You don’t need to listen to me or any other guru to tell you that today’s hottest area in real estate investing is in foreclosures.

Since the bursting of the housing bubble, more or less 300 million homes have gone or are going into foreclosure. While this may sound like a nightmare to some (especially the homeowners concerned), it definitely poses an extraordinary opportunity for savvy investors to make a huge killing.

The only thing is, you have to know where you can find quality foreclosure listings.

Well, here are a few suggestions:

The MLS
The MLS or Multiple Listing Service is a good source of foreclosure leads.

All you need to do is to do a search of REOs or Foreclosures and in seconds, you can already start picking properties that may suit your fancy.

The problem with the MLS is that only licensed real estate agents have access to it. So if you’re a private investor but not a licensed realtor, you would have to befriend an agent first so you can get access to the MLS. 

Real Estate Agents/Realtors
Since licensed real estate agents have access to the MLS, they can be a good source of foreclosure leads. You just need to find one who’s not bent on getting all the foreclosures for himself (which seldom happens since there’re lots of foreclosures or properties going into foreclosure nowadays).

A good way of finding the top foreclosure listing agent in your area is to search for REOs through the MLS (if you’re an agent yourself, you can do this easily. But if you’re not, you can get an agent to do it for you). Once you recognize a listing agent’s name that keeps popping up with a property, you’ve probably hit paydirt.

It would be a good idea to introduce yourself to that agent and start a good working relationship.

Real Estate Signs
When you drive around neighborhoods in search of deals, be on the lookout for signs that read: Foreclosure, Bank-Owned, Bank Repo etc.

Once you see these signs, contact the listing agent named on the sign and make an inquiry about upcoming foreclosure listings. This is because some agents, wait for the bank to set a price for foreclosed properties before putting them in the market. So if you ask for properties that are not yet listed, you’re getting way ahead of other buyers.

Again this calls for a lot of good communication and inter-personal skills.

The County Clerk’s/Local Recorder’s Office
You can get copies of individual recordings of properties that have gone into foreclosure through the County Clerk’s Office. And since these records are considered public documents, you don’t have to pay anything.

You can simply photocopy the recordings you find interesting and go from there. Listings in these offices are usually updated on a regular basis so it can be both a daunting research work or a treasure trove of deals – depending on how you look at it.

Asset Management Companies
Investment Management Companies or Asset Management Companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Capital Group, Northern Trust, Fidelity Investments, Merrill Lynch and Co., Keystone Asset Management, HomeEq Servicing, Premiere Asset Services and others are commonly hired by some lenders (ie: banks, mortgage companies etc) to handle foreclosures on their behalf.

Banks usually do this because of the fact that they are not in the business of owning homes and in the event of a foreclosure epidemic, they would more likely hire an asset management company to handle their foreclosures than to take of it themselves.

The Internet
In the present age of the information superhighway, anyone who knows how to point and click a mouse can get all the information they need from the internet – and foreclosure listings are among these.

Some banks and major lenders usually post their foreclosure listings online for the purpose of having an interested buyer approach them for it. But if you’re really ‘lazy’, there’s a bunch of foreclosure listing websites you can visit to get a hold of this information.

Most of these websites offer trial periods (usually 30 days) during which you can access their website and their foreclosure listings for free. After the free period, you will be charged a ‘subscription fee’ for continued access and usage.

There are sites which offer unlimited free access to foreclosure listings. However, most of these sites provide very little detail and information about the properties. It is always preferable to go for paid websites as the information (and service) they provide are much more in-depth.

An example of such a website is DoDeals.com.

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In all these options, it is important for an investor (especially if you’re just starting in the business) to always be on the lookout for the choice that would give the most bang for your buck.

This is mostly true in subscribing to foreclosure listing websites. As a general rule, you should look for sites that not only offer foreclosures, but also a whole range of other types of leads.
After all, foreclosures may be hot today, but who knows what market will take center stage tomorrow.