How to Find Foreclosures

Short sales and foreclosures made up a third of our market after the real estate crash. Values have risen steadily since then and it's rare to find a seller who owes more on their property than it's worth. So don't expect to see many of them. 

The problem with "Foreclosures" listed on Zillow is that they can't be trusted. When it says Pre-Foreclosure that doesn't mean the house is for sale. It likely means the owner is behind on his payments, but he can get current at any point. 

There are also a lot of scams on Zillow.  I have had personal properties of mine show up on there for rent (that weren't for rent) and for sale (when they weren't for sale) by scammer/hackers. 

The only way to accurately find out about foreclosures is to watch the foreclosure list on the county website and attend the auctions on the courthouse steps. You are more than welcome to search through that, but be prepared it's not for the faint of heart. You would need to go in person to the courthouse once a month where you would bid on foreclosures sight-unseen against seasoned cash investors, and also against the representative for the bank who has the mortgage who is there to make sure it doesn't sell too low.

Once a house is foreclosed on and owned by the bank, it comes on MLS just like any other house and you can make an offer. So my advice is to use Zillow as a resource but trust the MLS for what's actually available to purchase.