13 Best Ways How to Find Foreclosures to Get a List of Bank-Owned Properties in Ohio (Free & Paid Methods)

This guide provides 13 proven methods to discover foreclosure and pre-foreclosure deals.

This includes networking opportunities with various real estate-related professionals and utilizing readily available online resources.

I’m Bob Vieira, the owner of Universal Short Sales, a company processing short sales nationwide and growing the fastest in the country’s short sale processing industry.

Ready to explore these lucrative opportunities? Let’s jump right in.

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 Ohio 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 distressed seller leads through our advanced pay per lead real estate marketplace.

Other Platforms

Apart from Real Estate Bees, numerous other apps for real estate investors, including real estate investing lead generation software, abound in the market.

These platforms provide distressed property leads such as pre-foreclosures and repossessed homes.

The majority of the tools seamlessly integrate with well-known CRM software for real estate investors.

Real Estate Bees’ team assessed the best real estate wholesaling software for investors to help you explore this niche and choose a provider of foreclosure leads and other motivated seller types.

Highlighted among these tools are resources like PropStream, Propelio, PiN, MyHouseDeals, Privy, InvestorLift, PropertyRadar, and REIPro. They facilitate the search for foreclosed homes as well as pre-foreclosure properties.

Additionally, tools such as FreedomSoft, 8020REI, NeedtoSellMyHouseFast, iSpeedToLead, Motivated Leads, and BatchLeads focus mostly on locating pre-foreclosure properties.

One prominent REO search engine widely used to find foreclosed properties and pre-foreclosures is Foreclosure.com.

It is a well-known and highly popular platform. Their memberships vary, with the most common monthly subscription costing $40 or so.

What stands out about it? Firstly, it offers extreme user-friendliness.

Registering for membership grants immediate access to the leads list. Navigating the site is effortless—you don’t have to be tech-savvy.

Secondly, I’m particularly fond of Foreclosure.com due to its interactive map of foreclosure deals. This feature allows users to search foreclosures by address.

By clicking on the map, it presents a comprehensive list of all states in the USA. Each state link provides the necessary foreclosure data upon clicking, offering a comprehensive view of available properties.

Foreclosure.com provides a seamless and organized experience for those who prefer finding foreclosures online.

Now, let’s explore an additional online platform that offers options on where to find cheap foreclosed homes for sale.

SEARCH FORECLOSURES IN OHIO

Auction.com stands out as the nation’s largest real estate auction platform, earning its reputation as one of the best places to find foreclosures.

While primarily focusing on foreclosures and pre-foreclosures, the platform extends beyond. It houses various asset types, including property short sale deals.

What distinguishes it among the best websites to find foreclosures is its absence of a monthly membership fee.

The process involves placing bids on properties, and if successful, winning bidders are required to pay a buyer’s premium to Auction.com, which constitutes their revenue model.

However, caution is essential—property auctions may limit the thoroughness of your real estate investment due diligence.

When delving into how to look up foreclosures, Zillow emerges as the go-to brand.

It’s a globally recognized company extensively utilized by investors to find distressed properties for wholesaling or flipping, boasting an impressive reputation.

Although Zillow is commonly used by the general public for discovering properties for sale in Ohio, its potential for getting a foreclosed home is frequently overlooked.

Zillow’s user-friendliness stands out as a remarkable feature. When exploring how to find foreclosures in Ohio on Zillow, the process is straightforward: you log in, specify the city or county of interest, and filter the search results.

The interface offers options to click on “foreclosures”, “pre-foreclosures”, or even conduct auction-based searches.

The MLS stands out as an exceptional avenue you can use to get REO listings.

Each MLS in Ohio differs in its interface and operations. Yet, the common thread among these platforms lies in their capability to refine searches and uncover local foreclosures and pre-foreclosure listings.

While interfaces vary, accessing the MLS typically involves clicking on the “My Search” tab, a feature present in all MLS versions.

This tab leads to a dropdown menu, offering diverse choices to find foreclosures on MLS, including options like repossessed property, pre-foreclosures, or short sales.

Tailoring the search is crucial—whether seeking Ohio houses with one, two bedrooms or more, search foreclosures by refining the filters accordingly.

One effective method to look for foreclosed homes is through property wholesalers in Ohio.

These specialists excel in procuring off-market deals from motivated sellers at reduced rates for property investors in Ohio.

Numerous investors opt for finding wholesale real estate deals as wholesalers undertake the entire search and negotiation process on their behalf.

Wholesalers secure properties by entering into contracts and acquiring what is commonly referred to as equitable interest.

This legal right enables them to assign the contract—transferring their interest in the property to the investor—for a fee. They facilitate the sale without closing on the property themselves.

For instance, as a wholesaler, I might secure a property under a $100,000 contract. Recognizing its potential value, I’d sell it to an investor buyer for $120,000.

The process involves signing a contract with the motivated home seller for $100,000, and then assigning the rights in that contract to the buyer. And the buyer pays me an assignment fee of $20,000.

Hence, as the final purchaser, you are paying a sum of 120k for the property, while the wholesaler earns their profit through the assignment fee, which amounts to 20k in this instance.

To delve deeper into this approach, explore the beginner’s guide on how to wholesale real estate contracts and then learn about the state laws concerning wholesaling real estate in Ohio.

Wholesalers have the capability to get a list of foreclosures in your area. They consistently carry out motivated seller lead generation and often manage multiple properties simultaneously under contracts.

This allows them to efficiently assist returning clients in finding a house to flip.

As you embark on your house flipping career and establish professional connections, wholesalers should rank high on your networking list.

Wholesalers are the ones who focus daily on finding distressed sellers.

They are constantly marketing to and prospecting for homeowners who need to sell because they are behind on mortgage or tax payments.

— Denise Shepherd, Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan, Realtor

REO agents serve as an excellent resource to get a foreclosed homes list. REO, short for Real Estate-Owned, signifies properties reclaimed by banks post-foreclosure.

Upon foreclosure of the property, the bank assumes ownership and entrusts it to a listing agent, also known as an REO agent.

Keep in mind that banks are not involved in the real estate industry; their primary focus lies in the realm of loans. Therefore, they prefer to sell their repossessed property fast and often at a lower price.

Ohio real estate agents frequently manage multiple bank-owned listings and put them on the market, making them available for REO property search. Investors represent the primary clientele for these deals.

Establishing a relationship with investor-friendly real estate agents in Ohio proves invaluable for you to find REO properties.

We as agents have contacts and search engines.

— Heidi Mueller, Howard Hanna, Realtor

A foreclosure attorney in Ohio specializes in navigating foreclosure legal matters, safeguarding the bank from potential lawsuits or legal losses.

Headlines often highlight mortgage servicers and lending companies in Ohio facing legal actions from homeowners.

As a buyer looking to find repossessed houses for sale, fostering robust relationships with foreclosure attorneys involves understanding how your business can contribute value to theirs, making their professional lives more efficient.

While the intricacies of building such relationships require a separate comprehensive guide, the key is establishing mutually beneficial connections with short sale lawyers in Ohio and foreclosure attorneys.

An easier “find” is the attorney named in the foreclosure lawsuit.

In addition, one attorney has multiple clients, so if you are able to develop a relationship with an attorney or law firm, the relationship can position an investor to have access to a higher level of deal flow.

— Richard Kruse, Gryphon USA, Managing Partner

For real estate investors seeking distressed properties, especially pre-foreclosure deals, establishing a robust connection with Ohio short sale negotiators or processing companies is paramount.

Short sale processors handle the entire short sale procedure, guiding it from initiation to completion. They provide comprehensive assistance throughout the intricate process.

Buying a short sale involves a lengthy and complex procedure spanning several months.

Developing a dependable relationship with a go-to short sale processor offers investors a dual advantage.

You have the potential to secure deals, and have the short sale carried out quickly and professionally.

Home sellers hire processors to help them negotiate with the lender. And the processors can refer their deals to you. Here is a summary of what a short sale negotiator does for the seller.

A short sale processor is normally paid by the investor, but it may be well worth the benefit of getting a good property for cheap.

When seeking how to get REO listings from banks, bypassing intermediaries remains an underutilized but potent strategy.

Proactively contacting lenders directly could be your easiest route to success. You don’t lose anything, and calling a lender asking for a list of their repossessed properties doesn’t take much time.

Introduce yourself as an investor seeking a way to find distressed homes and purchase them for cash and inquire about their inventory of repossessed properties.

After a bank finalizes foreclosures on repo homes, its primary motivation is to promptly sell them, thereby eliminating them from its financial records and moving ahead.

Smaller local banks, in particular, are excellent targets for you due to their approachability.

Establishing communication with influential figures in these institutions often proves relatively straightforward, sometimes just a call or two away from reaching a manager at a credit union.

It’s really a multiple-level answer. Lenders are the source of the foreclosure, but they are difficult to identify.

— Richard Kruse, Gryphon USA, Managing Partner

Discovering how to get wholesale real estate leads at the local county courthouse is a less-explored path to find foreclosed houses for many investors due to its time-intensive nature.

However, this approach offers a silver lining—lower competition.

While each county may call their courthouse a different name, locating the county recording office is key. This office holds the treasure trove of where to get a foreclosed homes list for free.

Among the public records, look for lis pendens. A lis pendens signifies a homeowner falling behind on mortgage payments, leading the bank to place a judgment against the property’s title.

This judgment alerts others that the homeowner faces payment issues, granting the note servicing companies in Ohio the primary right to the house in a first lien position.

Apart from lender pre-foreclosures, you can find houses with back taxes destined for sheriff auction sales.

Once you get a list of foreclosures from the courthouse, you may find that some of the owners’ contacts are outdated. Finding owners’ contacts is called skip tracing in real estate.

Some of the best skip tracing software for real estate investors can expedite the process of finding motivated seller leads.

These tools scour multiple sources to reveal contact details, including phone numbers, emails, and even social media profiles. This enables investors to connect with potential sellers efficiently.

Now, let’s look at an even easier way to find foreclosures in your area for free.

The county courthouse or county online site could be useful, depending on how reliable those records might be.

Some counties are not well-funded and so the online records are not kept up to date.

I think if foreclosure rules require public notice before a foreclosure can proceed, then a source of those notices would be a good place to find reliable info.

— Denise Shepherd, Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan, Realtor

You can go to county court records, usually online, and identify new foreclosures. You just need to spend the time.

— Richard Kruse, Gryphon USA, Managing Partner

Check Realist Homes or the local auditor website.

— Heidi Mueller, Howard Hanna, Realtor

A fantastic online method you can use to find out about foreclosures involves visiting a bank’s website directly.

Not all banks offer extensive websites facilitating easy access to foreclosure lists or a free search for bank-owned repossessed homes for sale.

Generally, larger nationwide mortgage servicers are more likely to have well-organized websites.

These sites typically feature a tab dedicated to foreclosure listings where you can freely browse and find bank-owned properties for free.

After locating the tab, you can manually explore the bank foreclosures in Ohio listed there.

Now, here is the final tip in this guide on how you can find foreclosed homes.

Here’s an alternative method of finding foreclosed homes for sale for free when you initially start a house flipping company without investing heavily in marketing.

A significant portion of online foreclosures typically originate from government-backed mortgages under HUD.

The good news is that you can directly visit HUD’s website at hudhomestore.gov to explore specific property types.

To find HUD foreclosed homes, scroll to the center, where you’ll find the option to search HUD foreclosures tailored to your preferences.

This search feature allows you to refine your foreclosed home search by county, zip code, city, state, and even beds and baths criteria—an excellent resource to get free motivated seller leads.

Which of the following resources do you use to find foreclosed and pre-foreclosed properties in Ohio?

Which of the following real estate professionals can be the best source of foreclosure deals for an investor in Ohio?

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I’m Bob Vieira, the creator and proprietor of Universal Short Sales, a rapidly expanding national firm specializing in short sale processing.

I’ve consolidated my extensive expertise in short sales and pre-foreclosures into a comprehensive resource — the Pre-Foreclosure Fast Lane course, tailored exclusively for you.

This course is divided into three sections: Short Sale and Pre-foreclosure Fundamentals, Lead Generation, and Monetizing Pre-Foreclosures and Short Sales.

Additionally, I disclose our company’s 12-step system, providing a detailed guide on executing short sales—all without any charges. Think of it as my gift to you!

Understanding “realistic” after market value and repair values. There are real differences in value with properties because the real estate market is hyper-local.

— Denise Shepherd, Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan, Realtor

Buying into too many unknowns.

— Richard Kruse, Gryphon USA, Managing Partner

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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.