Distressed foreclosure listings can represent a huge value to home buyers. Admittedly It does take some detective work to find the right foreclosure property but the savings realized could mean hundreds if not thousands of dollars for a buyer with a strong work ethic. Investors who have the means to buy a distressed property and have the ability to correct serious problems can pocket in a few months what most people earn annually. But here’s the question or questions, how do you find a foreclosure listing? Which method is the best? And how do you know if the deal makes sense once you do find it?

Here are 4 suggestions:

1. Call your bank or credit union. Since foreclosure properties are owned by a lender (most often a bank or credit union) one way to find foreclosure listings is to simply call the banks and credit unions in your area. Ask for the real estate owned or REO department. This approach will likely work better for small local banks rather than the large chains. the large chains may have a corporate REO department or a firm that handles it for them.

2. Visit the county courthouse. When properties are foreclosed the proceeding is announced to the public. These announcements are posted at the county courthouse. Practices and Laws vary by state and can differ even within a state so to be sure call your local courthouse to get the details. Two excellent questions to ask are: can the information be viewed online and/or is it published in the local paper, either of which could be a huge time saver.

3. Hire a real estate agent. Local real estate agents that specializes in helping buyers find foreclosure listings are your best bet. Most agents like traditional retail buyers and may try to steer you away from buying a foreclosure. If you are serious about finding a foreclosure listing you want an agent who specializes in the distressed and/or foreclosure market. There are agents that can operate in the traditional and foreclosure markets but their are real differences and unique challenges specific to purchasing a foreclosure. If you can’t find a foreclosure specialist the next best thing is a buyer only agent.

4. Try a foreclosure listing service. Services like RealtyTrac and Foreclosure.com publish foreclosure listings nationwide. They gather the property listings from many sources. RealtyTrac claims to publish 1 Million properties from nearly 2,500 counties nationwide, and is the foreclosure data provider for MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal. Foreclosure.com is equally impressive boasting over 1.2 million property listings from around 1500 counties, updated daily. They both offer a free trial.

Locating foreclosures is not hard. You’ll soon see that foreclosed homes are everywhere. What is tricky is finding a property that will to be a good value. Now, if what you want is a place to live for a good price you’ll have more options. Most foreclosure listings are offered at or near market value at first. For this reason the foreclosure listings that need only minor work usually go to an owner occupant.

No matter which or how many of these steps you want to use Step 3 is the most important and in my opinion should be used in conjunction with all other methods, at least until you get considerable experience. An agent can help you determine what a foreclosure property will sell for after it’s ready for market and can often assist with repair estimates (crucial for deal analysis). Agents have access to attorneys, contractors, inspectors, etc (people will be needed when searching for foreclosure listings). But the most critical factor…., a good buyer’s agent will tell you when you need to move on because some deals just don’t make sense.