Foreclosure Deal
After Auction Bank Home Buying

Foreclosure Amount Exceeds Property Value

There are excellent foreclosure deals to be had, even when foreclosed mortgage amount exceeds property value.

When there is a large discrepancy between the judgment amount and the property value, retrieve the foreclosure case file, as described previously, from the Clerk of Courts Office.

In that file on many documents, you will find a contact number for "Attorney for Plaintiff", who is representing the bank or party bringing the foreclosure action. The attorney will have the contact information for the bank representative which controls the property and the fate of your foreclosuredeal. It may take a little patience and a few calls but the best Foreclosure Deals are worth it. Only call after the auction has occurred and the property received no bid higher than that of the Plaintiffs opening bid. Make sure you have the case number and names of Defendant and Plaintiff when calling the attorney's office.

ForeclosureDeal Tip: Call the Plaintiff's Attorney

Inform the attorney, or most likely the assistant to the attorney, you are calling because they were the attorney for Plaintiff for case number ----- in -----County and you would like to purchase the property. Is there anyway for them to give you the contact number for the bank representative who is handling the property or the contact information they have for the bank, so you can make an offer.

Foreclosure Deal Objective

The objective is to obtain the property for less than what is owed, prior to it being listed with a Realtor. We have many times been able to contact the bank representative within 3 days of the foreclosure auction and are frequently the first to make contact. The attorney contact is the fastest, most direct, line to the person in charge of the property. While some banks will require the property to be sold through a Realtor, many will not. Some bank representatives will tell you to call back in 2 weeks so the property can be processed. Some banks will want you to fax an offer to them.

Foreclosure Deal Example:

HSBC foreclosured on a property I wanted but the opening bid at the auction was more than I wanted to spend. There were no bidders at the auction. I retrieved the phone number for the Plaintiff's attorney from the foreclosure case file, called and was given the contact number for the bank representative. I was shocked when, upon first contact, the bank representative said "That is in the ballpark of what we are thinking" when I made a verbal offer for 60% of the auction price. The auction price was about 10% less than market value. We closed in 10 days without a realtor.

Use Property Appraisers Data to Locate Foreclosure Deals

It is easy to locate properties owned by the banks in your area. At the Property Appraisers website, in most counties, you can search the property records by partial name. I usually run a query by name of BANK, this will return all those properties currently owned by a derivative of that name (Bank of NY, Bank One, Bank of America, Bank of Homestead, etc.) If I don't find anything of interest I will then query specific bank names (Wachovia, Wells Fargo, etc).

Another option available, from the Property Appraisers website, is to download all sales within a given time frame into a spreadsheet. This by far the easiest way to find your Foreclosure Deal property, due to the information available on the spreadsheet will include names, parcel id numbers, amounts, etc. You can then delete everything not conveyed in the last 60 days and those not conveyed to a bank. But, this is not available in all counties.

By viewing the specific records of the properties, you can find when the property was obtained by the bank and what type of conveyance they received. The conveyance type for our purposes should be COT(certificate of title) and the date of conveyance within the last 60 days. A certificate of title is issued when the bank foreclosed on the property and ownership reverted to them. When you locate such a property, you will need to know if it is already listed for sale. The easiest way to find out if a Foreclosure Deal is listed with a realtor is at realtor.com by running a search by zip code. You will have the property address from the Appraisers records.

At this point it really pays to have a knowledgeable realtor on your side. I will call up the realtor and give him the property address and tell him I have found a bank owned property in the area and I am interested in purchasing the property. With the address, the realtor will search the MLS for the property and make contact with the bank or the listing agent. If the bank obtained title to the property within the last 60 days, a second option is to view the foreclosure case file and contact the attorney for Plaintiff.

The easiest way to obtain the case number, if you locate a property in the Appraisers records you are interested in, is by searching through the foreclosure auction calendar or list of properties brought to foreclosure sale during the time that the bank received conveyance. In most counties the list of prior foreclosure auctions is available for viewing on line at the Clerks homepage or at their office.

The information found here is my opinion and should not be interpreted or construed as legal or professional advice. No legal or professional advice is being given and the use of this information is at the readers own risk and peril. It is advised that those considering this investment should seek qualified legal and professional services.

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The portal page for Florida Mortgage Foreclosure Investors.

Foreclosure, What is
Foreclosure Types, What Is & Why Buy, Find Your Free Auction List.

Foreclosure Auction Basics
The Basics, Winning Strategy, Requirements

Foreclosure Liens
You had better know what is superior before you bid.

Foreclosure Lien Finding
Locate Liens and Mortgages using the case file.

ForeclosureInfo
What can be found where, creating a superiority checklist, chain of title tips, foreclosure file retrieval.

Foreclosure Buying
Buying foreclosures before the auction. The winning strategy for buying from the property owners. Short Sales Info.

Foreclosure Deals
How to contact the bank first, after they obtained title from a foreclosure sale. Be first and win.

Foreclosure Research Tips
D.I.Y. title search, title reports, info on how to conduct due diligence.

Foreclosure Profits
How to keep your profit and save big money with these tips.

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