A reader emailed us a question on how to get the list of homes to be sold at the trustee sale auction. I’ll answer that question in this post.
The first part of the answer is that it depends on where you are located. Each county has its own method of posting properties pending foreclosure. There are also different types of foreclosure, depending on the location and the instrument used to secure the property as collateral for a loan.
For the areas I am familiar with, foreclosures are listed by the trustee in a local newspaper prior to the property being sold at auction. The listing should include the property ID, date of the sale and the loan amount. Often the opening bid, set by the bank, is not released until a few hours before the sale takes place.
There are two common things which interfere with an investor buying a property at the trustee sale auction:
- The sale often gets postponed.
- The bank most of the time (80% to 99%) gets the property back because they are the highest bidder.
One other option to find out about soon-to-be-foreclosed properties is through list service providers. These are companies that will research the properties and sell that information to investors. One popular service here in Phoenix is Arizona Investors Alliance, also know as Bid AZ Foreclosures.
I am renting to own a home and it was suppose to be purchased through trustee action sometime between 2006-2007, I assume and the owner has failed to show proof of ownership, it is located in cocke county, Tennessee. I am getting frustrated, because, I do not know if they actually own it or not, can anyone help me out here, It would be much appreciated
Another great company to get Arizona Daily Trustee Sale Lists from is http://www.AZForeclosureList.com. The list is one of the most comprehensive lists in Maricopa county and includes hyperlinks to Bing aerials, Maricopa.gov GIS maps, 3 comp values instead of 1, back taxes owed and much more. Additionally, AZForeclosureList.com is partners with Fidelity National Title and is a member of their VIP title search program which is designed to help protect investors money from loss related to title problems. For more information you can call 480-560-5757 or visit the website.