Whether you’re a landlord looking to buy some extra property or you’re looking to buy a foreclosure for yourself, it can be hard to find the best deal. The housing market can range quite a bit, which leaves potential homebuyers and landlords stressed out and confused.
Before I bought my first home, I searched the web for the best deals for houses available within my budget. As a landlord, you want to find a foreclosure that is not only cost-efficient, but that doesn’t need a lot of work done in the first place.
I came across a real estate listing website that found homes at the lowest price. There was everything from pre-foreclosure listings to real estate owned properties. After my experience, I wanted to share with others looking to buy a home at forclosure.com review to help in your search!
With so many real estate listing websites available, it can be hard to know which one to go with. You may be surprised to hear that they don’t all show the same listings. I don’t know about you, but I want to see as many listings as possible to increase the chance of finding a home that works best for me and/or my tenants.
In this review of forclosure.com, I’ll talk with you about the main features, the pros, cons, how it stacks up to the other sites out there like it, and more. If you don’t want to waste any more of your time or money, you may want to keep on reading.
Table Of Contents For My Foreclosure.com Review
- What Is Foreclosure.com?
- Features Of Foreclosure.com
- Downfalls Of Foreclosure.com
- Types Of Homes Available
What Is Foreclosure.com?
You may be surprised to hear the Forclosure.com is America’s biggest provider when it comes to distressed properties such as bankruptcy listings and foreclosures. You can find nearly two million listings on the website, more than any other real estate site. This is a place where people can easily go to find a home within their price range.
Have you ever been looking for the next home you want to flip online only to find little information on it? That can be quite frustrating. This goes one of three ways. There aren’t any photos, but there is a bit of information about the acreage, year built, square footage, etc. Another way it could go is that there are a plethora of photos, yet no information about the home.
Lastly, there are listings online that don’t have a photo and share barely any information. Not many people want to take the extra step to reach out and get information that should already be listed for them in the first place.
On Foreclosure.com, you’ll be able to see plenty of photos, along with a detailed description of the home and the property. They even suggest similar properties to you as well! Whether the home is a foreclosure or up for auction, any information you need is right there in front of you.
Features Of Foreclosure.com
It can be hard to tell if a service is worth the money, which is why I did it for you. Foreclosure.com costs the public $40 per month. For that price, you get all of the features and benefits that they provide. As a landlord, this is a small price to pay to find the best real estate deals on the market. To give you a better idea of whether or not it’s worth it for your needs and circumstances, here is an in-depth look at the features that come with the paid service.
Mass Coverage
It’s no surprise to anyone that not everybody lives in a large city. Cities like New York, Seattle, and Minneapolis are easier to find properties in. Why? Because they have larger populations, which can easily result in more foreclosures. If you’re not wanting to rent out a home in a big city, you may find it difficult online to find listings for the suburbs or urban areas.
Fortunately, Foreclosure.com has plenty of listings in smaller towns. In total, the site has nearly two million listings, meaning you’re bound to find one in the area you’re looking for! This is a big bonus feature for me for several reasons. Many people look for homes in smaller towns to get a better deal on their mortgage. As a landlord, you can charge less for rent to gain residents easier in smaller towns.
This makes it easy for those with a smaller budget to find a home that suits their needs. There are also more loans available for homes that are not located in large cities. You may also enjoy how quiet and private living in a smaller town is.
This decreases the chance of noise complaints or maintenance requests that you may have a lot of in larger cities. Either way, Foreclosure.com likely has homes available in whichever city or town you’re looking in.
Detailed Listings
One of the most important things when it comes to searching for a new home is finding detailed listings. It could be quite frustrating if you find a property you love but don’t know key information such as how many bedrooms or bathrooms there are and you also might need to know information such as the acreage, nearby schools, and the history of the house. As a landlord, this type of information is absolutely crucial.
I’ve tested a few real estate websites to compare them and found that rarely will you find the same listings on each website. With Foreclosure.com, you’re able to see every foreclosed, auction, or real-estate owned home that is on the market. This will cut out the need to use several sites since everything you need will be in one place.
While the listings may vary on any real estate website, the most common information you can find on Foreclosure.com is the following:
- The asking price of the house
- What style the home was built in, such as single-family or townhome
- The number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- The total square footage of the home
- A complete address
- Where the listing is in the foreclosure timeline. Whether it’s in foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, auction, or bank-owned
- The size of the lot
- When the home was built and if it has a garage or basement
- History on the market
There is much more information available that is not listed here. That is frankly because there is a lot of information to list. Anything from the type of material used on the roof to how many stories the home is, the information is there. If there is information the lender or bank knows about the property, it will be listed.
Another listing feature that I want to talk about before moving on is the mortgage rate calculator. On Foreclosure.com, at the bottom of the page for every listing is a calculator that finds out an estimate of how much your mortgage can be. This can help you decide if the property is worth the money and how much you should charge for rent.
You will need to type in the price of the home, whether or not it’s a purchase or refinance, the location, the percentage you’re able to put down, your credit score, and the loan type. You’ll find a list of lenders, their rates, and the mortgage payment they offer.
Using the mortgage calculator can also be an eye-opening experience when it comes to home buying. You’ll be able to see if you need to save more for a down payment, if your credit score is high enough, and you can easily compare the price differences in homes from one neighborhood to another. This prevents great opportunities for landlords to purchase foreclosures to flip them and get more income from tenants.
Search Abilities
Another amazing feature that foreclosure.com has to offer is in-depth search features. Some real estate websites only allow you to search by ZIP Code or city name. This is really restricting and doesn’t allow people to find all of the homes that they may be interested in.
Forclosure.com blows the competition out of the water when it comes to this feature. Not only can you search by city but you can also search via price range, the number of bedrooms, the type of sale, the land size, and more.
Let’s say you’re looking for a new home to rent out in Kansas City, Missouri. If you use a website that only allows you to search within the Kansas City limits, you may miss out on deals that you would be able to find if you could search using other categories. Using Foreclosure.com allows you to look for a specific home size or type in or around any city.
Customer Service
When you’re paying for a product or service, you expect a certain level of customer service. While there are plenty of real estate websites that are free, one of the best features of Foreclosure.com is the customer service. You can reach them in a variety of different ways, including by phone, email, or live chat.
When I was first using the website, I was able to dial the number and be talking with a friendly person within a couple of minutes. The person I talked with was easy to understand and made things easy for me. They were educated and experienced, making it easy to find the answers I was looking for. If you reach out via email, you may have to wait up to 24 hours for a response. In my experience, they respond much quicker than that.
Trial Period
Unlike many other real estate websites, Foreclosure.com offers a week-long free trial. Strangely enough, the trial isn’t exactly free. It will cost you $1, but that’s not a bad price to pay to see over a million different listings. During the seven-day long trial, you will get full access to the website and experience it like you would if you were to sign up for the full-service version. If you’re a little hesitant to spend money on something like a real estate listing site, take advantage of their “free” trial.
Cost
Now it’s time to address the elephant in the room: the cost. When you hear that Foreclosure.com isn’t free, you might ask yourself if it’s really worth it. From my experience and many other Foreclosure.com reviews that I’ve read, it seems to be. This is mostly in part due to all of the amazing features you get. As a landlord, it can be well worth it and can likely be written off come tax time.
Foreclosure.com provides amazing coverage, improved search features, amazing customer service, at just $40 per month. Chances are, with all of these features, you won’t be needing to use the website for too long because you’re likely to find your next rental rather quickly! I would prefer to pay for a website that is going to give me the results I’m looking for rather than use a free website that gives me subpar results.
Downfalls Of Foreclosure.com
Just like everything else in the world, there are some downfalls to Foreclosure.com. The majority of these things are subjective and not everyone will experience them. The main thing that people don’t like about Foreclosure.com is that it isn’t free. Many people believe that if one website can provide a service at no cost than all similar sites should.
Others would rather get the information locally from a courthouse rather than a convenient online platform. That’s pretty much it when it comes to negative things about Foreclosure.com. As long as you’re okay with paying a small fee for high-quality results, you will enjoy using the website!
Types Of Homes Available
If you’re a new landlord, you may wonder why you should even consider buying a foreclosure or home that’s up for auction. I want to break down the different types of homes that are available on Foreclosure.com and some of the pros and cons of each.
Foreclosed Homes
What it is: Simply put, a foreclosure is when a house is on the market so that a lender can recover the balance that is left on a home loan from the previous homeowner who has stopped making payments.
Pros
- It is priced below market value and will save you money
- There are better financing options available since you’ll need to borrow less money
- There is a higher return on investment and appreciation
Cons
- Foreclosed homes are often neglected and may not be in the best shape
- There is a high competition for the foreclosed home since they are cheaper to buy
- It may not be a smart move for your first home as the investment can be a bit tricky
Pre-Foreclosed Homes
What it is: A home that is in a pre-foreclosure is at the beginning stages of being repossessed and will eventually be foreclosed.
Pros
- Sellers are trying to sell the home fast, which can give you an advantage when it comes to bargaining
- The buyer can do all inspections during the contingency period
Cons
- The lender needs to approve the price and terms of sale
- There is a chance that a lender may not approve the price or closing cost credits
- It may take up to three months to close
- You’ll have to wait for the sellers to move out of the home
Auction
What it is: When a homeowner is not able to pay or renegotiate their mortgage, a lender is able to put the home up for auction, forcing the homeowner out of the house.
Pros
- The buyer only needs to pay for the outstanding mortgage balance, which saves you a lot of money
- There is less competition because auction homes must be paid for in cash
Cons
- There are no inspections allowed in the home as it is sold as-is
- The bank is not allowed to provide information about the history or condition of the house
- The buyer must pay for their own representation
- The buyer must pay the full purchase price in cash on the same day as the auction
- You are not allowed to have a mortgage
Bank Owned Post-Foreclosure
What it is: A bank-owned post foreclosure is a real estate owned home that has completed the entire foreclosure process.
Pros
- The house will be vacant and you will not have to wait for the previous homeowners to move out
- The closing time is fairly short
- The bank will pay the real estate agents commission
- Inspections and financing are allowed during the contingency period
- The title will be clear
- It is easy to negotiate the price since the bank is motivated to sell the property
Cons
- Banks are not allowed to do any repairs in the home as it is sold as-is
- There is more paperwork for the buyer
- Banks can’t provide any information about the history of the home or the current condition of it
Final Thoughts
Buying any type of properties listed above can be a great way to find your next rental property. You can use Foreclosure.com to find over 1 million listings, including several in your area. You also can give the website a test run by using their “free” trial and testing out all the amazing features. I really enjoyed how detailed the listings on their website are and that I can search using a variety of different categories.
It was well worth it to me to pay a small monthly fee in order to get results that can’t be found on free real estate websites. If you have any questions, you can reach out to their educated and friendly customer service in a variety of different ways. I had a great experience using Foreclosure.com and I hope you will too.