When property owners borrow a mortgage, they pledge the property as collateral for the loan. If they default on payments, the lender files for foreclosure to recover their lent money.
Foreclosures offer an opportunity for investors to buy distressed properties at a discount. But they also come with their share of challenges — not least of which is the competition you face from hundreds of other investors trying to buy the same property. Even homebuyers sometimes try to buy pre-foreclosures nowadays.
Gone are the days of having to visit the courthouse yourself to check foreclosure filings. In recent years, online platforms have arisen to help investors find properties in foreclosure more easily. That lower barrier to entry only makes the competition more stiff however.
The best foreclosure websites alert you as soon as a new foreclosure gets filed. As you hunt for the best website to find foreclosures, keep the following options in mind.
Understanding Foreclosure & Opportunities for Investors
Before diving into the best foreclosure websites, it’s worth pausing to review the foreclosure process.
Federal law requires mortgage lenders to wait until the borrower falls at least 90 days behind on payments before they even send a notice of default warning the borrower that they have 30 more days until the lender officially begins foreclosure proceedings.
After those four months of missed payments have passed, lenders typically hire a law firm to file in court for a trustee’s sale. This involves filing a notice of trustee’s sale with the court, followed by a mandatory public advertising period before the foreclosure auction can take place.
This typically takes another two months or so, although the process varies by state.
At the auction, the lender usually starts the bidding at the total amount owed, which is too high for most bidders to consider. That means that the bank takes back the overwhelming majority of properties that make it to the auction.
The bank then files more legal motions to take ownership of the property. If the prior owners still occupy the property by this point, the bank then files for eviction. Only once the property is vacant can the new owner market and list it for sale as a bank REO (real estate owned) property.
Strategies for Buying Foreclosed Homes
The strategy for real estate investors buying foreclosures depends on that stage of the process when they aim to buy.
Buying Pre-Foreclosures
Real estate investors who pursue pre-foreclosures aim to buy during the window after foreclosure proceedings have initiated but before the public auction.
These distressed properties create an opportunity for investors. The defaulting homeowner or landlord must either catch up on payments or sell before the auction date, else they lose their home and all its equity. Many would rather sell at a discount and walk away with something, rather than losing all their equity to the bank.
But investors and sellers alike have only a narrow window to close the sale. Investors need to reach out to distressed owners immediately once the foreclosure filing goes public — both to beat out competing investors and to be able to close before the auction date.
That’s why you need to use the best website to find foreclosures: speed and accuracy.
Foreclosure Auctions
Some investors do make a business of buying at auctions, whether driven by foreclosure, tax lien, or other distressed sales.
This investing strategy comes with three challenges. First, these auctions don’t take place at the property in most cases. investors can’t enter and view the interior of the property (unless they’ve previously arranged to do so with the owner). That makes buying them a risk — you don’t know what you’re getting.
Second, the homeowner is probably still occupying the property. After you buy it, you’ll have to evict them, which takes time and costs money. You also risk them vandalizing the property out of spite before leaving.
Finally, lenders typically start the bidding too high for anyone to actually bid on these. The bidding typically starts at the total amount owed to the lender.
Foreclosed REO Properties
However more investors either buy before or after the auction, once the property becomes an REO. At that point buyers can inspect the interior to gauge the property’s condition.
These properties don’t offer the same discounts as pre-foreclosures or even auctioned homes, because they’re listed on the MLS. Anyone can view them, tour them, and make an offer. But that lower barrier to entry makes them easier to find as well.
Some foreclosure websites display information about all three stages of foreclosure purchases. Others specialize in just one.
Criteria for Evaluating Foreclosure Websites
The best foreclosure websites aggregate data in all 50 states, and display it in an intuitive user interface. They include a wide range of filters, letting users narrow down their searches to exactly the types of properties they want. That includes map-based searches alongside list results.
Timing matters for investors buying foreclosures — a lot. The difference of a few days for a pre-foreclosure hitting a platform is the difference between being the first buyer to reach a distressed homeowner versus being one of 50 letters that arrive a few days later.
Of course, the best foreclosure websites typically charge a fee for premium features. But for homeowners and investors who want to start by simply browsing, plenty of free foreclosure websites let you browse REOs and pending foreclosures.
Before shelling out money for a subscription, read up on other users’ reviews. Get a sense for which platforms get the most love from customers with a quick online search and by reading up on the best foreclosure websites.
Top 10 Foreclosure Websites for Finding Foreclosed Homes
No matter your buying strategy, one of the following should meet your needs as the best website to find foreclosures.
1. Foreclosure.com
Foreclosure.com has it all: pre-foreclosures, auctions, tax sales, bank- and government-owned REO properties, and more. They claim to be “the largest distressed listing provider on the web,” and I believe them.
The platform also updates its databases of foreclosure information twice a day, to feature the most recent data available.
And they charge accordingly. At $39.80 per month, Foreclosure.com isn’t the cheapest option on this list — but it’s far from the most expensive. Foreclosure.com does offer a seven-day free trial period to let you test drive the platform.
Ideal For: Pre-foreclosures, auctions, tax sales, REO properties
Cost: $39.80/month
2. Propstream
At $99 per month, Propstream costs even more, but justifies its high price tag with enticing features.
Propstream includes a slick user interface, with plenty of filters. It includes all the distressed property types that Foreclosure.com does, and then some: divorce filings, failed listings, zombie properties, HOA and mechanic’s liens, and more.
You can also pull up compatible properties, manage lists, send postcards, calculate renovation costs, and much more. Beware that some of the add-on features, such as sending postcards or their List Automator tool, cost extra. Of course, REsimpli offers outstanding list automation features too — just sayin’.
Like Foreclosure.com, Propstream offers a seven-day free trial.
For professional real estate investors, Propstream is hard to beat.
Ideal For: Pre-foreclosures, auctions, tax sales, REO properties
Cost: $99/month, plus add-ons
3. RealtyTrac
Another heavy hitter in the industry, RealtyTrac also features properties at each stage of the foreclosure process. It also includes comps, calculators, and other tools to help investors find and analyze properties.
RealtyTrac supplies excellent market reports and data analysis as well, to find ideal markets for investing.
But like its competitors above, RealtyTrac charges a monthly subscription fee. Unlike its competitors, RealtyTrac offers a more generous 30-day free trial to let you test drive its features.
Ideal For: Pre-foreclosures, auctions, REO properties
Cost: $49.99/month
4. Auction.com
As the name suggests, Auction.com specializes in, well, auctions.
Auction.com aims to help investors find properties not listed on the MLS. In particular, they focus on foreclosure auctions and REO properties.
Their online auction platform is top notch, with a mobile-friendly “Remote Bid” feature that lets you bid and buy properties from anywhere in the world.
Unlike the subscription-based platforms above, Auction.com doesn’t charge a monthly fee. They earn money by charging a 5% buyer’s premium to investors who successfully buy a property on their bidding platform.
Ideal For: Auctions, REO properties
Cost: 5% buyer’s premium
5. Equator
Equator offers a free platform that features nationwide REO properties, auctions, short sales, USDA-eligible properties, and turnkey rental properties.
Most of the properties are listed on the MLS, but Equator’s filters make it easier to find exactly what you want. For example, if you specialize in short sales, Equator will help you find all short sales listed in your target market.
It also has a built-in mortgage calculator that you can play around with for each property. Overall it makes a nice alternative to Zillow, with a search that integrates auction properties from Hubzu.
Ideal For: Auctions, REO properties, short sales, MLS listings
Cost: Free for buyers
6. Zillow
Zillow needs no introduction. As the premier free platform for browsing homes for sale and recently sold comps, it’s ideal for looking up REO properties listed on the MLS.
While Zillow does claim to feature foreclosures, auctions, and pre-foreclosures — and lets you filter for these — it doesn’t specialize in them. Most of what you find are simply pre-listing homes.
Use it to browse REOs and do market research, but if you want to buy pre-foreclosures or auction properties, look elsewhere.
Ideal For: REO properties, MLS listings
Cost: Free
7. Realtor.com
Similarly, Realtor.com specializes in MLS-listed properties (listed through, you know, a Realtor).
It offers a slick interface like Zillow, and lets you filter for foreclosed REO properties. You can also do market research and find comps here as well, in addition to built-in tools like mortgage calculators, property tax information, and more.
Ideal For: REO properties, MLS listings
Cost: Free
8. HUD Homes
What happens when homeowners default on government-backed loans? Often the government ends up owning them as REOs.
You can view single-family homes (and the occasional multifamily property) offered for sale through a series of government websites, all listed on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website (HUD). These include HUD’s own listings, plus separate websites listing VA homes, USDA homes, IRS-owned properties, and more.
Just beware that when you buy real estate from the federal government, you can expect plenty of red tape. You’ll need to use a HUD-approved real estate broker to represent you and help you through the process.
Ideal For: REO properties
Cost: Free
9. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Websites
Likewise, sometimes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac end up owning foreclosed properties.
Check out Fannie Mae’s HomePath website to browse REO properties, and Freddie Mac’s HomeSteps website.
Ideal For: REO properties
Cost: Free
10. Bank of America & Wells Fargo websites
As two of the largest banks and mortgage lenders in the country, Bank of America and Wells Fargo take back plenty of properties through foreclosure.
You can view their REO properties at the Bank of America Real Estate Center and Wells Fargo REO websites respectively.
Ideal For: REO properties
Cost: Free
Final Thoughts
Before choosing among the best foreclosure websites above, choose an investing strategy.
If you specialize in buying REO properties, you don’t need to cough up money for a monthly subscription. But if you want to score killer deals on pre-foreclosures, you’ll probably need a membership with one of the premium platforms.
Import your marketing data and lists to REsimpli to track your marketing spend and return on investment. As you refine your marketing strategy, you can double down on the channels that works best — and abandon the ones that don’t yield deals.
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Sharad Mehta 
Sharad Mehta 
Sharad Mehta