There are many ways to acquire the list of people facing foreclosure, some of which you want to avoid. We recommend you do not buy the list from a nation wide service. Many of these services have information that is either outdated or inaccurate. Instead, look for a local service that can provide you with the list. Some are cheap and some are a little costly. For example, there’s a service in Kansas City, MO that charges about $35 per month. The same service in Raleigh, NC costs $140/month for two counties. Of course you could always go to the courthouse yourself and get the list yourself. When you’re new to the business and have little expendable cash, this might be a good idea. Later on, this will probably not be the best use of your time. Additionally, it’s preferable to have a service that can go to the courthouse every day for you, that way you’re certain that you’re marketing to the newest list of pre-foreclosures and maximizing the number of deals you have coming into your pipeline.
What I do in Raleigh, is I have a service that I pay for two of the counties I work. I have a person I know and trust who goes to a third county for me. He goes once or twice a week and simply records the newest Notice of Trustee Sales and e-mails them to me. I pay him a slight fee for his time and efforts. With what I have in place in Raleigh, I know I’ll have constant access to the lists that I can have my direct mail person download directly and use to generate the direct mail we send out to all homeowners.
If you decide to go to the courthouse yourself, you should look for the Special Proceedings section of the county courthouse. If you can’t find it, just ask someone where the new notice of trustee sales or the new notice of defaults are kept and where the public can access them. If you’re still having problems, just ask where the foreclosures are handled, that should get you in the right direction.
Realize that some courthouses will have a book out front with all the new properties (some organized, some not). Some courthouses will need you to request it, and some will only give you 5 or so at a time. However it works, treat the person behind the counter with the utmost respect. She can make your life easy or miserable. Ask questions, smile, be nice. Realize that she may know somebody who is coming to the courthouse on a daily basis. If she can put you into contact with that person, maybe he/she will also give you the list for a small fee. See where I’m going with this? I know a guy who took bagels every time for the first 3 or 4 times he went. They LOVED him! Just consider it.
This should not only give you an idea of how to get the list, but also how you can automate it in the future to free up your time for more important things, such as getting more deals, negotiating the ones that you have, and getting your properties sold.
Good luck!
