With the economy in a deep recession, more people are unable to meet their financial obligations and a major symptom is foreclosure. When people cannot pay their mortgage and their lending institutions reclaim their house, it is with the intent of recovering the balance owed on the property and getting it off their books as soon as possible. Many banks do not want to advertise all their foreclosures since it puts their financial troubles in the spotlight. One way to find current upcoming auctions is through foreclosure lists.

Foreclosure lists are generated from many types of lenders. For example, there are traditional banks, FHA, HUD, IRS, FDIC, Treasury, VA, Federal, State, and County seizures, and more. Even real estate companies have foreclosure lists, but in this particular case, subscribing to that kind of list is more about generating leads for the real estate agent.

With the advent of computer technology and the Internet, foreclosure lists are readily available online. There are free listings, however, the information is usually more limited. In order to get detailed information, a small membership price is required following a trial period. If you are serious about investing in foreclosures, having access to this information is indispensable. Just make sure that the list in question is frequently updated.

There are other ways to find foreclosures in your local area if you are willing to do a little work. Most newspaper-classified sections have a public notice for foreclosures. The local sheriff’s office or banks may also carry a foreclosure list. You simply contact them and tell them you are a person interested in bidding on foreclosure properties. It is also a good idea to attend a foreclosure auction and ask the person running the auction for a source of foreclosure lists in your area.

If you have the time, you can compile your own foreclosure lists by searching the public records at the county clerk’s office. Local attorneys may also have lists of bank REOs.

Often times, pre-foreclosures present a more profitable opportunity than foreclosures. Many people will sell their homes before the banks foreclose in order to save their credit and retrieve any equity they can in the process.

The biggest advantage of having access to foreclosure lists online is the time it saves. You can sort listings and pick the ones that are right for you. Some sites have government auction listings that include over 100,000 foreclosure and pre-foreclosures, as well as auction times and locations. Often you can access more than real estate, including cars, trucks, boats, RV’s, and more.

Having a foreclosure list is a great resource, but remember it is only one tool available in the real estate investing business. There are many other factors to consider including your own experience and knowledge level. You must do your own due diligence and research to give you the best chance at success. Start today with your research, you never know when the right deal is around the corner.

By letting renters stay in those homes, instead of evicting them, Fannie Mae can leave those properties on auto-pilot and worry about the rest. Also, as someone who has considered buying rental properties, an occupied property is more valuable than a vacant one. Fannie Mae has pledged to change that with its new renter policy starting this month. The plan will allow renters living in foreclosed properties to sign new leases with Fannie while the property is up for sale, or give the tenants money to move. Fannie has yet to establish the length of the leases, and the amount of move-out assistance will vary by state and property. Freddie Mac says it will unveil a similar program in a few weeks.

This scenario is becoming all-too-familiar for thousands of renters nationwide. Unintended victims of foreclosures are dealing with problems first hand due to the failing economy. Biggest question we have is why one legal document (the mortgage) trumps another legal document (the lease) and what renters recourse is. Will they ever get their money back??? Some states, including California and Illinois, have recently passed legislation giving renters a grace period, ranging from 30 days and up, to stay in a property after it’s been sold in foreclosure. Others are considering similar legislation.

Such displaced renters are usually in the dark about the financial situation that led their landlords to foreclose. But Carreon has a window into the particulars behind his situation because of his contact with law enforcement in this case. That’s often the first indication of trouble for renters. Sher also encourages tenants to open mail that comes addressed to “occupant,” since sometimes foreclosure notices will be mailed that way. Legally speaking the renters lose their tenancy rights with the onset of foreclosure. Usually tenants have to move out within 30 days of being served notice.

Hopefully in the future landlords will be required to disclose their financial troubles for the benefit of renters. What makes the situation particularly awkward is even though a renter may be in good financial standing, he or she may still wind up being penalized. Even worse, landlords often continue to find new tenants for vacant properties even after foreclosure proceedings have begun in some kind of effort to repair their finances. Other renters might be in a bad way but this one has six months of rent plus a thousand dollars. I wish I could live somewhere for six months rent free and then someone give me a thousand dollars on top of that.

Typically, tenants are given 30 days to vacate the premises – something that’s already happened to a number of Bula Enterprises renters. Therefore let the renter beware, and research the status of the space he/she/they are about to occupy. Is the landlord solvent? And renters are getting the real brunt of the beating. Up until very recently tenants in some parts of the country had as little as 3-days to vacate the premises of a foreclosed property after being notified by the financial institution taking possession of the property due to defaulted mortgage payments.