13 Best Ways How to Find Foreclosures to Get a List of Bank-Owned Properties in Florida (Free & Paid Methods)
Unlock the skills of uncovering foreclosure and pre-foreclosure deals by studying this guide.
We’ll reveal the strategies for building connections with real estate professionals and tapping into online resources to identify foreclosed properties to invest in.
I’m Bob Vieira, the owner and driving force behind Universal Short Sales, the fastest-growing company doing short sale processing nationwide, and I’m here to lead the way for you.
So, without further ado, let’s plunge into the world of property deals waiting to be discovered.
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 Florida home-buying companies 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
Beyond Real Estate Bees, there exists a wide array of real estate tools for investors and real estate investor lead generation systems.
These platforms deliver leads related to distressed properties, including pre-foreclosures and repossessed homes. They offer seamless integration with popular CRM software for real estate investors.
Real Estate Bees, equipped with an in-house editorial team, has diligently scrutinized and curated a list of top-notch real estate wholesaling tools and investors.
These tools will help ensure you can make well-informed decisions.
Among these recommended software, you’ll find the means to unearth foreclosed properties, pre-foreclosures, and other types of motivated sellers:
These tools are adept at locating properties in pre-foreclosure:
PropStream is pretty good in FL. County records and details are pretty accessible online, too. We do business nationwide.
Foreclosure.com
To find foreclosed properties and pre-foreclosures, one of the renowned REO search engines you can use is Foreclosure.com.
It’s incredibly popular and it’s highly likely that you’re already familiar with it.
Membership options differ, with the most prevalent choice on the website typically falling around $40 per month, with some slight variations.
Foreclosure.com offers two noteworthy features that I find especially attractive. To begin with, it prides itself on an extraordinarily intuitive user interface.
Upon acquiring a membership, you’re granted access to a wealth of valuable leads, and the website’s navigation is a breeze, even for those of us who may not be particularly tech-savvy.
Secondly, what sets Foreclosure.com apart in my estimation is its invaluable map feature.
This tool simplifies the process in that you can search foreclosures by address.
It provides a comprehensive list of every state in the United States, each with a clickable link leading to a wealth of foreclosure data.
It’s remarkably user-friendly and impeccably organized, making it an ideal resource for finding foreclosures online.
Let’s delve into another online marketplace where to find cheap foreclosed homes for sale.
Auction.com
The leading real estate auction platform nationwide is Auction.com. Its sheer scale alone positions it as one of the best places to find foreclosures.
While our focus here is primarily on foreclosures and pre-foreclosures, Auction.com offers a broader array of assets, including enticing short sale deals.
What adds to Auction.com’s allure as one of the best websites to find foreclosures is that there are no monthly membership fees.
You bid on a property, and if you become the winning bidder, you’re required to pay a buyer’s premium to Auction.com, and that’s how they generate revenue.
However, it’s essential to exercise caution when purchasing properties at auctions.
Not all auctions provide the opportunity to execute all steps in your property investment due diligence checklist.
Zillow
For many investors thinking of how to look up foreclosures, Zillow is the first place coming to mind. They aren’t wrong.
Zillow is a globally recognized company with a stellar reputation, widely favored by investors finding houses to wholesale or flip.
While many people associate Zillow with finding Florida real estate properties to buy and live in, it’s essential not to overlook its prowess in the domain of getting a foreclosed home for investment.
What makes Zillow stand out, in my opinion, is its remarkable user-friendliness. As for how to find foreclosures in Florida on Zillow, it’s a breeze.
Simply log onto the platform, enter the city or county where you’re interested in property, and apply your filters.
You have the option to select “foreclosures” in the dropdown menu or explore pre-foreclosures. If you’re keen on auctions, you can search for those as well.
Zillow is a great public resource to start figuring out where to go.
Florida Multiple Listing Services (MLS)
The MLS presents yet another fantastic avenue to get REO listings.
It’s important to note that every Florida multiple listing service is distinct. The same holds true for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of MLS systems across the entire country.
Each one possesses its unique interface and terms.
Nevertheless, the common thread that ties them all together is their capability to help you fine-tune your search and uncover local foreclosures and pre-foreclosure listings.
While interfaces vary, the basic process typically involves logging into the MLS and navigating to the “My Search” tab.
Clicking on this tab will usually open a dropdown menu with various options. To find foreclosures on MLS, you can opt for categories like foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, or short sales from this menu.
Regardless of your specific search criteria, when you search foreclosures, refine your results.
Suppose, for instance, you’re on the hunt for Florida homes for sale with two or more bedrooms. In this case, you should fine-tune your search to reflect this criteria. The same goes for other features.
Florida Real Estate Wholesalers
An excellent method to look for foreclosed homes is using a real estate wholesaler in Florida.
These professionals specialize in securing off-market deals directly from sellers at a discount, tailored to the preferences of Florida property investors.
The appeal lies in the fact that wholesalers assume the responsibility of finding real estate wholesale deals and conducting negotiations on your behalf.
Once a wholesaler secures a property under contract, they acquire what is known as equitable interest.
This grants them the legal authority to assign the contract—essentially transferring their interest in the property to you as the investor for a fee.
It’s important to note that wholesalers are not purchasing the property themselves; instead, they’re wholesaling it. Here’s how it works.
Suppose you are a wholesaler, and you’ve secured a property under contract for $100,000. You know you can sell it to an investor or homebuyer for $120,000.
In this scenario, you would sign a contract with the motivated home seller for $100,000 and then assign your rights in the contract, your equitable interest, to the buyer for $120,000.
The buyer takes your place in the deal for the $100,000 contract and pays you an assignment fee of $20,000.
As a result, the end buyer acquires the property for a total of $120,000, while the wholesaler generates profit by retaining the assignment fee, which amounts to $20,000 in this example.
For more in-depth insights into this strategy, consult our guides on how to start wholesaling houses with no money and wholesaling real estate in Florida.
Wholesalers can get a list of foreclosures in your area on your behalf.
They consistently get motivated sellers on autopilot and often have multiple properties under contract simultaneously to cater to returning clients interested in finding fix and flip properties.
They take care of much of the legwork upfront, and you ultimately acquire the pre-foreclosure property.
When embarking on flipping houses as a career and forging professional networks, wholesalers should be among the first contacts on your list.
Florida Real Estate Agents
To get a foreclosed homes list, REO agents serve as a fantastic resource.
REO stands for Real Estate-Owned, signifying that a bank has completed the foreclosure process and reclaimed the property from the homeowner.
It’s crucial to understand that banks primarily focus on lending, not real estate transactions.
Once the foreclosure process concludes, the bank assigns the property to a listing agent, often referred to as an REO agent.
A Florida realtor typically manages multiple listings assigned to them by banks post-foreclosure, making them accessible for REO property search.
Investors are the primary target audience for these listings, as they seek opportunities in the REO market.
Cultivating a relationship with a Florida investor-friendly realtor who specializes in this niche is an important step in your journey to find REO properties.
Several of those options were actually good, but a lot of times I see investors already know about the “pretty good” deals through clubs and wholesalers trying to get rid of their inventory.
What an investor is looking for is your sweat equity and willingness to not take things personally at all, or put any emotion in putting in offers.
Should people get a hold of their time, effort, and ability to keep it business and treat investors like any other person on the planet, they really respect that.
Investors are looking for people to put in very low ball offers and not have much of an opinion.
It is easier for them to get somewhere when the agent is not uncomfortable making whatever offer the investor wants to put on a property.
You truly never know what the sellers will be willing to do. I have scored some crazy deals like that.
Real estate agents are the best source of foreclosure deals because they have direct contact and communication with lenders holding the mortgages of distressed properties, and homeowners who have defaulted on their mortgages.
Those real estate agents are often the first to know when a lender intends to foreclose because it is common practice for the lender to reach out to local real estate agents who are familiar with the market the home is located in, and request a Broker Price Opinion of the market value of the property.
Well, all of the real estate professionals can be good lead sources. We teach the 6-Week Compounding Routine for REIs which is all about networking with the right professionals.
When other professionals talk to people about real estate all day, they are a good source. If they know you specialize in forced sale/pre-foreclosure solutions and perform, they will send leads they can’t help to you.
Florida Foreclosure Attorneys
A foreclosure lawyer in Florida is a legal expert specializing in the intricacies of foreclosure proceedings. Their primary role is to safeguard the interests of banks and prevent potential lawsuits.
You’ve likely come across news stories about lending companies in Florida facing legal actions initiated by homeowners.
As a professional investor, you can leverage these attorneys by nurturing strong connections and exploring ways to collaborate and add value to their practices.
There are numerous avenues for doing this, which would require an entire guide to cover them comprehensively.
But in essence, your objective should be to establish meaningful relationships with short sale attorneys in Florida and foreclosure attorneys.
They can be invaluable resources in your quest to find repossessed houses for sale.
When someone is about to be foreclosed on, they get a lis pendens and typically consult a lawyer since it is a legal matter.
The lawyer will know about pending foreclosures before they happen and can give you an opportunity to be the only one making an offer.
Florida Short Sale Processors
Real estate investors on the hunt for distressed properties, particularly pre-foreclosure prospects, will discover that building a strong connection with short sale processing companies or short sale processors in Florida can be an absolute game-changer.
These experts are dedicated to skillfully overseeing the short selling process, adeptly navigating the procedure and saving time for all parties involved.
The process of buying a short sale property is a protracted and intricate undertaking, frequently spanning several months.
By nurturing a relationship with a dependable short sale processor, investors gain a competitive edge.
Not only can they streamline the process, but they also open the door to unique opportunities.
Many times, homeowners first reach out to a short sale processing company as their initial point of contact in the negotiation process with the bank. This is what short-sale negotiators do for the seller, if you want to learn more.
If investors maintain a strong connection with the processor, they are positioned to receive these promising deals.
The processor can handle the entire short sale procedure, earn their fees, and present investors with lucrative properties ripe for acquisition.
Florida Real Estate Lenders
Why won’t you think of how to get foreclosure listings from banks without intermediaries?
The beauty of this method is that it carries no expense or significant time investment. The worst-case scenario is receiving a simple “no” in response..
Reach out to a range of banks and take the opportunity to introduce yourself. Explain your intention to find distressed real estate and buy it for cash and inquire about the availability of a list featuring repo homes.
Banks, once they’ve completed the foreclosure process, are driven to swiftly offload these properties.
Their objective is to eliminate them from their financial statements and continue with their regular operations.
When seeking repossessed properties, small community banks emerge as particularly favorable options.
This is because they offer accessible lines of communication with influential individuals within the institution.
In numerous instances, you’re only a call or two away from reaching a credit union manager or a key decision maker.
By putting in the effort to connect with these banks, you may ultimately secure a valuable list of foreclosed homes for your investment endeavors.
Most banks and other lenders want to get rid of problems, and non-performing loans are problems to them.
Florida Courthouses
Some investors use the local county courthouse to find foreclosed houses.
While this method of real estate investment demands more time to get leads for wholesaling real estate, it offers the advantage of reduced competition.
Every county houses its own rendition of this institution, often identified as the county recording office. This is the go-to place to get a foreclosed homes list for free.
While the department may be labeled differently in each county, the overarching goal is to locate where records are maintained.
You can then obtain a list of lis pendens and find foreclosures in your area for free.
Lis pendens indicates situations where homeowners lag behind on mortgage payments, prompting the issuance of a judgment to notify the public about the debt.
The Florida loan servicing companies are normally in the first lien position.
To get a list of foreclosures from the courthouse, you may not have to visit it in person. The courthouse’s website can be equipped with a functionality to find properties that owe back taxes or mortgage payments.
Upon discovering a record, it may be revealed that the owner’s contact details are outdated. In such cases, doing some research referred to as skip tracing in real estate becomes essential.
These best skip tracing software for real estate investors will aid in swiftly finding motivated home sellers.
It provides contact information, including phone numbers, emails, and even social media profiles.
It’s a great way, but you have to know that it’s public and everyone else is doing it.
It’s a very efficient marketplace. I would say use it, but find a non-efficient market and that will yield higher results.
Each county has a clerk of the court website where you can search for legal filings. You want to look for lis pendens.
The best and most efficient way for a real estate investor to access public records to look for foreclosed and/or pre-foreclosed properties is to build a relationship with a real estate agent local to the market in which the investor is searching.
Ask them to create a list from data found on the Realtors Property Resource website.
Clerk of court, property appraisers, HUD, investor clubs, social media, events, anywhere.
Some states do not have the same auction or tax deed sites but to get on the areas, government sites will give you the most info.
Bank Websites
An exceptional approach you can use to find out about foreclosures involves exploring a bank’s official website.
It’s essential to note that not every bank boasts an extensive, easily navigable website with a free search option showing bank-owned repossessed homes for sale.
Usually, focus should be directed to prominent mortgage servicers like Bank of America or Wells Fargo.
These leading servicers uphold neatly organized websites that allow users to effortlessly find bank-owned properties for free.
By clicking on the designated tab and exploring the provided list, you can manually research bank foreclosures in Florida.
Now, I’ll share my final tip on this list regarding how you can find foreclosed homes.
These resources offer a great deal of information at no cost and are easy to navigate.
HUD Foreclosures
Here’s an additional approach to finding foreclosed homes for sale for free without incurring expenses on marketing, especially when you begin flipping houses.
A significant portion of foreclosures originates from government-backed mortgages, predominantly those facilitated by HUD.
The exciting part? You can directly visit HUD’s website and tailor your search for specific property types. Head to hudhomestore.gov.
On the homepage, scroll to the center, where you can search HUD foreclosures based on your preferences.
It’s an excellent avenue for you to get free motivated seller leads. You can conduct your foreclosed home search by county, zip code, city, state, and more.
There’s even a dedicated tab that allows you to find HUD foreclosed homes based on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, enabling a highly refined search.
Survey of Industry Experts
Which of the following resources do you use to find foreclosed and pre-foreclosed properties in Florida?
Which of the following real estate professionals can be the best source of foreclosure deals for an investor in Florida?
Get Expert Training to Find Upcoming Foreclosures Like a Pro
I’m Bob Vieira, founder of Universal Short Sales, the nation’s most rapidly advancing short sale processing firm.
By compiling my wealth of insights on short sales and pre-foreclosures, I’ve crafted an exclusive gift for you — the Pre-Foreclosure Fast Lane course.
This comprehensive course unfolds in three phases:
- delving into short sale and pre-foreclosure fundamentals
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Moreover, I’m sharing our company’s tried and tested 12-step process for executing short sales, step-by-step.
This invaluable resource is entirely free — a token of appreciation from me to you. Dive in and relish the knowledge!
What Is the Primary Pitfall to Watch Out for When Investing in Foreclosures in Florida?
Who is selling the foreclosure? An HOA can get a property by foreclosure for unpaid dues.
When they sell it, any liens, taxes, judgments, and mortgages are still encumbering the property, so you could be buying a property with more debt than it is worth.
Always get a title company to do a pencil search on any foreclosure you are considering.
It is important to always have a real estate agent representing you and looking out for your best interest.
Avoid purchasing foreclosure lists online, as those lists are often expensive, and have no more information than what a local real estate agent is able to get for you at no additional charge.
Making sure your ROI is worth it. Overpredict your expenses and underpredict the sale price and add 3-6 months to any project you think will take 3 months or less.
Move quickly as timing is imperative in real estate. Investors look at ARV, which is After Rate Value, meaning how much will they make after commissions, closing fees, material, labor, etc. There is a formula.
Don’t fall in love with a deal or be too desirous to do a deal. Be realistic in your projections. Everything costs more; it takes more time than you think. Nothing is easy or simple.
Uncooperative borrowers… don’t waste time. Investors need to focus on income-producing activities (hence our company name IPA for REI).
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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.