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There are a few different ways to go about finding foreclosed homes for sale in Sioux Falls. We recommend taking advantage of as many of them as you can so that if a great foreclosure does pop up it doesn’t slip out of your fingers.

1. Real Estate listing sites
   
   Real estate listing sites like realtor.com are excellent resources when you’re looking for foreclosures for sale. That’s because they aggregate available homes for sale in your area, including standard homes for sale and specialty sales like foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, and homes that are up for auction.
   To make your search easier, use filters to narrow down the results. For example, play around with different keyword phrases, such as “foreclosure” and “auction.” Look at other factors too which affect what kind of deal you might be able to get. These include how long the property has been on the market (the longer the better when it comes to making your offer) and the previous purchase price of the property.
2. Work with a local agent
   
   Real estate agents are a fountain of valuable information when it comes to finding foreclosures for sale. Find an agent who has a lot of experience buying and selling homes in the area that you’re searching in. Even better, find someone who has previous experience buying and selling foreclosed homes.
   Key here is to work with a real estate agent who you trust and communicate well with, as well as someone who fully understands exactly what you’re looking for. It’s important that your agent knows what your fixer upper deal breakers are, as well as what constitutes your ideal property.
3. Talk to brokerage firms
   
   If you’re not quite ready to work with a real estate agent but you still want to make sure you’re searching in all of the right places, then reach out to a brokerage firm in the area that you know works with foreclosures. Most of them will be happy to keep you on the radar insofar as new foreclosure listings for sale, price drops, and other types of movement in your local foreclosure market.
4. Public records
   
   All documentation related to a foreclosed home is public record, so you can get ahead of the game by keeping a close eye on what comes through your town’s County Recorder’s Office. There are a lot of benefits to searching foreclosures for sale this way, in particular the fact that you might be able to get a leg up and find a foreclosed property that hasn’t yet made it’s way to the listing sites.
   When doing a search for foreclosures for sale through public records, keep an eye out for three different types of documents, all of which signify that a property is going through the foreclosure process:
   
   • Notice of Default (NoD) – A Notice of Default is a document that states a mortgage borrower has delinquent payments. It’s one of the first documents filed during the foreclosure process.
   • Notice of Sale – A Notice of Sale is a document that states a home will be put up for sale at auction.
   • Lis pendens – A lis pendens is a document that states there is some sort of legal action taking place on a piece of real estate property.
   • One or all of these documents will be filed when a foreclosure hits the market, and usually before any additional information becomes available.

1. Paid listing sites
   
   If you’ve done some initial searching for foreclosures for sale then you have probably come across paid listing sites, which require a weekly, monthly, or annual fee to view information and listings related to foreclosures in a designated locality. They can be really helpful, and may offer more search results than the free sites.
   Don’t want to pay? A subscription isn’t the only way to get value out of these types of aggregate listing sites. While you’ll only be able to see things like addresses and interior images if you subscribe, you can do a genera (and free) search on these sites to get an idea of what’s available and then do some research either on your own or with your real estate agent to figure out more about the property.
2. Bank websites
   
   When a home goes into foreclosure, it often becomes bank-owned, meaning it becomes the property of the lender who provided the mortgage. Many banks, especially the large ones, have a searchable selection of these types of properties on their websites, which makes them a worthwhile place to extend your search for foreclosures for sale.
   If you’re having trouble finding the foreclosure search page, type in a bank’s name on Google and then add “REO” (real estate owned). You should be able to find a link directly to that bank’s listing page for foreclosed properties that they currently have for sale.
3. Newspapers
   
   It might seem a little bit old school to turn to the newspaper for real estate listings, but there’s good reason to include print publications in your foreclosed home search. That’s because that Notice of Sale we mentioned above has to be published in the local newspaper in addition to its filing with the County Recorder’s Office.
   Look at the legal notices that are listed in the town newspaper for the place you’re interested in buying in. In addition to checking out the listings themselves for possible foreclosed properties, write down the names of the agencies and/or auction houses that are listing them—even if that one property isn’t the right fit, you’ll be able to search their other properties.

Now that you know how to find foreclosures for sale, let’s cover some tips you’ll want to keep in mind as you search.

• Get a mortgage pre-approval. If you intend on pursuing conventional financing for your foreclosure then you should get the paperwork in order as soon as possible—ideally before you get really serious about searching. A mortgage pre-approval gives you a major advantage in the foreclosure market, since banks are usually trying to offload these types of properties as soon as possible.
• Cast a wide net. Remember, the more avenues you search the better off you’ll be. You’re almost never going to find all available foreclosures for sale listed through one single resource, so it’s crucial that you diversify you search and maximize your opportunity potential.
• Have some deal breakers in mind. Price is obviously a very important consideration when you’re shopping foreclosures for sale, but it’s not the only one. There are other costs and financial risks that you need to accommodate when buying a foreclosure, such as the ease and costs of necessary repairs. After all, a $50,000 house isn’t such a good deal if it’s going to require $20,000 in foundation repairs before you can even get started on your renovation.
• Always go see foreclosures in person. It is absolutely critical that you check out foreclosures for sale in person before you make an offer or head to the auction house. A majority of foreclosure are sold “as is,” which means that you’re not going to be able to ask for concessions or incentives along with your offer. Buying a foreclosure sight unseen could mean taking on more than you were anticipating, especially when it comes to repairs.

As you search for foreclosures for sale you’ll likely come across the term “pre-foreclosure.” A pre-foreclosure is a property where the homeowner has missed payments on their mortgage and is at risk of a full foreclosure.

Key to note here is that pre-foreclosure homes are not for sale—but they may be soon. You could try reaching out to the owner and making a reasonable offer on their home to see if they’re willing to sell and avoid the foreclosure process. You can also keep tabs on pre-foreclosures that you’re interested in so that you’ll be one of the first to know if they do in fact end up on the foreclosure market.

To find pre-foreclosure homes for sale, look for those Notices of Default at the County Recorder’s office. You can also find these types of listings on free and paid listing sites.

Luke Properties offers alternatives to area realtors with Sioux Falls homes for rent, houses for rent, apartments for rent, Sioux Falls rental property management services, Sioux Falls property investing opportunities and options to quickly sell your Sioux Falls home. Call Luke Properties today at 605.360.2259, email info@luke.properties or visit www.luke.properties for more information.

Source: "How to Find Foreclosures for Sale", www.moving.com