreclosure property search.
Overview of Foreclosure Auctions Why purchase at a foreclosure auction? There are a number of advantages to purchasing property at foreclosure auction: Sometimes great values: Purchasing real estate at a foreclosure auction can be a very rewarding experience. Often, very few bidders may appear at a foreclosure auction, so there may be little or no competition for the property. Many people are unaware that real estate can be purchased this way, or are intimidated by the process. This means that property is sometimes sold for less than its value -- sometimes far less. Commission Free: Because you are purchasing directly at the auction, there are no commissions involved. This alone can save six percent in most states. Typically quick possession: If you are the successful bidder, you are entitled to possession of the property as soon as you receive the Trustee s Deed (explained below). Accessibility: Best of all, anyone can purchase a property at auction. What causes a foreclosure auction Usually a borrower fails to make house payments, and the owner of the loan is entitled to sell the property to the highest bidder at a public auction. Many banks use a Deed of Trust to finance home purchases (with these loans the lender is called the Beneficiary, the borrower is called the Trustor or Grantor, and the Trustee is called, well, the Trustee ). In some states a Mortgage is used to finance houses, and the lender is called the Mortgagee and the borrower is called the Mortgagor. No matter the reason, if the property appears on USA-Foreclosure.com, it is on track to be publicly auctioned. Do all houses appearing on USA-Foreclosure.com go to auction? No. Some drop away because the borrower has paid the loan current, satisfied the loan in full (possibly by selling the house or refinancing) or has made arrangements with the lender to delay or stop the foreclosure. Sometimes, too, the borrower files for bankruptcy protection, which imposes a stay on the foreclosure proceedings. What are the risks? As with any major purchase, it is not risk free. You could bid more than the property is worth. There might be senior liens on the property. There might be physical or title defects to the property. You might have to evict the occupant. Most, if not all, risks are greatly minimized or eliminated if you carefully research and plan your purchase.
Typical Steps of Purchasing a Foreclosure Property Identify property Some common resources used to find foreclosure properties: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Use the advanced search tools in USA-Foreclosure.com to find property Research property using readily available tools: Find assessor/auditor data online by use of search engines like Google. Type in (County name) county assessor s office. Use mapping tools for locational data such as Zillow.com, Google Earth, etc. Drive by, but don t disturb the occupant! Estimate the value of the property Once you have focused on a property, you need to determine how much you are willing to pay for it. There are several tools to help you: Assessor s data: In most areas the local taxing authority, typically the county, assigns a value to all real estate in the county. This is done to determine real estate taxes. Often this data is provided by USA-Foreclosure.com, but we recommend that you visit the assessor s website, or office, to review the assessment file. Besides value, the Assessor typically will have valuable information about the property-size of the lot and the residence, type of construction, year built, bedrooms and bathrooms, and number of floors. Although the assessor s determination of value is important to obtain, don t stop there! Assessor s valuations do not necessarily represent current market value. Other property in the area: Recent realty sales in the same area are a great indicator of value. Sometimes the multiple listing services in communities can give you this information (search multiple listing service city where city is the area you want to search). If there are other homes for sale in the neighborhood, visit the real estate agent s website to see what is being asked for those homes. Although this is not as valuable as sale data, it is more information for you to consider as you determine a value. Automated searches: There are many automated valuation sites. For example, take a look at Realtor.com and Zillow.com. A Google search under home valuation yields nearly 1 million hits, so you have a lot of choices. Some of these might charge a fee. Valuation is an estimate! Remember that property valuation is not an exact science. Skilled appraisers can disagree on the exact value of a property. Use a good deal of common sense when approaching value. If a house is similar in outward appearance, and in size, to other houses in the neighborhood, then it most likely is worth about the same as its neighbors.
Determine the condition of the title In addition to the condition of the property, you also need to determine the title condition. 1. Title defined: Just like an automobile, all real property has title. Title is the condition of ownership of real estate. In most house purchases, you want to end up with a fee simple title, free and clear of all encumbrances. 2. Fee simple title: This means that you own the complete property estate. In most cases, this is what you want, and what you will receive, at a foreclosure auction. 3. Free and clear title: This means that there are no liens on or undesired encumbrances against the property. Most liens occur when someone borrows against property, or has a judgment recorded against them. A nice feature of buying foreclosed property is that liens junior to the foreclosing lien are typically removed by the foreclosure. Junior liens: These are liens more recent than the foreclosing lien. Once the foreclosure auction is over, these liens are typically extinguished, so they usually won t be a factor in your evaluation. Senior liens: These are liens older than the foreclosing lien. In some residential foreclosures there are no senior liens because the foreclosing lien is the oldest lien. In others a junior lien is being foreclosed, resulting in one or more surviving senior liens. If that is the case, then you will need to factor in the value of any surviving lien when you formulate your bidding strategy. 4. Determining title condition: Free sources. There are several tools to determine condition of title. Title companies will often provide you, free of charge, a property profile that gives you an indication of the title condition. Often at USA-Foreclosure.com you can obtain a copy of the title report that the foreclosing lender has used to give notice of the foreclosure. Remember that with these reports, there is no guarantee and no insurance! Fee sources. You can also purchase a title policy from a title insurance agency. This will guarantee you the condition of title. Our recommendation: Establish a relationship with a title insurance agency. Most will be very willing to help you understand title, and they keep records of title that will be helpful in your analysis.
Obtaining funds for purchase Foreclosure auctions often require immediate payment! 1. If you have sufficient funds, then take to the auction the maximum amount you expect to bid for your target property. Some things to remember: It s always wise to take either cashier s check or certified funds drawn on a local bank as carrying cash is unwise and might be unsafe. Consider taking a series of checks including one for the amount of the offset bid (explained below), and incremental checks up to the amount you wish to bid. This way you don t tie up excess funds if you are the successful bidder. Always check to see who the check should be made payable to, usually found on USA-Foreclosure.com on the Attorney/ Trustee Rules of Auction page. 2. If you need to borrow funds to bid and purchase at the auction, then you need to contact a financial institution to arrange to borrow funds. Banks, credit unions, and brokerage houses are all candidates. Financial institutions will typically require that you post security for a loan. Security can be any assets acceptable to the institution-other real estate you own, stocks and bonds, and vehicles are all commonly used to secure loans. The best source for loans is usually the financial institution that you bank with. They know you, and typically will want to do what they can to assist you. 3. If you are the successful bidder, you typically can expect to receive title to the property within about ten days after the auction. If you are borrowing to purchase, your lender will want to know this, and might wish to transfer the security from your other assets to the property you just purchased.
Attending and bidding You have focused on a property you saw on USA-Foreclosure.com, researched the condition and value of the property, determined that the condition of title is acceptable, and are now ready to attend the auction. What next? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Do at least one dry run. We recommend that prior to bidding at an auction, you attend some auctions to get a feel for the process. Most auctions are held at the same place, daily, weekly, or monthly. Typical locations are the courthouse closest to the property. USA-Foreclosure.com lists the sale locations, so find a test property in the general area that you wish to purchase, and attend the auction. Better yet, spend some time researching the test property as though you might bid on it, then attend the auction and see how much it sells for. Pre-auction check. In many areas the foreclosing bank will provide USA-Foreclosure.com the starting bid several days prior to the auction. This is great information to have, since you will know the minimum amount the property will sell for. In effect, the bank is showing you its cards before the game starts! Get your cashier s or certified checks from your bank. Carefully review the attorney s or trustee s auction rules on USA-Foreclosure.com! These will often tell you how the auction is conducted. Show up at the sale and bid!
What happens after the auction? If you are the successful bidder, what happens after the auction? 1. Trustee s Deed; Clerk s Deed: In most areas you will receive a deed to the property. In areas using a Deed of Trust as the financing device, you will probably be provided a Trustee s Deed. In other areas the deed might be called a Clerk s Deed or a Sheriff s Deed. Either way, these are your ownership documents. 2. Right of redemption: In some areas your receipt of the Trustee/Clerk s/sheriff s Deed conveys title to the property and the prior owner has no right to redeem (buy back) the property. In other areas the prior owner has the right to redeem for a set period of time. Look at our state pages at USA-Foreclosure.com for state-specific information. We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with local practices by visiting your local title agent, speaking with an experienced real estate attorney, and searching on the web. 3. What if the property I purchased is occupied? Sometimes the occupant of the house has not left after the auction. If you have been given the deed, in many areas you have the right to take possession within a short period of time after the foreclosure sale. If the occupant does not leave voluntarily, in most areas you can ask the court to evict him.