Pre-foreclosures are one of the best investments a real estate agent, investor, or broker can make. Pre-foreclosures mean that the owner has defaulted on their loan, and they may be looking for a quick and easy sale so they can get rid of their debt and potentially avoid bankruptcy.
In other words, pre-foreclosure means the homeowner is motivated to sell.
Flood of Pre-foreclosures
Recently, there has been a huge uptick in pre-foreclosures because of something called the CARES Act. During Covid-19, the federal government made it difficult to evict homeowners because of defaults on their mortgages. However, on June 30, 2021, the moratorium on evictions ceased. Homeowners needed to start making payments on their homes again, and when they couldn’t, many of them entered the pre-foreclosure process.
But this doesn’t just apply to homeowners. This applies to anyone with rental properties, too. If a renter can’t make their payments, the owner can evict. But what happens when a rental owner evicts their tenants and no longer has that stream of revenue? They also experience financial hardship, and many have had to put their rental homes on the market or risk foreclosure.
How to Find Pre-Foreclosures
Foreclosures are part of the public domain because the property’s auction date and location must be set and released to the public. While this makes the process of finding foreclosures a little easier, the actual purchase of those properties is anything but. Banks have their own timelines when it comes to officially foreclose on a house, which means it can take long, unpredictable periods of time before a seller can purchase that property.
Pre-foreclosures, on the other hand, have not yet gone through the foreclosure process. The owners can still sell to interested parties. The process is much simpler and quicker for buyers when purchasing pre-foreclosures. The only issue is that pre-foreclosures can be difficult to identify because the information is not yet in the public domain—it can’t be easily looked up.
This is where a data or list management company comes in. These companies have access to huge amounts of data that can help sellers make targeted guesses about where pre-foreclosure properties might pop up. By “stacking” or comparing lists of information, sellers can identify properties that are in distress and reach out to those owners to make a deal.
Targeting Pre-Foreclosures with ListAbility
ListAbility is one of those data and list management services that help for Making the Most of Pre-Foreclosure Properties. We help real estate agents, investors, and brokers find and target those who are motivated to sell with list stacking and skip tracing services. Our filter tool allows you to cross-reference any number of sellers, properties, and conditions. Create a targeted marketing approach and save valuable time with ListAbility.
Reach out to us today for your real estate needs! Or check out more of our blog topics—we’re here to help.