13 Best Ways How to Find Foreclosures to Get a List of Bank-Owned Properties in Alabama (Free & Paid Methods)
By reading this article, you will learn 13 easy ways to find pre-foreclosure and repossessed homes for sale.
Some of them are free, others are paid. Some require research or building professional connections while others bring you leads in a few clicks. But all of them are proven to work.
I’m Bob Vieira, the owner and founder of Universal Short Sales, propelling the company to become the nation’s fastest growing force in short sale processing.
Let’s start with online methods.
PropTech Platforms
Real Estate Bees
Real Estate Bees (REB) is an online platform designed for industry professionals looking to take their real estate business to the next level. It provides access to robust tech stack, statistical data, comprehensive informational resources, and much more.
This includes pre-foreclosure and REO leads for real estate agents, investors, and wholesalers. All the leads are strictly generated via inbound marketing channels unlike data scraping, aggregation, and other outbound methods used by most other platforms.
Delinquent property owners from all over the US utilize the REB platform to find reputable investor home buyers in Alabama who’d be interested in acquiring their distressed property — so they are highly motivated.
As a user of the platform, you can get access to these distressed properties, submitted by other industry professionals, absolutely FREE! You simply need to sign up to DealAlert, which is an advanced, yet free, property matching engine developed by Real Estate Bees.
In addition, you can also access distressed properties, submitted directly by property owners, by purchasing motivated seller leads through our advanced pay per lead real estate marketplace.
Other Platforms
Other lead generation software for real estate investors and property investing apps offer similar services.
These platforms provide opportunities for generating distressed property leads, including pre-foreclosures and homes that have been repossessed.
The lion’s share of them provide automation functionality to work with a CRM for investors pipeline you likely use.
Real Estate Bees experts diligently reviewed top-notch wholesale real estate tools that can help you make well-informed decisions.
Helping you find various types of motivated sellers, the following tools serve as valuable resources for discovering both foreclosed homes and pre-foreclosures:
Tools specialized in locating pre-foreclosure properties:
Foreclosure.com
One of the prominent and widely recognized REO search engines providing pre-foreclosures and foreclosed house deals is Foreclosure.com, a platform likely familiar to many due to its widespread popularity.
The most common subscription plan is $40 per month, which is not much for such a service.
Foreclosure.com is a very user-friendly tool. You don’t have to be an advanced user to find foreclosed properties there.
One thing that makes it easy to use is the map where you can search foreclosures by address.
Clicking on your state and choosing a more precise location provides a list of local deals with comprehensive foreclosure data helping you assess and compare investment opportunities.
The site’s intuitive interface and structured layout make it a go-to resource for finding foreclosures online.
Next, let’s explore an alternative online tool for those wondering where to find cheap foreclosed homes for sale.
Auction.com
Auction.com stands out as the nation’s leading real estate auction powerhouse. It is primarily renowned for its sheer magnitude placing it among the best websites to find foreclosures.
Auction.com presents a wide variety of assets, including real estate short sale deals and even non-real estate items.
One of the compelling aspects of Auction.com that places it among the best places to find foreclosures is that the company doesn’t charge you monthly.
It rather functions by charging you whenever your bid wins in an auction — this is called a buyer’s premium.
While this site proves to be an excellent resource, caution is important when purchasing properties at auctions.
Some auctions do not allow for a comprehensive inspection of properties before paying.
Unless you have unlimited cash reserves, following your property investment due diligence checklist is key for keeping your business profitable.
Zillow
Among the most widely recognized brands when it comes to getting a foreclosed home, Zillow takes center stage.
While many users flock to Zillow primarily to discover real estate property listings in Alabama to buy a house to settle in, its potential for investors should not be overlooked.
Zillow garners immense popularity among investors whose goal is finding houses to wholesale, keep as a rental, or fix and resell.
Zillow stands out thanks, to its impressive user-friendly interface. When searching how to find foreclosures in Alabama on Zillow, it is easy to navigate the site.
Simply input the desired city or county and apply filters. Narrow down your search by choosing either “foreclosures” or “pre-foreclosures” from the dropdown menu. You also have the option to explore properties offered through auctions.
That’s pretty much how to look up foreclosures on Zillow. Let’s move to the next method.
Alabama Multiple Listing Services (MLS)
If you have earned a real estate license or know someone who has and can help you, you can get REO listings from your local MLS.
MLS is a Multiple Listing Service — an online database for real estate professionals to track properties that are for sale currently or have been sold in the past.
All MLS in Alabama work in a similar way, although some details in their interfaces may differ.
Users typically log in, proceed to the “Search” section, and encounter a dropdown menu.
Within this dropdown menu, there are various options. To be able to find foreclosures on MLS, users select categories such as short sales, pre-foreclosures, or foreclosures.
Subsequently, you can refine your search based on more specific criteria. For example, if you are after homes for sale in Alabama with just one bedroom or with specific features, reflect this in the filters to exclude the results that don’t match your criteria.
Alabama Real Estate Wholesalers
Alabama property wholesalers look for foreclosed homes so you don’t have to. They basically find good investment opportunities and sell them to property investors in Alabama.
Wholesalers offer a coveted service by handling the negotiation process, making them a preferred choice for investors who want not only to find wholesale real estate deals but also save as much time as possible on every purchase.
Wholesalers’ strategy involves securing properties under contract as buyers, although they aren’t going to close on the house themselves.
Then wholesalers just assign their contract rights to you at closing, and you pay them an assignment fee for this.
Here is how this works: as the wholesaler, I sign a contract with a motivated home seller, say for $100,000, and identify an investor willing to invest $110,000 in it.
Then I’ll transfer my rights in the contract, my equitable interest, to you (the end buyer) for $10,000 — this happens at closing.
The process involves you stepping in for the $100,000 contract and paying me an assignment fee of $10k to take my place in the deal.
Of course, you will be able to fully inspect the home before buying it.
Wholesalers play a pivotal role in many investors’ business models as they have the capability to get a list of foreclosures in your area.
They consistently get motivated sellers on autopilot and have contracts with multiple sellers at the same time, so by using a wholesaler, you can find cheap houses to flip pretty easily.
For those looking forward to venturing into house flipping as a career and aiming to expand professional networks, wholesalers are indispensable partners.
You may also consider wholesaling as another money-making strategy to master.
Delve deeper into this method by exploring the beginner’s guide on how to wholesale real estate contracts and acquaint yourself with rules regarding wholesaling houses in Alabama.
Alabama Real Estate Agents
‘REO’ stands for Real Estate-Owned — the status a house gets when the bank repossesses it through the foreclosure process.
Banks primarily focus on managing loans rather than selling real estate. So, they are interested in getting the deal done rather quickly than for top dollar.
Post-foreclosure, a listing agent, commonly referred to as REO agent, is the one who takes care of the sale. For you to get a foreclosed homes list, REO agents provide an excellent avenue.
Alabama real estate agents who work for lenders may have multiple foreclosed properties they seek buyers for.
Basically any property you see in an REO property search on the sites we’ve previously discussed is listed by an REO agent.
Developing a rapport with an investment realtor in Alabama helps you find REO properties before they become publicly available.
Most foreclosures are sold through agents and their brokerages.
Alabama Foreclosure Attorneys
An Alabama foreclosure attorney aims to safeguard banks from potential lawsuits or legal repercussions. Some of them also serve borrowers.
It would help you to network with these professionals. Think of how you can benefit them.
The very fact that you can buy their client’s house fast and for cash, helping an Alabama real estate lender, as well as a homeowner, avoid the tedious foreclosure procedure, may make an attorney want to write down your contacts.
Otherwise, some of Alabama short sale lawyers may also appreciate a referral fee, if their professional ethics allows it.
By leveraging these connections, you can have another channel to find repossessed houses for sale.
Alabama Short Sale Processors
The role of short sale processors in Alabama encompasses completing all short sale steps for the seller, which is also helpful for the buyer.
The process of buying a short sale property is long and complex. You can spend several months on such a purchase, especially if the seller lacks the knowledge and skills to do what depends on them.
A proficient short sale processor coordinates the whole process and follows up with everyone to make sure no time is wasted.
Also, a short sale processor can contact you whenever they have a new seller to serve, which is why they are on this list.
Keep in mind that in a short sale, processors usually represent sellers but get paid by the buyer. To learn more, read about what short sale negotiators do for the seller.
While you will have to pay a fee, a short sale deal may be very lucrative and less competitive than others.
They have more access to these types of properties and know more of the details.
Alabama Real Estate Lenders
Don’t forget to try direct outreach to lenders. Some of them may have good deals to offer. And you won’t have to pay middlemen for finding them.
Following a foreclosure, banks are eager to swiftly sell properties, aiming to clear their inventory and streamline their financial records. They’ll only welcome your call.
Research contacts of local lenders and tell them your goal is finding distressed properties to make clean offers on. Request a list of repo homes.
While speaking with them, follow these tips on how to get foreclosure listings from banks.
For quicker results, consider targeting smaller community banks: there, it’s easier to reach the person in charge of disposing of repossessed properties.
Typically, reaching a manager at a credit union at a smaller bank takes just a call or two.
Alabama Courthouses
Not many investors and wholesalers find foreclosed houses via the courthouse in their county.
Not only this way offers you the opportunity to get a foreclosed homes list for free, but it also unveils a chance to tap into deals few people have found before you.
To get leads for wholesaling real estate or house flipping, pay a visit to the courthouse or use their website. Search for lis pendens — records indicating delinquency in mortgage payments.
This legal notice signals that an Alabama mortgage loan servicing company holding the primary lien on the property may soon foreclose on it.
If you want to also find homes that owe back taxes and nearing a sheriff auction, the courthouse stands as a valuable resource, too.
Once you get a list of foreclosures from the courthouse, you may find out that you need real estate skip tracing services to update owner contact details: in the public records they may be obsolete.
Employing the best skip tracing software for real estate investors will adeptly help you find motivated house sellers‘ email addresses, phone numbers, and social media profiles.
In the subsequent step, we’ll explore an alternative method you can use to find foreclosures in your area for free.
Bank Websites
Another effective strategy to find out about foreclosures online is visiting a bank’s website directly.
However, it’s important to note that not every bank boasts a comprehensive website that facilitates free search for bank-owned repossessed homes for sale.
Traditionally, focus tends to gravitate toward major mortgage servicing entities. These include Bank of America or Wells Fargo.
Large banks’ sites normally offer a wider choice of real estate listings and a thought-through interface to help you find bank-owned properties for free.
Still, check out your local lenders’ websites — from time to time they may also list bank foreclosures in Alabama.
Now, here’s my final tip you can follow to find foreclosed homes.
HUD Foreclosures
Free opportunities are especially helpful when starting a house flipping business. So here’s another simple method of finding foreclosed homes for sale for free.
A noteworthy share of foreclosure listings comprises government-backed mortgages managed under the auspices of HUD.
The fantastic aspect is that you can directly visit HUD’s website and browse it to find specific types of properties you desire.
Access hudhomestore.gov. When you land on the website’s main page and scroll a little down, you’ll find a section allowing you to search HUD foreclosures.
Refine your foreclosed home search by adjusting factors like county, city, state, or zip code. In addition, it enables you to find HUD foreclosed homes based on bedrooms and bathrooms.
This was my last tip on how to get free motivated seller leads for purchasing a pre-foreclosed or foreclosed home. But I still have more value to offer you. Read on!
Survey of Industry Experts
Which of the following resources do you use to find foreclosed and pre-foreclosed properties in Alabama?
Which of the following real estate professionals can be the best source of foreclosure deals for an investor in Alabama?
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What Is the Primary Pitfall to Watch Out for When Investing in Foreclosures in Alabama?
Foreclosures have a one-year right of redemption, meaning the owner who is foreclosed on can come back within one year and pay off the debt and reclaim the house. Very rare, but I have seen it done.
No seller disclosures. All proof of property facts falls on the buyer.
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About the author
Bob Vieira is the Founder and Managing Partner of Universal Short Sales, LLC. While serving clients as a licensed Realtor, he realized there was a need for a knowledgeable company, specializing in the short sale sector. Bob is an industry expert with a passion for guiding homeowners through the short sale process.